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Guided workflow variation

From your iPhoneto a file on your PC.

Two steps get a conversation off the phone. Apple's own app makes a local backup; then BackupPaper takes one thread from that backup and writes it out as a document or spreadsheet you can keep in Documents, email or archive.

Back the iPhone up to this PC with Apple Devices or iTunes, then export the conversation with BackupPaper. No upload, no account and no Mac needed.

Pay once. Own it forever.

One-time purchase on the Microsoft Store · No subscription · Instant install

Get it from Microsoft

Buy through the Microsoft Store—instant install, automatic updates, and a Microsoft receipt for easy expensing. No account needed on our site, and no subscription on Store purchases.

Full BackupPaper overview
One-time purchase No telemetry Local-first

windows · read-only · nothing uploaded · 15-day free trial

If this sounds like your week

The texts live on the phone. You want them on the computer.

A replacement is on order and the old iPhone returns to the carrier soon, a landlord wants a record of what was agreed, or long threads simply deserve a home other than a gadget that lives in your pocket. Plug the iPhone into the computer and File Explorer shows only a camera folder of photos and videos. The texts are not among them, so there is nothing to drag across and no obvious route from phone to hard drive.

Where tooling usually breaks

The usual workarounds each lose something.

Copying lines into an email to yourself drops the dates. Screenshots capture a screenful each, so a year of chatter turns into hundreds of captures. Web converters demand an upload of the whole backup, private conversations included. And although Apple Devices and iTunes transfer everything onto the computer during a backup, they store it in a format nobody can open rather than as readable documents.

Where BackupPaper lands

Use the backup Apple already makes, then take the thread out of it.

Apple's own backup is the bridge. Connect the iPhone, open Apple Devices or iTunes, choose to back up to this computer and press Back Up Now; the result lands in a known location on the drive. Point BackupPaper at it, select the thread you need, and pick Export PDF for a readable document or Export CSV for a spreadsheet. Each export becomes a new item stored wherever you decide, and the iPhone can be unplugged while you work.

Pay once. Own it forever.

One-time purchase on the Microsoft Store · No subscription · Instant install

Get it from Microsoft

Buy through the Microsoft Store—instant install, automatic updates, and a Microsoft receipt for easy expensing. No account needed on our site, and no subscription on Store purchases.

Learn more about BackupPaper

windows · read-only · nothing uploaded · 15-day free trial

What you get

Feature highlights

Reads the backup you already have

opens iPhone backups that iTunes or Apple Devices saved on your PC, including the default backup folders. The phone does not need to be connected.

Encrypted backups work

type the password you set; it is used on this PC only and is not saved.

Every conversation, in order

lists conversations with message counts and last dates, then shows each message with time, sender, reactions, replies and attachment names.

PDF or CSV

the PDF has a header naming the device, participants, service and date range, and page numbers; the CSV keeps every message and reaction in UTF-8 with UTC and local times.

Checkable files

BackupPaper shows the SHA-256 of each export so you or anyone you send it to can check it with certutil -hashfile.

Local and read-only

makes no network connections, needs no account, opens your backup read-only, and writes every export as a new file that you name.

Especially when

  • Save one iPhone text conversation as a PDF or CSV from the iTunes or Apple Devices backup already on a Windows PC, without uploading it
  • Open an encrypted iPhone backup on Windows and read its messages when you know the backup password
  • Print an iMessage or SMS thread with dates, times and senders without screenshots or a Mac

Who benefits

Real-world scenarios

Keeping texts before trading in a phone

A new iPhone is on the way, the old one is going back to the carrier, and a few long conversations need to exist on the PC as files, not only inside the next phone.

Back up the old phone with Apple Devices, then export each conversation you want as its own PDF. The files sit in Documents under names you chose, and the backup stays on the PC as well.

Sending one thread to someone who asked

A landlord, an insurer or a school asked for the text conversation about a specific issue, and one tidy file will serve better than dozens of screenshots.

