How to Save Text Messages From Someone Who Died

Their texts are where you can still hear how they talked

The nicknames, the typos they never fixed, the "home safe?" at 11 p.m., the long thread about nothing that turns out to have been about everything. We hear from families who stopped opening the conversation because they were afraid one wrong tap would make it disappear.

It won't, if you go slowly. We have written the steps below in order, so you can do one and stop whenever you need to.

First, a few things to leave alone

Before saving anything, it helps to know what can quietly erase a conversation.

• Don't delete the thread, even after you've made a copy. Keep the original until you have checked your copy and it looks right.
• Don't reset, wipe, trade in, or sell the phone that holds the messages, whether it's yours or theirs. Keep it charged and somewhere safe.
• Don't sign out of the account on their phone (their Apple Account or Google account) and don't turn off backups. On iPhone, if Messages in iCloud is on, deleting a conversation on one device deletes it from all of them.
• Don't let their Android phone sit unused for months if you'll need its backup. Google says backup data, except photos and videos, is erased if a device isn't used for 57 days.
• Save voice messages inside the thread now. On iPhone, audio messages can be set to expire, and Apple says one that expires before you keep it can't be recovered. Tap Keep under any you see. There's more on voice messages and voicemails in our voicemail guide, at /guides/save-a-voicemail-from-someone-who-died.

Step 1: Stop the phone from deleting old messages

This is the one step worth doing today.

On iPhone

• Open Settings, tap Apps, then tap Messages. (On older versions of iOS, Messages is listed directly in Settings.)
• Scroll down to Message History and tap Keep Messages.
• Choose Forever.
• Apple notes that if you choose 30 Days or 1 Year, conversations and all their attachments are removed automatically once that time passes.
• While you're there, look for Audio Messages and set Expire to Never, so voice messages in the thread stay put.
• If a message is already missing, open Messages, tap the filter or Edit at the top of the conversation list, and look in Recently Deleted. Apple keeps deleted messages there for up to 30 days, and you can tap Recover.

On Android

Android phones use different messaging apps, so settings vary. Two common ones:

• Google Messages: it generally keeps conversations until you delete them, so there's usually nothing to change. If you've ever turned on any automatic deletion in its settings, check that it only applies to one-time passcodes.
• Samsung Messages: open the app, tap the three dots, go to Settings, then More settings or Storage, and make sure Delete old messages is off.
• If you don't see these options, your app probably keeps messages until you delete them.

Step 2: Back up the whole phone

A backup is your safety net. It doesn't give you a file you can open and read, but it means the messages could be restored to a phone if something went wrong.

iPhone: iCloud or a computer

• iCloud. Apple says texts, iMessages, and picture messages are included in iCloud Backup, or kept in iCloud through Messages in iCloud if that's on. Check under Settings, tap your name, then iCloud. Make sure you have enough iCloud storage for the backup to finish.
• A computer. Connect the iPhone to a Mac (using Finder) or a Windows PC (using the Apple Devices app or iTunes) and choose Back up now. A computer backup is a second copy that doesn't depend on your iCloud storage.

Android: Google backup

• Open Settings, then Google, then All services (the wording differs a little by phone).
• Under Backup and restore, tap Backup, then Back up now.
• Google says this backup includes SMS and MMS messages, plus RCS chat messages when you use Google Messages. It can take up to 24 hours. Samsung phones can also back up to a computer with Samsung's Smart Switch app.

Step 3: Make a copy you can actually open and read

This is the part that turns "somewhere in a backup" into "here, on my desk." Pick whichever feels manageable. You can always do more later.

Screenshots: simple, and fine to start with

For the messages that matter most, screenshots are quick and work on every phone.

• iPhone: press the side button and volume up together. Scroll, and repeat. iPhone doesn't offer a single scrolling screenshot in Messages, so a long conversation means many screenshots.
• Android: press power and volume down together. Many Android phones then show a Capture more or Scroll capture button that keeps scrolling and stitches a long stretch of the conversation into one image.
• Screenshots land in your photo library, so put them in an album with a clear name, like "Dad's texts," and back that up too.

