Can I Get My Text Messages From My Phone Carrier?
Reviewed by Jacob Reed, founder of Verity ·
Short answer
Not the words. Your carrier account shows a log of texts on your line (the date, time, other number and direction), and you can download it yourself. It doesn't show what the messages said, and it leaves out iMessages and chat messages sent over data. The words are on the phones and in their backups, so export the conversation from your phone and keep the carrier log alongside it.
It's a reasonable thing to expect: every text passes through the carrier's network, so surely they have a copy. In practice carriers keep the record that a text happened, not the text itself, and what you can see on your own account is that record. It is still worth downloading, as long as you know what it can and can't show.
What does your carrier account actually show?
A list of the texts on your line: when each one was sent or received and the other phone number. That is the same kind of information that shows up on a detailed phone bill. The message text, photos and group-chat contents are not in it.
How do you download your own text logs?
1.Sign in to your carrier account
Use the carrier's website or app (My Verizon, myAT&T, T-Mobile and so on). On a family plan, the account owner usually sees every line; if the account isn't yours, the owner may need to download it for you.
2.Find the usage details
Look under billing or usage for something like "usage details," "text log" or "messages." Pick the phone line, then the billing period.
3.Choose texts
Filter to text or messaging activity. Each row typically shows the date, time, the other number and whether the text was sent or received. There is no message content.
4.Download every period you can reach
Save or print each billing period as a PDF or spreadsheet, starting with the oldest one still available. Older periods drop off the account over time, so download them now rather than when you need them.
5.Keep the logs with the conversation itself
File the logs next to an export or screenshots of the actual messages. The log shows when texts were exchanged; the export shows what they said.
Carriers rename these pages from time to time. If you can't find them, the carrier's support line can tell you where your usage details are and how far back they go.
Which messages won't be in the log?
Only texts that travel as ordinary text and picture messages show up. These usually don't:
- iMessages between iPhones (blue bubbles), which go over the internet rather than as texts
- chat messages between Android phones using RCS (Google Messages or Samsung chat features)
- WhatsApp, Messenger, Signal and other messaging apps
So a short or empty carrier log doesn't mean there were no messages. It may just mean they went by one of those routes. Our post on SMS versus RCS, WhatsApp and Google Voice explains the difference.
What are the logs good for?
- showing that texts were exchanged on certain dates, when someone says they never heard from you
- showing how often and at what hours messages came in, for example dozens in one night
- backing up the dates in a screenshot or export with a record that came from the carrier
Where are the actual words?
On the phones that sent and received them, and in those phones' backups. Export the conversation from your own phone:
- iPhone: exporting iMessage, or saving a conversation without a computer
- Android: printing Android texts or exporting Samsung Messages
- Other apps: our export guides
Can Verity read a carrier log?
Not on its own. Verity looks at what the messages say and how the conversation goes, so it needs the messages themselves: an export from the phone or screenshots of the thread. A carrier log has no message text, so it's best kept as a separate piece alongside the conversation. Whatever file you upload is read in your browser and is not uploaded.
What about the other person's texts, or a subpoena?
Your account shows only your own lines. Getting another person's records goes through the court, and even a subpoena to a carrier generally doesn't return message content: carriers keep little or none of it, and federal law limits what they can hand over in a civil case. Our post on subpoenaing Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile covers what carriers keep and for how long, and getting the other parent's texts through discovery covers the usual route.
This is general information, not legal advice. Verity is not a law firm. Ask your attorney what records your case needs and how to get them.
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