How to Print Text Messages From Your iPhone

The Messages app on iPhone has no Print button. The free way is to take screenshots of the conversation and print them from the Photos app, straight to a wireless printer. If you have a Mac, you can print the whole conversation from Messages there instead, which gives you proper text rather than pictures.

Here is how each way works, what it costs, and where it goes wrong.

What you need

• A printer your iPhone can see. iPhones print over Wi-Fi using Apple's AirPrint. Most home printers from the big brands support it. Your phone and printer need to be on the same Wi-Fi network.
• No suitable printer? Make a PDF instead and print it from any computer, a library or a print shop. Our guide to exporting text messages to PDF covers that.

First: make the times show

Messages only shows a date and time every so often. Before you take any screenshots, drag the conversation to the left and hold it. The time of every message appears on the right. On paper, the time is often the part that matters most.

Method 1: Screenshots, printed from Photos (free)

1. Open the conversation and scroll to the first message you need.
2. Take a screenshot. On most iPhones, press the side button and volume up together. On iPhones with a Home button, press the side button and the Home button.
3. Scroll down one screen and take the next screenshot. Keep going until you reach the end.
4. Open Photos, tap Select, and choose your screenshots.
5. Tap the Share button, scroll down and tap Print.
6. Choose your printer, set the number of copies, and tap Print.

Apple's guide to AirPrint describes the same steps for any app with a Share button.

Tips for a cleaner printout:

• Overlap each screenshot slightly with the last one. Then nobody can say a message fell between two pages.
• Take one screenshot of the contact details too. Tap the name at the top of the conversation to see their number.
• Check the screenshots are in the right order before you print.

The catch. One screenshot usually becomes one page. A long conversation can mean a thick stack of paper, mostly white space. It is also easy to skip a screen and not notice.

Method 2: Print from a Mac (free, needs a Mac)

If your messages sync to a Mac, this is the tidiest free option.

1. Make sure the conversation appears in Messages on the Mac. That usually means Messages in iCloud is turned on for both devices.
2. Open the conversation.
3. Choose File, then Print, and pick your printer.

You can also save it as a PDF from the same print window. Check the preview first, so you know the whole conversation has loaded.

The catch. You need a Mac, and the conversation must have synced to it.

Method 3: Print a few messages as text (free)

For two or three messages, press and hold each one, tap Copy, and paste it into Notes. Then print the note from its Share menu.

The catch. You lose who sent each message and when. Fine for a quick note. Not good enough for a record.

Method 4: Turn the conversation into a document first

The free methods print pictures of your screen, or need a Mac. The alternative is to turn the conversation into a proper document on your phone first, then print that.

TextProof does this in one go, and it is free to try on the App Store. On iOS 26.4 or later it can bring the chat straight in from Messages: pick the chat and the dates, and every message arrives with its exact time. Otherwise, record your screen while you scroll through your own conversation, or import screenshots, and it reads the text on the phone. Either way it puts the messages in order and works out who said what. You check it and fix anything wrong. Then you export a print-ready PDF with dates, times and page numbers. Nothing is uploaded. It costs £9.99 or $9.99 once, with no subscription.

The trade-offs, honestly:

• From a screen recording, you still scroll through the conversation once.
• It is a transcript. From Messages, photos sent in the chat are printed in the PDF. From a recording, pictures are marked where they were sent, not printed. If you want the screens themselves, it can also export a photo record of them.

Which method is right for you?

• A handful of messages: screenshots, or copy into Notes.
• A long conversation and a Mac: print from Messages on the Mac.
• A long conversation, iPhone only: screenshots if you have the time, or a document app if you want fewer pages and real text.

If you are printing messages for a dispute, court or tribunal, read How to Save Text Messages for Court or a Dispute. It explains what a complete record should show, and why you should keep the original phone.

Questions

Can I print text messages from my iPhone for free?

Yes. Screenshot the conversation and print the screenshots from Photos using the Share button and Print. You need a printer that supports AirPrint on the same Wi-Fi. A Mac can also print the conversation for free.

How do I print text messages without a wireless printer?

Save them as a PDF instead. Then email the PDF to yourself and print it from a computer, or take it to a library or print shop. See How to Export Text Messages From iPhone to PDF.

Why is there no Print option in Messages?

The iPhone version of Messages does not include one. The Mac version of Messages does have Print in its File menu. For help with TextProof exports, see our support page.