How to export iPhone text messages to Excel or CSV
The iPhone cannot export messages to a spreadsheet, and copying them into Excel by hand loses the times and senders. An export app on a Mac can write a conversation as a CSV file, one row per message with the date and time, sender, number and text, which opens in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets.
What the CSV contains
With TextExhibit, each row is one message. The columns hold the date and time with seconds, the time zone, the sender’s name, their number or email address, whether you sent or received it, the service such as iMessage or SMS, the text, and the names of any attachments.
Opening it
- Export the conversation and choose CSV, alone or together with the PDF.
- Open the .csv file in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets.
- Sort or filter by date or sender. The original file stays unchanged as long as you save your work as a new file.
When a spreadsheet helps
- Counting messages, for example how many were sent in a given week.
- Finding every message that mentions a word, an amount or a date.
- Giving a lawyer or paralegal something they can sort, next to the PDF they will read.
What to keep in mind
- A spreadsheet does not show photos; it lists the attachment files, which are in the export folder.
- Spreadsheet apps can change how dates and long numbers look when they open a CSV. Check the time zone column and keep the original file as exported.
Questions
Can I export all conversations into one spreadsheet?
Export one conversation at a time; each gets its own CSV. Combine them in your spreadsheet app if you need to.
Are emoji and other languages kept?
Yes. The CSV is UTF-8, which Excel, Numbers and Google Sheets read correctly.
Is the CSV watermarked before I buy?
The PDF carries a watermark on every page until you buy. How CSV and HTML previews are limited before purchase will be settled before launch; either way, you can see the full result before you pay.
Export the whole conversation
TextExhibit turns a conversation into one PDF with exact times, names and numbers, photos in place and page numbers, on your Mac. Free to preview; $24.99 once to export.