TextboundHow to export a group chat from iMessage
There is no export button for a group chat in Messages, and screenshots of a busy group run to hundreds of images. Textbound reads the group from the Messages history on your Mac and exports it as a PDF, a web page or a spreadsheet: every message with its sender's name, date and time, the photos, and the group's changes (people added or leaving, a new name) where they happened.
Updated
Free for the newest 100 messages of any conversation · macOS 14 or later
How to export a group chat
- Get the group onto your Mac: with Messages in iCloud on (Messages › Settings › iMessage › Enable Messages in iCloud), the Mac has the same groups as the iPhone.
- Open Textbound and allow Full Disk Access once. In the list, a group chat shows two pictures next to its name.
- Pick the group and the dates: All Time, Last 30 Days, Custom Dates… and so on.
- Press Export (⌘E) and choose a layout: Book for bubbles with names, as in Messages; Record for one row per message with the sender, the time to the second and the service.
- Choose the format: PDF, HTML (a folder with a page that opens in any browser) or CSV (one row per message), and save.
What a group export shows
- Who wrote what. Each message carries its sender's name from Contacts; the Record cover lists every member with their phone number or email address.
- The group's history. Events such as “Alex added Sam to the conversation.”, someone leaving or the group being renamed appear where they happened.
- Replies and reactions. A reply quotes the message it answers; reactions show who reacted and when.
- Photos and files inside the PDF where they were sent, with their SHA-256 in the Record layout (Pro).
The free version exports the newest 100 messages of the group as a Book PDF, with photos listed by name. Pro ($19.99 once) exports the whole history with photos, adds Record, HTML and CSV, and exports many conversations at once: ⌘-click several groups and get one file for each in a folder.
Other people's messages stay private
A group chat holds other people's words too, so where it goes matters. Textbound reads it on your Mac without changing anything, has no account and no server for your messages, and writes the file only where you save it.
Questions
Can I export a group chat from my iPhone?
Through your Mac: with Messages in iCloud on, the Mac has the same groups, SMS and MMS groups included, and Textbound exports them from there.
Does the export show who left or joined the group?
Yes. Members added or removed, people leaving and new group names appear in the export at the moment they happened.
Can I export only part of a group chat?
Yes, by dates: choose Custom Dates… for an exact period. The export covers every message between those dates.
What if a member isn't in my contacts?
Their messages show the phone number or email address instead of a name. Add them to Contacts and choose File › Reload Messages (⌘R) to see names.
Can I export all my group chats at once?
With Pro, yes: select them with ⌘-click and press Export. Each one becomes its own file, named after the group and the dates.
Export the group chat
Related: export messages to a spreadsheet · a book of your messages · export iMessages to PDF