How to show phone numbers, not just names, on printed texts
Messages shows the contact name you saved, not the number, so a screenshot alone cannot show which phone number or email address a message came from. Tap the name at the top of the conversation to see the number, or export the conversation with a tool that prints each sender’s number or email address next to every message.
Seeing the number on the iPhone
In a group, the names at the top list every participant; tap them to see each person’s details.
- Open the conversation and tap the name or picture at the top.
- Tap the name again, or Info, to see the contact card. The number or email address the conversation uses is listed there.
Why a name is not enough
A contact name is whatever you typed into your phone. Anyone reading the printout has to trust that the name matches the right number. The number, or the email address an iMessage was sent from, is what ties the message to a person’s phone or account.
In an export
TextExhibit prints the sender’s name and, under it, the phone number or email address on every message, and lists all participants with their numbers on the cover page. Names come from your contacts when you allow it, or from the contacts in the backup.
What to keep in mind
- iMessages can come from an email address instead of a number. The export shows whichever one Apple recorded.
- If someone texted from more than one number, each message shows the one it actually came from.
Questions
Should I delete the contact so the number shows in screenshots?
No. Deleting contacts changes your phone and does not help the timestamps. Export the conversation instead, which shows both the name and the number.
What does "Me" mean in the export?
Your own messages. You can type your name and number so the export shows them instead.
Why does one person appear with two numbers?
Their messages came from two different handles, for example a phone number and an Apple Account email, or an old and a new number. The export keeps them as recorded.
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.