Text messaging has grown in popularity compared to phone calls because of its convenience, allowing people to communicate without interrupting the recipient's current activities, while simultaneously creating a permanent, searchable record of conversations.
When you back up your iPhone using iTunes, Finder, or the Apple Devices app, the backup created includes all messages sent and received up to that point, safeguarding your data against accidental deletion, damage, or loss of the device.
While these backups contain your text message history for the purpose of restoring your iPhone, they do not offer direct access to individual messages. To view and extract SMS, MMS, iMessage, WhatsApp, or LINE conversations from a backup, you can use the iBackup Extractor app.
Quick Start Guide: How to Export Text Messages from Your iPhone Backup
Download, install and open iBackup Extractor.
Select a backup from the available iOS device backups.
Click the Messages feature in iBackup Extractor.
Choose desired conversations and export them in your preferred format by clicking on "Save" or "Copy" in the app.
Detailed Info: View and Extract SMS, MMS, and iMessages from Your Backups
When you launch iBackup Extractor, it displays a list of iOS device backups created on your computer by iTunes, Finder or the Apple devices app, allowing you to explore backups of previously connected iOS devices without needing the physical device—incredibly useful if your iPhone is lost or stolen.
To view SMS, MMS and iMessage content in your chosen backup, click the Messages feature from the list in iBackup Extractor.
iBackup Extractor displays a list of contacts with whom you have had conversations. Clicking on a contact or group in the list shows the text (SMS), multimedia (MMS) messages, iMessages, WhatsApp or LINE messages sent and received in that conversation.
You can also narrow down your message extraction by using iBackup Extractor's date filtering feature. On Windows, use the "Filter Dates" button, and on Mac, select "Set Date Range" to view and export only messages exchanged within your specified timeframe.
Message Export Options
With a contact selected and a conversation displayed, click "Save" or "Copy" buttons with your preferred export format in iBackup Extractor. To export multiple conversations simultaneously, hold Ctrl (on PC) or Cmd (on Mac) while selecting conversations to export.
PDF: Saves the selected conversation as PDF, including all attached images in the same file. This option is great for sharing.
HTML: Saves the conversation as an HTML file. You can view HTML files in internet browsers like Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome and Safari. In iBackup Extractor options, you can choose to embed images or save them into a separate folder.
Text: Saves the conversation as Plain Text. This format will not save attached media like images, nor will it be styled with coloured message bubbles.
Extract WhatsApp Messages from a Backup
iBackup Extractor can also access and extract messages sent and received using WhatsApp. If your backup contains such messages, they will be displayed under the WhatsApp header in the Messages tab in iBackup Extractor. As with other types of messages, simply click on a contact to open the conversation, and then you can save them to your computer or print them out.
How to Print Messages from an iPhone Backup
To print messages from an iPhone backup, simply select the desired conversations in iBackup Extractor and click "Print" in the toolbar. Your computer's default print settings will appear. Adjust the settings as needed, and when ready, click Print. iBackup Extractor will print the complete conversation details, including sent and received messages, attached media (such as emojis, photos, and reactions), contact information, as well as timestamps for each message.
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