How to print text messages from an iPhone

Text messages might feel ephemeral when you are sending texts back and forth throughout the day, but the reality is that your iPhone remembers your chat history. You can review the entire text thread at any time and print the messages as well. In theory, at least.

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  • You can print text messages from your iPhone in several different ways.
  • There's no Print command in the Messages app, but you can copy messages into an email message and print or save that.
  • You can also print even a long message chat using one of several third-party apps for Windows or Mac.

Text messages might feel ephemeral when you are sending texts back and forth throughout the day, but the reality is that your iPhone remembers your chat history. You can review the entire text thread at any time and print the messages as well. In theory, at least. 

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While you can print text messages from your iPhone, there's no easy one-tap way to do that, and you'll generally need to purchase a third-party app to get the job done. 

How to print text messages from your iPhone

It's technically possible to print text messages from your iPhone for free, but the process is manual and rather time-intensive. To do that, find the chat you want to print and then, starting at the bottom (the newest chat), tap and hold the message until you see a pop-up menu. Tap Copy. Then open the Mail app, create a new email, and tap and hold within the body of the message until you see the pop-up. Choose Paste. Now switch back to the Messages app, copy the next message in the chat, paste it into the email, and repeat the (potentially very lengthy) process until you've created one long email with the entire text chat. You can now print or email the message. 

There's an easier process: Using a third-party utility, you can copy an entire conversation with a single click and then save or print it. There are a variety of apps which can do this, including iMazing,   Decipher TextMessage, and EaseUS MobiMover. Any of these apps will work, but here is how to do it with iMazing.

1. Connect your iPhone to your computer via a USB cable and unlock the phone so your computer can access the data. 

2. Install iMazing and start the app.

3. In the pane on the left, click Messages. If you don't have a recent backup of your iPhone on your computer, iMazing will ask you to perform a backup now. Click Data Access Only to save time and then click Next. 

You'll probably need to back up your iPhone in iMazing so the app can read your text messages. Dave Johnson/Insider

4. Enable encryption if you want to — this is optional — and then click Start. The backup will take some time. 

5. When the backup is done, browse for the conversation you want to print. 

6. Click Print to print the entire text chat in graphical form, complete with bubbles, or click Export to Text to save it in a more space-conscious format. 

Select the conversation you need and choose to export or print it. Dave Johnson/Insider
Dave Johnson Freelance Writer Dave Johnson is a technology journalist who writes about consumer tech and how the industry is transforming the speculative world of science fiction into modern-day real life. Dave grew up in New Jersey before entering the Air Force to operate satellites, teach space operations, and do space launch planning. He then spent eight years as a content lead on the Windows team at Microsoft. As a photographer, Dave has photographed wolves in their natural environment; he's also a scuba instructor and co-host of several podcasts. Dave is the author of more than two dozen books and has contributed to many sites and publications including CNET, Forbes, PC World, How To Geek, and Insider. Read more Read less

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