Free importer apps
Get your texts off your phone,
without the screenshots.
Our free app copies your messages into one file you keep, with every date, time, and sender intact. The export runs on your own device. Nothing uploads unless you decide to upload it.
Pick your device
Android app
Runs on your Android phone
Gets messages off your Android and saves an XML export of your messages, saved to your phone.
- Android 10 or newer
Mac app
Runs on your Mac
Gets messages off your iPhone and saves a CSV of your messages, saved to your Mac.
- An Apple Silicon Mac (M1 or later). Intel Macs cannot run it: check with Apple menu > About This Mac.
- macOS 12 or newer
- Your iPhone and its charging cable
Verify this download
The file you downloaded should have this SHA-256 fingerprint. If it does not, do not run it, and email evan@texttimeline.com.
9b45157651d35fc6c1fb1840396031636aed139d804cfbe94fb9f40392d6f286Windows app
Runs on your Windows PC
Gets messages off your iPhone and saves a CSV of your messages, saved to your PC.
- Windows 10 or newer
- Your iPhone and its charging cable
- Apple Devices (free, from the Microsoft Store)
Windows SmartScreen may say "Windows protected your PC" on early downloads. That is reputation, which a brand new signing certificate has to earn; the installer is signed by EVANPARRA.AI LLC and you can check that in the file's Properties, under Digital Signatures. Choose More info, then Run anyway.
Verify this download
The file you downloaded should have this SHA-256 fingerprint. If it does not, do not run it, and email evan@texttimeline.com.
e84e315f111a492bb2eadebe7405a32c9c34401797937722e8541e53cf782fe4Version 0.1.7. The apps are free and uncapped. Paid deliverables live on this site, never inside the app.
Publisher: these apps come from evanparra.ai (EVANPARRA.AI LLC), the company that operates TextTimeline. On Google Play the publisher reads evanparra.ai. The Mac and Windows apps are downloaded from this site and are code-signed as EVANPARRA.AI LLC, which you can check in the installer's own file details. If you see a TextTimeline importer published or signed under any other name, it is not ours.
See the export, start to finish
This is the Windows app with a real iPhone: install, connect, write the export, upload the file here. Under three minutes, with the long transfer wait sped up honestly.
Already have your messages as a file?
Then you can skip the app entirely. If you already have a CSV or XML export of your messages, from any source, upload it and search it right now. Everything after the export works today: unlimited search, a free preview of the court-ready transcript, and the full evidence report when you need it.
We read CSV and XML message exports, OurFamilyWizard PDFs, and Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive share links. Not sure your file will work? Email evan@texttimeline.com and we will tell you.
What the app does, and what it will not do
It does
- Copy your messages into one file, on your device, with dates, times, and senders preserved.
- Write a custody record alongside the export: what was read, when, by which version of the tool, and a checksum of the file it produced.
- Say so plainly when an export is partial, rather than letting a filtered file pass as complete.
- Delete the working copy of your phone backup when it finishes.
It does not
- Upload your messages. That is a separate, later, deliberate choice.
- Include analytics or crash reporting. The Android build ships with no internet permission whatsoever.
- Read anything on someone else's phone. It needs the device in your hand, unlocked.
- Claim to be tamper-proof or to guarantee admissibility. It produces a metadata-preserving copy of your own message store, which is a different and more honest claim.
Keep your phone and its original backup until your case is over. The export is a copy, and the original is what an expert would examine if anyone challenges it.
Questions
Do I need a computer to get my texts off my phone?
On Android, no. The Android app exports everything on the phone itself, and you can upload straight from your phone's browser. On iPhone, yes: Apple gives no app permission to read your messages, so the export has to happen once on a Mac or Windows PC with the phone plugged in.
Does the app send my messages anywhere?
No. The export runs entirely on your own device and writes a file you keep. Nothing is uploaded unless you choose to upload that file to TextTimeline afterward. The Android app ships without internet permission at all, so it is incapable of transmitting anything.
What does the app actually produce?
A single file: a CSV on Mac and Windows, an XML on Android, holding your messages with their dates, times, and senders. That is the same kind of file TextTimeline already accepts, so you can open it in Excel, keep it as your own copy, or upload it here to search and build a court-ready transcript.
Is this free?
The apps are free on every platform, with no cap on how much you export. You only pay if you want a packaged deliverable from TextTimeline afterward: $19 for a court-ready transcript, $99 for a full evidence report.
Will it get every message, including iMessage and RCS?
It reads what your phone actually stored. On iPhone that includes SMS, MMS, and iMessage from your device backup. On Android it covers SMS and MMS from the phone's message database. Newer RCS chats are not always kept in a form any export tool can reach, so treat the export as a copy of your message database rather than a guarantee of every conversation.