Export that conversation to PDF. Its header names the participants, service and date range, pages are numbered, and the SHA-256 lets anyone check later that the file is unchanged. BackupPaper makes no claim about how the recipient will treat it.

Moving texts without any online service

Work rules or plain preference mean the messages must not pass through a website or a cloud account on their way to the PC.

The route stays on your own equipment: the backup goes from the phone to the PC through Apple Devices or iTunes, and BackupPaper reads it there with no account, no iCloud sign-in and no network connections.

Deep dive

The full route from iPhone to PC, step by step, with what to check

Before you start: Messages in iCloud. Apple says a backup made on a computer leaves out iMessages and texts that already sync to iCloud. If Messages in iCloud is on, the backup may hold few or no conversations, and BackupPaper will report that the backup has none. The setting is in the iPhone's Settings under your name and iCloud; read Apple's guide to Messages in iCloud before you change it.

Step one: make a backup on the PC. Install Apple Devices from the Microsoft Store, or use iTunes if it is already on the PC. Connect the iPhone, enter its passcode, trust the computer if the phone asks, and select the phone in the app. Choose to back up to this computer, then select Back Up Now. Encrypt local backup is optional; if you turn it on, BackupPaper will ask for the same password, so keep a note of it somewhere safe.

Step two: let it finish. A first backup can take a while. When it is done, the backup sits in %USERPROFILE%\Apple\MobileSync\Backup for Apple Devices and iTunes from the Microsoft Store, or in %APPDATA%\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup for iTunes from Apple's website, inside a folder with a long coded name.

Step three: open it in BackupPaper. Choose that folder and type the password if the backup is encrypted. BackupPaper lists the conversations, newest first, with message counts and last dates. From here on the phone is not needed, so you can unplug it.

Step four: export. Pick a conversation and choose Export PDF for a document to read and print, or Export CSV for a spreadsheet. Name the file in the Windows Save dialog. BackupPaper refuses to save inside the backup folder, so choose Documents or another place you will find again. Each export holds one conversation; repeat for every thread you want.

Step five: note the SHA-256. After each export BackupPaper shows the SHA-256 of the file it wrote. Run certutil -hashfile on the file later and you get the same value as long as the file has not changed. It is a fingerprint of the exported file, not proof about the messages themselves.

What does not come across. Photos and videos stay in the backup; the export names attachments but does not include them. Only the Messages app is read, so WhatsApp, Signal and other apps are left out. BackupPaper shows the messages the backup holds and does not bring back deleted ones.

Keeping the backup. The backup is still a useful copy of the phone. BackupPaper opened it read-only, so Apple Devices or iTunes can restore it later. If you need the disk space back, export every conversation you want before you delete it.

How it is built

Built to leave your backup exactly as it was.

Read-only by design

The backup folder is opened read-only, and every export is a new file you name in the Windows Save dialog. BackupPaper refuses to save inside the backup folder.

Nothing leaves your PC

BackupPaper makes no network connections. There is no account, no iCloud sign-in, no analytics and no crash reporting, and the iPhone does not need to be connected.

Try it, then pay once

A one-time purchase, sold and updated by the Microsoft Store. The 15-day free trial has every feature, with no watermark and no message limit.

FAQ

Straight answers—no glossary dump

How do I save text messages from my iPhone to my PC?

Back up the iPhone to the PC with Apple Devices or iTunes, then open that backup in BackupPaper. Pick the conversation, choose Export PDF or Export CSV, and name the new file. The iPhone only has to be connected while the backup is being made, not while BackupPaper reads it or writes the export.

Can I do this without iTunes or a Mac?

Yes. The Apple Devices app from the Microsoft Store makes the same kind of local backup on Windows, and BackupPaper reads backups from either app. Apple Devices saves them in %USERPROFILE%\Apple\MobileSync\Backup. No Mac is involved at any point: the backup, the reading and the export all happen on your Windows PC.

Should I save the texts as PDF or CSV?

