Open Import and choose which app the conversation is in. If the app has an official export, use it — it's more complete than screenshots.

For WhatsApp on iPhone: open the chat → tap the contact or group name → scroll down → Export Chat → choose Attach Media or Without Media → save to Files. Then choose the file here. You can also open the .zip or .txt from Files and pick Msg Archive.

The importer expects a chat export in a supported format. If it says the file doesn't look like an export, check that you chose the chat file itself (not a photo or a backup), and that the export came from the messaging app. If the app changes its export format, Msg Archive may need an update.

Archives containing unsafe paths or unusually large entries are rejected on purpose. Unreadable lines are counted and reported rather than silently dropped.

Import screenshots instead. Scroll slowly through the conversation and take overlapping screenshots, then choose Import screenshots. Text is recognized on your iPhone, bubbles are put back in order, and gaps between screenshots are flagged for you to check.

The result depends on screenshot quality: times are only as precise as the separators on screen, and emoji or images can't be recovered from text recognition.

Exports don't record a time zone, so choose the time zone of the phone that exported the chat. When the file doesn't make the day/month order clear, the app asks you to pick Day/Month or Month/Day and warns you in the preview.

You can also choose which participant is you, so your messages appear on the right.

When a message was reconstructed from screenshots, text recognition can misread characters — emoji are a common case. Those messages are flagged instead of being silently corrected. Review and edit them before saving; the integrity report lists how many remain and where they came from.

Search covers all imported conversations and filters by conversation, sender and date. Very short words (under 3 characters) fall back to a simpler match. If a conversation was imported from screenshots, only recognized text is searchable — check the messages still marked for review.

Choose a PDF with chat bubbles or a plain transcript, a CSV spreadsheet, or plain text. You can limit the date range and choose whether to include images. Phone numbers keep only their last 4 digits by default; you can turn that off.

Every export includes an integrity report: message counts, messages still needing review, unassigned files, media not included, screenshot gaps, how it was generated, and a SHA-256 hash of the exported file.

A passphrase-protected backup can't be opened by anyone without that passphrase — including us. Use at least 8 characters and store it safely. The alternative, a device-only key, is convenient but the backup can only be opened on the iPhone that created it.

After creating a backup, use Settings → Backup → Verify a backup to check that it can be restored.

No. The archive is excluded from iCloud and computer device backups by default, so it stays on this iPhone. You can turn that on in Settings → Include in iCloud / computer backup.

Without a backup of its own, the archive is lost if the iPhone is lost or replaced. Backups are protected by your passphrase or a device key, and restore is not resumable if interrupted.

Turn it on in Settings → Security → Lock with Face ID (or Touch ID). The app asks for authentication when it opens or returns from the background, and covers the content when you leave it. Your iPhone needs a passcode set for the lock to be available.

Deleting a conversation is permanent: its messages, media and search index entries are removed, and the app checks that nothing is left behind. Restore it from a backup if you made one. Settings → Delete all data removes everything; backups you saved elsewhere are not affected.

No. This version contains no network code: importing, text recognition, search, export and backup all run on your iPhone. Backup files go only where you choose to save them. There's no account, no ads, no analytics and no tracking. See the Privacy Policy for details.

Not in this version. Voice messages appear as placeholders; the app doesn't bundle an audio decoder, so it says so instead of pretending to play them.

The app doesn't provide legal certification. An integrity report and file hash document what was exported, but any evidentiary value has to be established by you, through your own testimony and the original device. Exports can contain recognition errors when they were rebuilt from screenshots.