How to save WhatsApp messages as evidence

Export the whole chat with media as soon as you can, then keep your phone and the original export file exactly as they are. Add screenshots of the key messages and a short, dated timeline that points to each one. We are not lawyers, and the rules differ by country, so ask whoever handles your case what they need.

Export the chat now, with media

A chat can change after today. WhatsApp lets the sender delete a message for everyone for up to two days after sending it. If disappearing messages are on, messages vanish after 24 hours, 7 days or 90 days, and the ones already gone are not in an export. In a one-to-one chat, either person can turn on Restricted chat (once called Advanced chat privacy), which blocks exporting the chat. Phones also break and get lost.

So export today:

• iPhone: open the chat, tap the contact or group name, tap Export chat, choose With all media (older versions say Attach Media), then Save to Files.
• Android: open the chat, tap the three dots, then More and Export chat. Choose Include media, then pick Drive or Files. The file only exists where you send it.

Use the phone or the Mac app. WhatsApp Web and the Windows app export only the text, without photos or voice notes. Our export guide has every step.

Include the media. Without it, voice messages show only as “audio omitted” on iPhone or <Media omitted> on Android, and the photos, receipts and documents stay behind.

Then open the export and check the first and last messages. WhatsApp's help pages say an export with media attaches the most recent media, so on a long chat, older photos or voice messages may be missing. If something is, read how WhatsApp's export limits work.

Keep the original file and the phone as they are

The .zip (or .txt) that WhatsApp made is your original. Treat it like a paper original you can't replace.

• Don't edit it, re-save it in a word processor or tidy the text.
• Store two copies in two places, such as a cloud drive and a USB stick.
• Write down when you exported it, from which phone, and whether media was included.
• Do your highlighting and notes in a copy, never in the original.

Keep the phone too, with WhatsApp on it. Don't clear the chat, reset the phone or uninstall WhatsApp. Someone may want to see the messages on the phone itself.

Turn on WhatsApp's chat backup as well. In WhatsApp's settings, it is under Chats, then Chat backup. A backup can bring the chat back into WhatsApp if the phone is lost. It doesn't replace the export.

Don't delete or edit anything

It is tempting to remove the messages that make you look bad, or the angry ones you sent at midnight. Leave them. A gap in a chat raises more questions than the message would have. WhatsApp's help pages also say it can't recover deleted messages for you.

Leave your own sent messages alone too. WhatsApp lets you edit a message for up to 15 minutes after sending it, and delete it for everyone for two days. Either one changes what the chat shows.

If the other person deleted something, the chat shows “This message was deleted” in its place, and you can't see what it said. Write down what you remember, when you saw it, and whether you took a screenshot before it went.

Write down the context while you remember it

A chat shows the words, not the story around them. Half an hour of notes now saves a lot of guessing later.

• Who each person is: full name, phone number, and how you know them. A chat file only says “Kofi”, not which Kofi.
• What happened outside the chat: calls, meetings, payments and letters, each with a date.
• What short forms mean: “the blue one”, “K's place”, a nickname for a child or a car.
• Other languages: which messages need translating, and who could do it.
• Where related files are: receipts, contracts, bank statements, photos taken outside WhatsApp.

Keep these notes apart from the export. They are your account of events, not part of the chat.

Build a dated timeline

A timeline is often the first page people read. It lists the moments that matter, in order, and points to the exact message for each one. Stick to facts: “Kofi says the clutch is new”, not “Kofi lied”.

Here is the start of one, with made-up names, for a used car bought from a private seller:

The M numbers come from a numbered record. Without one, the date, time and sender do the same job, plus the file name of a screenshot or photo.

Keep it short. A page or two is usually enough, because the full chat is there for anyone who wants more.

You can build it for free. Open the export in the free chat viewer and download the spreadsheet: one row per message, with the date, time, sender and type in their own columns. Copy the rows that matter into your timeline. The file is read in your browser, and nothing is uploaded.

Keep screenshots of the key messages too

A screenshot shows a message as it looked on your phone: the name at the top, the bubble, the time, the check marks. People take it in at a glance. That is why many keep screenshots of the key messages next to the full export. To make them more useful:

• Get the contact name and the date label above the messages into the frame.
• Tap the name at the top of the chat and screenshot the info screen with the phone number.
• For a message you sent, tap and hold it, then tap Info. That screen shows when it was delivered and read.
• Keep the original images. Crop or mark up copies only.

Screenshots and exports do different jobs, and that guide compares them in detail.

What a lawyer or mediator usually asks for

Requests differ from case to case, but these are common:

1. The whole chat, not a selection, and the original export file.
2. Screenshots of the key messages.
3. A short timeline, each entry pointing to its message.
4. Voice messages as audio files, plus a written version you have checked. See how to keep voice notes as evidence.
5. Photos, receipts and documents from the chat, as files.
6. Who the other person is, with their phone number.
7. Sometimes the phone itself, or a short note on how and when you exported.

Ask what format they want before you print anything. Some want a PDF, some the original .zip, some both. A long chat can run to hundreds of pages.

Rules on digital evidence differ from country to country, and sometimes from one court or tribunal to the next. Only the people who handle your case can tell you what they need. One more caution: use chats you are part of, from your own phone. In many places, taking messages from someone else's phone can cause legal trouble of its own.

Where LogMyChat fits

Everything above works with WhatsApp, a computer and some patience. On a long chat, LogMyChat saves time.

Upload your export and the overview is free: who writes, how much, how many voice messages, one of them transcribed, and your exact price. Unlocking a chat is one payment, from $3. Every message then gets a number like M000412 with its date and time. Every voice message is written out under the moment it was sent, and you can search messages and transcripts together. The PDF includes the transcripts.

Check important transcripts against the recordings, and keep your original export either way.

Common questions

Is a screenshot enough on its own?

Sometimes, for a small matter. But a screenshot shows only part of the chat, and the other side may say something was left out. Keeping the full export as well costs nothing.

Should I export with or without media?

With media. Without it, voice messages, photos and documents show up only as a line saying they were there.

What if the other person deletes messages after I export?

Your export keeps what the chat held when you made it. That is a good reason to export early. Keep the file unchanged and write down the date you made it.

Can I print the chat?

Yes. The free chat viewer turns an export into a print view you can save as a PDF, with page numbers and the chat name on every page. Nothing is uploaded. Ask first whether a printout is wanted.