How to Export GroupMe Messages for Court
Reviewed by Jacob Reed, founder of Verity ·
GroupMe has no “export chat” button in the app. The full history of a group or a direct message comes out one way: the Export My Data screen on GroupMe’s website. What you get is not a document you can read. It is one or more zip files of JSON, a format made for programs. This guide covers how to get the export, which file holds the messages, and what it does and does not record.
How to get the export
1.Sign in to GroupMe on the web
Go to web.groupme.com on a computer and sign in. The export is not offered in the phone app.
2.Click your profile picture and choose Export my data
The Export My Data screen lists any export you made before and lets you create a new one.
3.Click Create export
GroupMe keeps one export at a time. If you already have one, it asks whether to replace it: download the old one first if you still need it.
4.Choose the data to include, then click Next
Messages are what you need for a record of a conversation. Photos and videos make the download much larger.
5.Tick the groups and direct messages you want, then click Export
You can take every conversation or only the ones that matter. GroupMe shows a note that the export is being generated.
6.Go back to Export My Data and click Download
When the export is finished it appears on that screen with a Download button. A large account is split into several zip files, named 00001.zip, 00002.zip and so on. Download all of them.
The steps follow GroupMe’s own help page (GroupMe belongs to Microsoft). What follows about the files comes from a real export made in October 2026. If the screens have changed, the help page is the place to check.
Which zip holds the messages
The export we looked at came as three zip files and was over 1 GB in total. All the messages were in the first, 00001.zip. The other two held only photos and videos. If you open one of the later zips and find nothing but pictures, you have not lost anything: the messages are in another file.
What is inside
- One folder per conversation, named with a number rather than the group’s name. A direct message folder is named with two numbers joined by an underscore: your account and the other person’s.
- In each folder,
conversation.jsongives the group’s name and its members, andmessage.jsonholds every message, newest first. - Each message carries who sent it, the name they were using at the time, the date and time to the second, the text, and who liked it.
- GroupMe’s own notices are in the same list: someone joined, left, was removed, or the group was renamed.
- A
galleryfolder holds the photos and videos, and aprofilefolder holds your own account details.
What to know before you rely on it
- A deleted message is not simply missing. In the export we read, it was still listed, with the time it was deleted and a stand-in such as “This message was deleted” where the words had been. The export shows that something was removed and when, not what it said.
- People change their nicknames, and each message keeps the nickname used when it was sent. The same person can appear under several names in one group. The account number next to each message is what ties them together.
- The times are stored as plain numbers counted in seconds, not in a time zone. Any program that shows them turns them into your local time.
- The export is a copy made by you, from your account. We found no certificate or signature from GroupMe in it. Keep the zip files exactly as downloaded, and note the date you made them.
- An export is a snapshot. Messages sent after it are not in it, so make a fresh one close to any hearing.
Reading the export with Verity
Verity reads a GroupMe export as it is. Drop the zip on the upload box, or all the zips together, and it lists your conversations by name. Pick one. For a group chat you then choose whose messages to analyze. Each person appears under one name even if they changed nicknames. The file is read in your browser and is not uploaded.
Left out: photos and videos, deleted messages, and GroupMe’s own notices. Polls and calendar events are not read. If you drop only a zip of photos, Verity tells you to use the first zip instead. If yours does not open, use the help form under the upload box and a person will write back.
Messages in another app as well? See the export guides for WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, text messages and co-parenting apps.
This is general information, not legal advice. Verity is not a law firm, and requirements for authenticating a digital record vary by court — talk to an attorney about what your case specifically needs.
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