WhatsApp chat to PDF
WhatsApp can export a chat, but only as a plain text file. Here's how to export it and turn it into a readable PDF you can print or hand to a lawyer.
Step 1: Export the chat
iPhone: open the chat → tap the contact or group name at the top → scroll down → Export Chat → choose Without Media (smaller) or Attach Media. Save it to Files or email it to yourself.
Android: open the chat → tap ⋮ (top right) → More → Export chat → Without media or Include media. Send it to Google Drive or email.
You get a .zip file (iPhone, or with media) or a .txt file named like WhatsApp Chat with Alex.txt.
Step 2: Why not just print the .txt?
You can, but long messages wrap badly, there are no message numbers to refer to, attachments appear only as file names, and nothing shows the file hasn't been edited. For anything formal, such as court, HR, an insurance claim or a landlord dispute, a structured layout helps a lot.
Step 3: Make the PDF
Convert my chat
Tips
- Export from the phone that holds the full history. A chat restored from backup on a new phone may be missing older messages.
- WhatsApp's export limit is about 40,000 messages without media, or 10,000 with media. For very long chats, export without media.
- Keep the original export file unchanged. The hash on the cover sheet lets anyone check the PDF came from that exact file.
- Dates are shown exactly as your phone formatted them (for example 14/10/2026 or 10/14/26), so there's no guessing about day and month order.
Printing Android SMS instead? · How to present texts as evidence