Choose PDF for a copy to read, print or send: it has a header with the device, participants, service and date range, and numbered pages. Choose CSV for a spreadsheet: one row per message and per reaction, with UTC and local times. You can export the same conversation both ways, and each export is a separate new file.

Will this move all my texts at once?

No. BackupPaper exports one conversation per file, so you choose the threads to save and repeat the export for each. The backup keeps everything the Messages app put into it and stays on the PC unchanged, so you can come back for another conversation later. BackupPaper reopens the last backup when you start it again.

Will my backup have my texts if Messages in iCloud is on?

Possibly not. Apple says a backup made on a computer leaves out iMessages and texts that already sync to iCloud (support.apple.com/en-us/108771). If Messages in iCloud is on, the backup may hold few or no conversations, and BackupPaper will say the backup has no conversations. It does not read iCloud or the phone itself. Use the 15-day free trial to see what your backup holds before you buy.

What is BackupPaper, and what does it need to run?

BackupPaper is a Windows app that saves one conversation from an iPhone backup on your PC as a PDF or CSV file. It runs on Windows 10 version 2004 or later and on Windows 11, and it needs a backup made by iTunes or Apple Devices already on the PC. An encrypted backup also needs the password you set. No driver, Windows service or administrator rights are needed, and the app is in English.

Does BackupPaper upload my messages, and how do I get it?

No. BackupPaper makes no network connections, so nothing is uploaded. There is no account and no iCloud sign-in, and the iPhone does not need to be connected. It opens the backup read-only and writes each export as a new file you name. It is a one-time purchase in the Microsoft Store with a 15-day free trial that has every feature, no watermark and no message limit. The Store installs and updates the app and the receipt comes from Microsoft; use the Microsoft Store button on this page for the current price.

Related pages

Apple Devices makes the backup. It will not export the texts. Print the whole conversation, not one screen at a time. iPhone texts in Excel, one row per message. An iPhone backup viewer that reads, never restores.

The conversation is already on your PC.
Save it as a file you can keep.

BackupPaper opens the iPhone backup that iTunes or Apple Devices made, lists every conversation, and writes the one you pick to a PDF or CSV with a SHA-256 you can check. It opens the backup read-only and makes no network connections. The 15-day free trial in the Microsoft Store has every feature.

Pay once. Own it forever.

One-time purchase on the Microsoft Store · No subscription · Instant install

Get it from Microsoft

Buy through the Microsoft Store—instant install, automatic updates, and a Microsoft receipt for easy expensing. No account needed on our site, and no subscription on Store purchases.

Open full product page

iPhone, iMessage and iTunes are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries and regions. BackupPaper is not affiliated with or endorsed by Apple.

Technical specifications

Technical specifications for procurement

Spec Implementation
Data Sovereignty Reads only the backup folder you pick; decrypted working copies stay in the app’s own local cache while the backup is open and are deleted when it closes; exports are written only to files you name
Telemetry Status None; no account, no analytics, no crash reporting, and no networking code
Core Runtime .NET 10 and WinUI 3 (Windows App SDK), packaged as MSIX
Network Requirements Fully functional offline; the app makes no network connections
Deployment Compatibility Windows 10 version 2004 or later and Windows 11; one-time purchase on the Microsoft Store with a 15-day free trial
Inputs iPhone backups made by iTunes or Apple Devices on Windows, unencrypted or encrypted; Messages app only (iMessage and SMS)
Outputs PDF (US Letter, header with device, participants, service and date range, page numbers) and CSV (UTF-8, one row per message and per reaction, UTC and local times); SHA-256 shown for each file
Backup safety Opens the backup read-only and refuses to save an export inside the backup folder; every export is a new file
Encryption Encrypted backups open with the password you type; the password is not saved and cannot be recovered or bypassed
Limits One conversation per export; attachments listed by name, not embedded; messages that sync with Messages in iCloud are not in a computer backup, per Apple