How to export a WhatsApp chat for court (UK)

If you need WhatsApp messages as evidence — in a family, civil, employment or other matter — the right first step is a full chat export, not a screenshot. Here's how to do it on iPhone and Android.

Why export the whole chat (not screenshots)

Screenshots are easy to dispute: they can be cropped, they lose context, and they don't carry the surrounding messages or timestamps. Exporting the full conversation gives a complete, chronological record including the media that was actually sent. You can then produce a clean, paginated PDF exhibit and redact anything irrelevant.

On iPhone (iOS)

1. Open the chat you want to export.
2. Tap the contact's name or the group subject at the top of the screen to open chat settings.
3. Scroll to the bottom and tap Export Chat.
4. Choose With all media (sometimes "Attach Media") to include photos, videos and voice notes — or Without media for text only.
5. Choose a destination such as Files or iCloud Drive, or AirDrop it to your Mac. You'll get a .zip file.

On Android

1. Open the chat, tap the ⋮ menu (top-right).
2. Tap More → Export chat.
3. Choose Include media or Without media.
4. Save or share the resulting .zip (or .txt + media).

Turn the export into a court-ready PDF

Once you have the .zip, you can convert it into a chronological, paginated PDF exhibit with matched media, optional redaction, and a forensic provenance sheet (a SHA-256 record of the source and each file). It runs entirely in your browser — your chat is never uploaded.