On a Mac: save the conversation as a PDF

If you have a Mac signed in to the same Apple Account with Messages in iCloud turned on, the conversation will appear in the Messages app on the Mac.

• Open Messages on the Mac and click the conversation.
• Scroll up until you reach the oldest messages you want, so they load.
• Choose File, then Print.
• In the print window, open the PDF menu and choose Save as PDF.
• Very long threads can take a while to load, and you may want to do it in sections.

On Android: export with SMS Backup & Restore

SMS Backup & Restore, by SyncTech, is a long-standing free app on Google Play that saves texts to a file.

• Install it and give it permission to read messages.
• Tap Back Up Now, open Advanced options, and turn on Attachments and media (MMS) so photos are included.
• Choose Selected conversations only and pick theirs, if you want just that thread.
• Choose where to save it, such as Google Drive, and tap Back Up.
• The result is an .xml file. It can be restored to another Android phone, and SyncTech offers a viewer for reading it on a computer. It isn't pretty to open on its own, so many families also take screenshots of favorite moments.

Third-party export tools

There are paid apps, for both iPhone and Android, that export a whole conversation to a PDF or a printed book. They can be worth it for a very long thread. Before you buy one, check reviews, and read what it does with your data, since you'll be handing it something private.

If the messages are on their phone, not yours

Sometimes the texts you want are on your loved one's phone, or only in their account.

• If you can unlock their phone, every step above works there too. Change the Keep Messages setting first, then back up.
• If you're their Apple Legacy Contact, Apple can give you access to data in their Apple Account, including messages. You'll need the access key they created and a death certificate, and you start the request on Apple's Digital Legacy website or in your own iPhone's settings. Access lasts three years after approval, so download what you want to keep.
• If you weren't named, Apple's support page explains requesting access with a court order. The phone itself may stay locked without its passcode.
• For Android, Google offers a process for requests about a deceased person's account. Like Apple, it asks for documentation and doesn't promise full access.
• Try not to count on the phone carrier. Carriers generally can't hand families the text of past messages, so the phone and its backups are the places to save.

Step 4: Keep more than one copy

Once you have a copy you can read, put it in at least two places, so one lost phone or full inbox can't take it from you.

• Your phone's photo library or files, backed up to iCloud or Google
• A computer, or a USB drive kept somewhere safe
• An email to yourself with the PDF or screenshots attached
• A copy sent to a brother, sister, or parent who would want one
• Open each copy once to be sure it works. Then you can stop worrying about it.

What to do with them, when you're ready

There's no right time, and some people don't reread their texts for a long while. When you do want to, a few gentle ideas:

• Print a few favorites and keep them in a drawer, a journal, or a frame.
• Turn a thread into a small book. Some families print the most meaningful stretch of a conversation for siblings or grandchildren.
• Write down what was around the message. Where you were, what was happening, why it made you laugh. Those details fade faster than the words.
• Share one with family. A single screenshot of "love you, drive safe" can mean a great deal to someone else who misses them.

A home for the words they sent

If you'd like a place where the whole family can see these moments together, an I Miss You Moments page can hold them. A screenshot of a message can go on their page as a photo, with a caption about when it was sent and what it meant. Family and friends can add their own memories, and nothing appears until you approve it. Starting a page is free, and the free page holds up to 12 photos. If you also have voicemails or voice messages from them, our Plus plan, a one-time $197, keeps unlimited photos and their recordings, so you can hear their voice again.

It doesn't need to be today. The texts are safe once the steps above are done. Start a tribute page at / whenever it feels right.

The first days are in /guides/when-someone-passes.

Phone menus change with software updates

If a label on your screen doesn't match, search your phone's settings for "Keep Messages" or "backup." Last checked November 5, 2026.