How to Get a Client's WhatsApp Messages Into the Case File
Reviewed by Jacob Reed, founder of Verity ·
Short answer
Ask the client for WhatsApp's own export, not screenshots. On an iPhone they open the chat, tap the contact's name, then Export chat; on Android they tap ⋮, then More, then Export chat. Without media gives one text file with every message, its sender, date and time. Save the file exactly as it arrives, record its hash, and work from a copy.
WhatsApp reaches a case file two ways: the client's chats with the other side, which may become evidence, and the updates and photos clients send the firm. Neither is in the file until someone exports it. Here is what to ask the client for, what the export leaves out, and how to keep it usable.
Why ask for the export instead of screenshots?
- A date on every message. WhatsApp shows the time on each message but the date only where a new day starts, so many screenshots show no date at all. The export puts the date and time on every line.
- Nothing skipped. Screenshots hold what the client chose to capture, in the order they captured it. The export lists the messages in order, as WhatsApp stored them.
- Faster to review. One text file can be searched and numbered. A folder of 300 images has to be put in order and read one by one, at someone's hourly rate.
- Easier to stand behind. The client can compare the export with the phone, and the file can be hashed the day it arrives. A cropped screenshot invites the question of what was left out.
What steps should you send the client?
1.Open the chat on the phone that has it
Open the one-to-one or group chat on the client’s phone. The export holds what is on that phone on the day it is made.
2.Find Export chat
On an iPhone, tap the contact’s or group’s name at the top of the chat, then Export chat. On Android, tap ⋮ (top right), then More, then Export chat. If WhatsApp moves it, the option is still in the chat’s menu or info screen.
3.Choose whether to include media
Without media gives one text file with every message, its sender, date and time. Include media (Android) or With all media (iPhone) adds photos, voice notes and documents and makes the export much larger; iPhone also offers With selected media. WhatsApp’s Android help says only the most recent media is attached, so when the photos matter, ask for one export of each kind.
4.Send the file to the firm as it is
The share screen opens when the export is ready: email it to the firm, or save it to Files or Google Drive and upload it the way you ask. An iPhone makes a .zip; Android shares a .txt file, plus the media files if they were included. Ask the client not to open the file in Word or copy the text into an email.
5.Leave the chat on the phone
Exporting makes a copy and deletes nothing. Ask the client to keep the chat and the phone, and to turn off disappearing messages in that chat, so the original is still there if anyone questions the export.
A version to paste into an email to the client:
The same steps for iMessage, Facebook, Instagram and other apps are in the export guide. If you send clients a Verity intake link, it shows them the steps for their app as soon as they submit the form.
Can the client export from a computer?
Yes, with limits. WhatsApp on the web, Windows and Mac can export a chat too: open the chat, open its menu, choose Export chat, then All messages or a Custom date range. It makes a .zip with no photos or documents, and WhatsApp says view-once and disappearing messages are not included. A date range helps when only the months in dispute matter. The phone holds the full chat, so ask for the phone export first.
What does the export leave out?
- View-once photos and videos. WhatsApp never exports them.
- Messages that already disappeared. If disappearing messages were on, anything that vanished is gone from the phone and from the export.
- Deleted and earlier wording. A message deleted for everyone shows as
This message was deleted; one the client deleted only from their own phone is simply missing. An edited message shows its final wording, marked<This message was edited>. - The oldest messages of a very long chat. WhatsApp's help pages no longer give a number, but exports are widely reported to stop at the most recent 40,000 messages without media, or 10,000 with media. Check the first date in the file against when the conversation began.
Two things to note when the file arrives. Dates follow the phone's region: 03/04/25 is March 4 on a US phone and 3 April on most others. And each sender appears as saved in the client's contacts, or as a phone number if not saved. More on reading the file line by line in how to read a WhatsApp chat .txt file.
How do you keep the export usable as evidence?
- Save it exactly as it arrived, the .zip or .txt and the email it came with, in the matter folder.
- Record its SHA-256 hash the same day. On Windows:
certutil -hashfile "WhatsApp Chat.zip" SHA256. On a Mac:shasum -a 256 "WhatsApp Chat.zip". Note who sent it, when, and from which phone. - Work from a copy. Opening the .txt in Word and saving it changes the file. Review a copy and leave the original alone.
- Keep a short log of what you printed, excerpted or produced, and from which copy.
In federal court, Rule 901 lets a witness with knowledge, usually the client, testify that the export is what it is claimed to be. Rule 902(14) lets data copied from a device be authenticated by a qualified person's certification, using a hash comparison, with written notice to the other side before trial or hearing. State rules differ: many follow the federal rules, some don't. For more on producing messages as exhibits, see how to organize text message exhibits.
What if clients message the firm on WhatsApp?
Some clients send updates, photos of documents and voice notes to whatever number they have. A few habits keep that from becoming a gap in the file:
- Use a firm number, not personal phones. If the firm allows WhatsApp, a firm-owned phone with the WhatsApp Business app keeps client chats with the firm when staff change.
- Export the chat into the matter file on a schedule. Weekly or at each stage of the case, and again when the matter closes. Include media when documents came in.
- File documents the day they arrive. A photo of a court notice in a chat is not in the file until someone saves it to the matter.
- Say at intake which channel is for what. For example: documents by email or the client portal, quick questions by message.
A WhatsApp backup is not a substitute. It restores the app on a new phone; it isn't a file your team can read.
How does Verity fit?
Verity's attorney portal reads the export as the client sent it, the .zip or the .txt, in your browser; the file itself is not uploaded. It numbers every message in date order as a printable exhibit and reports the communication patterns it finds, with example messages for each. The finished report is saved to the firm's account so you can reopen and share it. It is supporting documentation, not a legal finding. See the sample case package for what it produces.
This is general information, not legal advice. Evidence rules and record-keeping duties vary by court and state; check what your jurisdiction and your matter require. WhatsApp's menus were checked on October 21, 2026, and change from time to time.
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