Instructions

To use this tool, you first need to access a SQLite file that iPhones use to store Messages from the native iOS Messages app. You will need to backup your iPhone using iTunes (on Windows or Mac) or you can find the file on your Mac if you have connected your iPhone to your Mac and have the "Messages in iCloud" feature turned on.

Step 1: Get the Messages backup file

Connect your iPhone to your Mac or PC and open iTunes. Click on your device and "Back Up Now". This will create a backup of your iPhone on your computer.

You can skip this step if you have connected your phone to a Mac and can find the file here: ~/Library/Messages/chat.db

Step 2: Find the backup file

The created backup file is usually located here:

• Windows: C:\Users[USERNAME]\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\3d\3d0d7e5fb2ce288813306e4d4636395e047a3d28
• Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/3d/3d0d7e5fb2ce288813306e4d4636395e047a3d28

Step 3: Upload the backup file

Once you have the backup file, you can upload it here by dragging and dropping it into the box above or by clicking on the box and selecting the file from your computer.

Step 4: Export the messages

Once the file is uploaded, you can hit the export button to get a human readable version of your messages from the 3 important tables that are stored in the message database.

Considerations

The CSV file format is nice and human readable, but sometimes less flexible for actually searching and viewing messages the same way they are read on your phone. For that reason, it's recommended that you still keep and store the original SQLite file which you uploaded for redundancy and future use. The SQLite file is not included in the export to keep the file size smaller.