PhoneScrollHow to save iPhone text messages to your computer (PC or Mac): 3 ways
Backing up your text messages is good. Being able to read them on a computer is better. Apple's options protect your messages, but lock them away in files you can't open. Here's an overview.
1. iCloud: convenient, but not an archive
With Messages in iCloud, your conversations sync across your Apple devices. It's handy, but it isn't a backup in the strict sense: a message deleted on one device is deleted everywhere. And the free 5 GB of iCloud storage fills up fast.
2. A Finder backup (Mac) or iTunes backup (PC)
Connect the iPhone, open Finder (or iTunes on a PC) and click "Back Up Now". Your text messages are copied… but into files with unreadable names. There's no way to open them and read a conversation: the backup is only good for restoring an entire iPhone.
3. A readable copy with PhoneScroll
PhoneScroll makes the same full backup as Finder, then reads it for you:
- your text messages, iMessages and WhatsApp chats, sorted by contact;
- the photos, videos and voice messages inside each thread;
- instant search across your whole history;
- calls, contacts, notes and calendar as a bonus.
Backing up and reading are free. The first copy is a full one (it can take a while); later ones only copy what changed.
Our tips
- Back up regularly, at least before every iOS update or phone switch.
- Pick an external drive if your Mac is short on space: you can set the folder in the options.
- No encryption if you want to read your messages: an encrypted backup can be restored, but not read.
Read next: How to keep your text messages when switching iPhones and How to print text messages from iPhone to PDF (with date and time).