How to redact a WhatsApp chat before sending it to a lawyer

By Kayabyte · Last updated 31 October 2026

Short answer: export the chat, keep the untouched original, and work on a copy. Then hide what should not be shared. Doing it by hand means editing the text file or drawing over a PDF, and drawn-over boxes often leave the text underneath. In Exhibitly you pick the messages, choose Redact Text, Redact Attachments or Redact a Word, and the export marks them as redacted. But first ask the lawyer: they often need the complete, unredacted chat and decide what is hidden later, so do not redact what they have not asked you to.

This guide is practical help, not legal advice.

Should you redact at all?

Your own lawyer usually needs everything, including parts that hurt your case. Redacting for them can mislead them.
Redaction is for what goes to someone else: the other side, the court, or a witness. Ask your lawyer which parts, and in what form.
Whatever you hide, a court may ask for the original. Keep it.

Step 1: Export and keep the original

Export the chat from the phone (iPhone, Android), copy the file to a safe folder, and never change that copy.

Step 2: Redact by hand, and its risks

In the text file: make a copy and replace the text with something like [REDACTED]. This is easy to do, but the result is an edited file, so say plainly that it was redacted and keep the original beside it.
In a PDF: only a proper redaction tool removes the text. Drawing a black box over it in Preview or another viewer can leave the words underneath, where anyone can select, copy or search them. Test by selecting and copying the area.
Photos and videos: blur or crop copies, never the originals.
Things people forget: phone numbers, addresses, a child’s school, account numbers, names in photos, and the file names of attachments.

Step 3: Redact in Exhibitly

Exhibitly 1.1.0 reads WhatsApp chats and redacts them before the PDF is made, so you do not edit any file:

Import the chat with File, Import WhatsApp Chat… (or read it from an iPhone backup).
Open the conversation. Select messages, then choose Redact Text or Redact Attachments from the Messages menu or by right-clicking. To hide a name, number or address wherever it appears, use Redact a Word….
Messages, Show Redactions… lists what you have hidden, and Remove Redaction undoes it. Redactions are saved on your Mac for that chat.
Export. Redacted text becomes a black box labelled [Redacted]. The words are removed from the PDF, not just covered, so they cannot be copied out, and redacted attachments are left out of the attachments folder. The same redactions apply to the Excel file and the optional plain text copy. The verification page lists the sources read, and the export sheet warns that device names and file locations appear there, so use Redact a Word for a name you do not want shown.
Open the PDF and the Excel file and check that nothing sensitive remains, including the plain text copy if you turned on “Also save the messages as a plain text file”.

The original export file is never changed, and the verification page records where the chat came from. Nothing leaves your Mac. Free preview: 50 messages per export, watermarked PDF. Personal USD 39, Evidence Bundle USD 69, one time.

Download Exhibitly (free preview). macOS 14 or later.

Is a redacted WhatsApp chat accepted in court?

The court decides, and rules differ. A redacted copy is a different document from the original, so ask your lawyer how to present it.