Exporting and printing

How to turn a WhatsApp chat into a PDF on Android

Last reviewed 2026-10-17 · 2 official sources cited below

1. Export from WhatsApp

According to WhatsApp’s Help Center:

1. Open the chat.
2. Tap More options (⋮) > More > Export chat.
3. Tap Without media or Include media.
4. Choose how to send or save it, such as Google Drive, Gmail, or Files.

2. What you get

Android exports a text file named like WhatsApp Chat with Dana Reyes.txt. With media, the photos and voice notes come as separate files, sometimes bundled in a ZIP depending on where you send them. Lines look like:

12/29/23, 1:15 PM - Mark Ellison: The repair quote is $240.
12/28/23, 9:07 AM - Dana Reyes: IMG-20231228-WA0003.jpg (file attached)

The date order depends on the phone’s language and region: 29/12/2023, 13:15 - in the UK, 29.12.23, 13:15 - in Germany. Android timestamps usually have no seconds.

3. Convert to PDF

Open the .txt, or a .zip with the text file and media, in TextExhibits. It detects the Android format and the date order. When every day in the chat is 12 or less, so month and day could be swapped, it checks which reading keeps the messages in time order, and it lets you override the format.

If the media came as separate files, zip them together with the .txt (keep the original file names) so photos can be shown inline. Note that the hash then describes your ZIP, so keep the original .txt too.

4. Don’t trim the conversation silently

If only part of the chat matters, use the date filter. The filter is stated on the cover page, so nobody can say context was hidden. In U.S. federal court the other party can require related parts to be considered together (FRE 106).

Sources

1. WhatsApp Help Center — How to export your chat history
2. Federal Rules of Evidence, Rule 106 — Remainder of or Related Writings or Recorded Statements (Cornell LII)

Sources were opened and checked on 2026-10-17. Laws and rules change; always read the current version.