How to Print SMS and iMessages
If you are in the situation where you need to print out a message conversation, e.g. for a court case, then you are unfortunately left with the fact that iOS does not allow you to print out messages from the Message app. This applies to iOS 16 and earlier versions.
However, there are some options, and I will go through them in steps below.
📸 Screenshots:
A simple way can be to simply take a screenshot of your Message Conversation. Take a screenshot, scroll down and take another screenshot until you have the entire conversation saved. The screenshots of your conversation are saved in the Photos app, and you can choose to print them from there. Alternatively, you can send the images to an email address, and open and print the images from a computer.
Once the screenshot has been taken, you can also choose to print directly, as seen in this demonstration below.
The disadvantage of the screenshot method is that it uses huge amounts of ink, especially if the conversation is long. A tip, if possible, you can transfer all screenshots from the conversation to a computer, where you can reduce the size, and several screenshots on 1 piece of paper.
The advantage is that the entire conversation as it stands on your iPhone will be displayed, which will give a 1:1 picture of the conversation.
You can see how to take a screenshot on your iPhone here:
Take a screenshot on your iPhone - Apple Support
📨 Forward Method:
Another option is to select "Forward" the conversation. This is done by making a long press on a Message Bubble, and selecting More in the pop-up menu. Then you "select" the messages you want to print - finally you press the "Forward" icon, in the lower right corner.
All the selected messages will now be collected in 1 message, which you can copy into another app, for example the Pages or Notes app, from which you can print. See my demonstration below:
The disadvantage of this option is that you do not get the full picture of the conversation. Just as it is not possible to see the recipient and sender of the messages. For it to make sense, you also need to create spaces between the messages, which I also do in my demonstration above.
If the text is the most important thing, then this solution is good.
🖥️ Print from your Mac:
The best and easiest solution in my opinion is to print messages directly from your Mac. If your Mac is set up with the same Apple ID as your iPhone, and your iPhone is set up to forward SMS messages to your Mac, then you have the option of printing a perfect printout of an entire Message Conversation.
The user TheLittles has made a perfect guide on how to do this.
You can find the guide here:
How to Save or Print a Complete iPhone Me… - Apple Community
🖼️ Maybe an option, with Windows 11:
Microsoft Phone Link for Windows 11 finally supports a limited access to your iPhone messages. This means you can see and reply to your messages on your Windows PC when your iPhone is connected. I have NOT tested this myself, and I do not know if it is possible to print directly from the Phone Link program, but I will mention it here anyway, since if nothing else it is easier to get an overview of an entire conversation on a computer screen .
If I later become aware of the possibility of printing, I will update this here.
You can find more information about Microsoft Phone Link for iPhone here:
Microsoft Phone Link for iPhone® devices
💰 NOT FREE 3rd Party Software
There are several programs for Windows (and Mac) that can print messages from the iPhone. Programs such as iMazing and TouchCopy can handle the task.
The disadvantage is that the programs are not free, and you therefore have to decide for yourself whether you want to pay for a program that can print out messages. The mentioned programs also have quite a few other useful features, but if you don't need them - then it might be worth considering whether it's worth the money.
There may be several programs that can do the same. Each critical of whether these programs support the promised features. Read reviews and make sure they support secure payment if the program is not free. I personally know several users of iMazing who are satisfied. I have also several times seen other high level users recommend TouchCopy, therefore I dare to recommend these two programs.
Both programs offer "Try Before Buy", which I would recommend you do before making the final decision.
You can read more about iMazing here:
You can read more about TouchCopy here:
JS fromDK 🇩🇰