Turn your Mac Messages into
files you actually own
Message Exporter reads the conversations already on your Mac and saves them as PDF, HTML, CSV, Excel, or plain text — with the shared photos, videos and documents collected alongside them. Nothing is uploaded. Nothing leaves your computer unless you export it.
The actual app. Contacts on the left, the conversation on the right.
How it works
Three steps, about a minute
There is no import, no sync, and no account required to start. Message Exporter reads the Messages database that already exists on your Mac.
Grant Messages access
On first launch the app asks you to choose your Messages folder in a normal macOS open panel. One click, no Full Disk Access, revocable any time.
Pick a conversation
Browse or search your contacts and group chats, then read the thread in the app to be sure it's the right one before you export.
Choose range and format
Set the time range, pick a format, decide whether to include attachments, and save the file wherever you want it.
Features
Built for keeping records, not screenshots
Message threads are evidence, receipts, project history, and family memory. They deserve to exist as something better than a phone photo of a screen.
Every conversation, in one list
Your Mac Messages contacts and group chats, with message counts, sorted and searchable. Pick a thread and read it before you export anything.
Search names and message text
One search field looks through contact names and the words inside messages, so you can find the thread you half-remember.
Export exactly the range you need
Last 7 days, last 30 days, all time, or a custom window. The export sheet tells you how many messages are in the range before you commit.
Five real file formats
PDF for reading and filing, HTML for sharing, CSV and Excel for analysis, plain text for anything else. Not screenshots — actual documents.
Shared media, collected for you
Manage Media finds every photo, video, PDF and file shared in a thread. Select what you want, or export the whole set as a ZIP.
Reads local iPhone backups
Point it at an encrypted iPhone backup already on your Mac and browse those conversations too — useful for messages your Mac never synced.
A closer look
Every screen below is the real app
No mockups, no illustrations of features that don't exist — these are captures of Message Exporter running on macOS.
The export sheet
One sheet holds every decision: time range, file format, and whether to bring the attachments along. It shows the message count for the range you picked, so you know what you're about to save.
- Time range — 3 days, 7, 30, all time, or custom
- Format — PDF, HTML, CSV, Excel, or plain text
- Attachments — all files in range, or a selection you choose
- A live count of the messages included
Manage Media
Photos, videos, PDFs, voice memos and documents shared in a conversation are scattered across your disk with meaningless filenames. Manage Media lists them all with real names, sizes and dates — select all, clear, or hand-pick, then export the set as a ZIP.
- Every attachment in the thread, in one grid
- Filter by the same time ranges as the export
- Select all, clear, or choose individual files
- Free plan includes media from the last 3 days
Local iPhone backups
If you keep an encrypted iPhone backup on this Mac, Message Exporter can read the conversations inside it. Switch the source with a toggle in the toolbar and browse them exactly like your Mac messages.
- Add a backup folder from the sidebar
- Switch between Mac and iPhone with the Source picker
- Encrypted backups are decrypted locally, on your Mac
- Same search, preview and export tools apply
Access on your terms
Message Exporter is sandboxed. It cannot read your Messages folder until you point it there yourself, and it asks in the standard macOS open panel rather than sending you to a settings pane to hand over your whole disk.
- No Full Disk Access requirement
- Contacts access is optional — decline and you'll see numbers
- Revoke access whenever you like
- Distributed and notarised through the Mac App Store
Formats
Save it as the thing you actually need
Different jobs need different files. A transcript you'll hand to a lawyer isn't the same artefact as one you'll pivot in a spreadsheet.
Privacy
Your messages never reach us
There is no upload step in Message Exporter, because there is nowhere to upload to. The app reads your local Messages database and writes files to the folder you choose. That's the whole data path.
Local reads, local writes
Messages, attachments and iPhone backups are read from your disk and exported to your disk. No copy is sent anywhere.
No analytics, no ads
There is no third-party analytics SDK, no advertising, and no tracking identifier in the app.
Sign-in is only for Pro
An account exists so your subscription follows you to another Mac. It holds an email address and a plan status — nothing about your messages.
Full detail in the Privacy Policy.
Pricing
Try it on your own messages first
The free plan isn't a demo with fake data — it exports your real conversations, limited to the last three days. If it does what you need, Pro removes the limits.
Free
- Browse and search every conversation
- Read full threads in the app
- Export the last 3 days as plain text
- Shared photos, videos, PDFs and files from the last 3 days
- Add and browse local iPhone backups
Pro
- Everything in Free
- Any time range — 7 days, 30 days, all time, custom
- PDF, HTML, CSV, and Excel export
- Full attachment export as a ZIP, any range
- Your subscription follows your account to another Mac
Billed through your Apple Account and renews monthly until cancelled. Cancel any time in System Settings → Apple Account → Subscriptions. Prices shown in USD; your local price appears in the App Store before you buy.
Questions
The things people ask first
More in the user guide and on the support page.
Does it upload my messages anywhere?
No. Reading, previewing, and exporting all happen on your Mac. Message text and attachments are never sent to us. See the Privacy Policy.
Do I need Full Disk Access?
No. Message Exporter is sandboxed and asks you to pick your Messages folder once, through the standard macOS open panel. You can revoke it any time.
What does the free version do?
The last 3 days of any conversation, exported as plain text, plus the photos, videos, PDFs and files shared in those 3 days. Enough to see exactly how it works on your own messages before paying.
Can I export a group chat?
Yes. Group conversations appear in the contacts list like any other thread, and export with sender names included.
Will the export include attachments?
With Pro, yes — attachments are copied out alongside the transcript and bundled in a ZIP. You can also hand-pick which files to include.
How do I cancel?
System Settings → Apple Account → Subscriptions, like any App Store subscription. You keep Pro until the end of the period you paid for.
Keep the conversations that matter
Free to install, free to try on your own threads, and everything stays on your Mac.