Turn a screen recording of any chat into a page-numbered PDF. Nothing uploaded.
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Need your text messages as a PDF for a lawyer, a court date, a mediator or HR? Record your screen while you scroll the conversation. CustodyTexts reads the recording on your phone and builds a page-numbered PDF with the original screen image next to every message. Nothing is uploaded. No account. One payment to export, never a subscription.
WORKS WITH
• iMessage and SMS (the iPhone Messages app)
• WhatsApp (use Export Chat for exact times on every message)
• Google Messages and Samsung Messages (Android): import a backup from the free app SMS Backup & Restore for exact words and times, or record the screen
• Instagram DMs and other chat apps (day-level times)
HOW IT WORKS
1. Do a 20-second test: the app checks your scrolling speed and settings before you record it all.
2. Record your screen with your phone's own screen recorder while you scroll from the oldest message to the newest.
3. Choose the recording in your phone's own picker.
4. Review. Anything the reader was unsure about is marked in red. Corrections to text, sender or time are listed in the PDF with the original reader text.
5. Choose what goes in: a date range, a word search, or only the messages you starred. Cover a phone number, an address or a child's name; each redaction is listed on the cover.
6. Export a PDF with your name, the other party's name as shown on screen and an optional case number.
WHAT THE PDF CONTAINS
• A cover with your own declaration (a simple version, or the 28 U.S.C. §1746 version if your attorney asks for it), the conversation, the date range and how the document was made
• Every message numbered, with sender, the time as shown on screen and the original screen image next to it
• An index of your starred key messages with page numbers
• The list of your edits, with the original reader text
• Recording notes: possible gaps, cut-off messages, times not shown
• Page X of Y on every page, an optional page label prefix (SMITH-0001…) and a SHA-256 fingerprint that changes if a single character of the file changes
HONEST ABOUT LIMITS
• Times: on iMessage the exact minute is read only if you swipe the chat to the left while recording; otherwise the PDF shows the day and time block. WhatsApp's Export Chat gives exact times with no recording.
• Group chats are supported using the names shown on screen.
• Photos, stickers and emoji appear as images, not as text.
• Android backups: photos in picture messages are named in the PDF, not included yet. Not affiliated with SMS Backup & Restore.
• The text reader is the one built into your phone. It makes mistakes, which is why the original image sits next to every message and controls when they differ.
• CustodyTexts prepares a document from your own recording. It does not confirm that a conversation is genuine, it does not promise that any court will accept the document, and it does not tell you how to use it in your case. Courts decide what they admit. Ask your attorney or the court clerk. Keep your original recording and your phone.
WHAT NEVER HAPPENS
• Nothing is uploaded. No account, no server, no cloud, no analytics on your content. The only connections are to the app store for the price and the purchase.
• No access to your photo library or contacts. The system picker hands over only the video you choose.
• No invented times or text. If the time is not on screen, the PDF says "time not shown". What could not be read appears as an image only.
• No message is deleted silently. Doubtful items are marked; gaps are flagged on screen and in the PDF.
• No watermark, no ads, no page limit.
• The video frames used for reading are deleted when you start over or start a new conversation. The PDF and its fingerprint remain.
PRICE
Recording, reading and reviewing are free. Exporting the PDF is a one-time purchase of $14.99 that unlocks unlimited exports, including future versions. Changing phones? Tap Restore purchase. No subscription, ever.
Made by the makers of CustodyBook, the one-sided custody log.