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Exporting a backup from an iPhone

This guide shows how to export the files our tool accepts from an iPhone and upload them — either via a computer or directly from Safari on the phone. When ready, open the SMS/MMS Extractor.

iPhone SMS & iMessage are now supported

You can extract native SMS & iMessage from an unencrypted iPhone backup — choose iPhone as the source and upload a .zip of the backup folder (or the extracted sms.db). See “iMessage & SMS from iPhone” below. WhatsApp exports also work (next section). Encrypted backups aren’t supported yet.

WhatsApp — export a chat (recommended)

  1. Open WhatsApp and the conversation you need.
  2. Tap the contact or group name at the top to open its info screen.
  3. Scroll down and tap Export Chat.
  4. Choose Without Media (a .txt file) or Attach Media (a .zip).
  5. In the share sheet, pick Save to Files (recommended) or Mail to send it to yourself.

Move the export to your computer

  1. iCloud Drive: when saving to Files, choose an iCloud Drive folder, then download it from iCloud on your computer.
  2. AirDrop (to a Mac): from the share sheet choose AirDrop and send to your Mac.
  3. Email: mail the export to yourself and download the attachment on the computer.

Uploading straight from your iPhone (no computer)

Phone browser upload

You can do everything on the phone.
  1. Make sure you exported the chat with Save to Files first (steps above).
  2. Open Safari and go to yourlegalaitools.com.
  3. Sign in and open the SMS/MMS Extractor; choose WhatsApp as the source.
  4. Tap choose a backup file → Browse → open the Files app location where you saved the export.
  5. Select the .txt (or .zip); it uploads directly and securely.

iMessage & SMS from iPhone (advanced / roadmap)

Apple stores texts in a device backup rather than a simple export file. Create an unencrypted local backup on a computer, then upload it:

  1. Connect the iPhone to a Mac (Finder) or Windows PC (Apple Devices / iTunes).
  2. Select the device, choose Back up all the data on your iPhone to this computer, and leave “Encrypt local backup” unchecked. Click Back Up Now.
  3. Find the backup folder:
    • Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/<device-id>
    • Windows: %APPDATA%\Apple\MobileSync\Backup\<device-id> (or Apple Computer)
  4. Zip the backup folder (it contains Manifest.db and many hashed files — the Messages database sms.db is inside). Right-click the folder → Compress.
  5. On the extractor, choose iPhone as the source and upload the .zip. (Advanced users can instead upload the extracted sms.db directly.)

What we extract

Both SMS and iMessage conversations, by phone number / iMessage address. Contact names are filled in automatically when the backup includes your address book; otherwise reports are labeled by number. Messages are read exactly as stored — text from the message record (recovered from attributedBody on newer iOS), with timestamps converted from Apple’s format.

Encrypted backups

Encrypted iPhone backups aren’t supported yet (they require your backup password to decrypt). Recreate the backup with “Encrypt local backup” turned off, or upload the extracted sms.db. We’re evaluating password-based decryption — if you need it, contact support@yourlegalaitools.com.

Before you upload

Only upload data you have the legal right to process. Files are permanently deleted from our storage 24 hours after creation. See our Terms and Privacy Policy.

Using an Android phone instead? See the Android guide.