Download TextExhibit.

What you will need

• A Mac with macOS 14 Sonoma or later. TextExhibit is a Mac app. There is no Windows version.
• Your messages in one of three places: the Messages app on this Mac, when your iPhone syncs messages to it with Messages in iCloud; your iPhone and a cable between the iPhone and the Mac; or a backup already on your Mac, made with Finder, including encrypted backups (you type the backup password).
• Permission to read them: macOS asks you to allow Full Disk Access, and the iPhone asks you to tap Trust and enter its passcode before a backup.
• Room on the Mac for a backup if you connect the iPhone. A backup is about as large as the data on the phone.

Before you start

• Do not delete the conversation or reset the phone. If you are changing phones, keep a backup on your Mac first.
• Ask your lawyer what format they want. Our guide on what lawyers ask for lists the usual questions.

Why it is not on the App Store

Direct download from this site. Not on the Mac App Store. Mac App Store apps run in a sandbox that cannot open the Messages database or iPhone backups, so TextExhibit is sold and downloaded here.

Already bought it?

Lost the key? Write to [email protected] from the address you bought with and we will send it again.

What the export looks like