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How do you authenticate text messages as evidence?

By Kayabyte · Last updated 14 November 2026

Short answer: to authenticate a text message you show a court that it is what you say it is: a message between those people, sent when it appears. Usually that is your own testimony plus the phone, the number and name, the content and context, and an untouched copy of the messages. A neat PDF helps people read the messages; it does not prove they are genuine. This is general information, not legal advice, and rules differ by country and court. Ask a lawyer where you are filing.

What courts look at

In US federal courts, Federal Rule of Evidence 901 says the person offering an item must produce evidence “sufficient to support a finding that the item is what the proponent claims it is.” For texts that is often your testimony, the number or name involved, the content and the phone or a copy. State courts have their own rules. Elsewhere, courts treat messages as written material and decide on acceptance and weight.

What to do, in order

  1. Keep the phone and do not delete the conversation or the contact.
  2. Make a Finder backup of the iPhone on a Mac and keep it untouched. See how to make an iPhone backup on a Mac.
  3. Export the whole thread, or a date range, not cropped screenshots. Each message should show date, time and sender (the phone number or email).
  4. Keep fingerprints. A SHA-256 checksum for each exported file lets you show later that a file has not changed; see check a text message export has not changed.
  5. Redact only a copy, never the original.
  6. Be ready to say how you made the export, and who can confirm the messages are theirs.

What Exhibitly does and does not do

Exhibitly reads an iPhone backup made in Finder, or the Messages app on the Mac, and writes a PDF with date, time and sender on every message, page numbers, photos inline, an Excel file, the original attachments with SHA-256 fingerprints, SHA256SUMS.txt and a verification page that says which source was read. Optional Bates numbers and an exhibit cover page come with the Evidence Bundle. It works offline; nothing is uploaded.

It does not decide admissibility and does not prove messages are genuine. It cannot recover deleted messages. A WhatsApp export file is a text file whose edits before import cannot be detected; its SHA-256 is recorded when read.

Free preview (first 15 messages per export, watermarked), Personal USD 39 once, Evidence Bundle USD 69 once. macOS 15 or later.

Exhibitly

Questions

Are screenshots enough? For a few messages they may be accepted, but they hide context, show names instead of numbers and are easy to edit. Courts and lawyers usually prefer a full export with the source kept.

Does a PDF prove a message is real? No. It is a presentation of the messages. Genuineness comes from the source, testimony and handling.

Can I use messages from an Android phone? Exhibitly does not read Android SMS or backups, only WhatsApp export files; see Android vs iPhone for court.

Related: best way to export text messages for court, WhatsApp messages as evidence.

Apple, iPhone, iMessage, Mac and Finder are trademarks of Apple Inc. Exhibitly is made by Kayabyte, is not affiliated with Apple, and is not a law firm.