How to Document Stalking With Text Messages
Reviewed by Jacob Reed, founder of Verity ·
Short answer
Stalking is a pattern, so the record has to show the pattern. Keep every message as it came, in the whole conversation, including ones from new numbers or apps. Keep a dated log of everything else beside it: being followed, showing up, gifts, contact through friends. SPARC, the national stalking resource center, offers a free log template. Don't reply or confront, and put safety first: if you are in danger, call 911, and talk to an advocate about a safety plan.
Each message on its own can look small. Together, in order, they can show what is really happening.
What stalking is
SPARC defines stalking as a pattern of behavior directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear for their own safety or the safety of others, or to suffer substantial emotional distress. Legal definitions vary from state to state, so ask a lawyer or an advocate how it is treated where you live.
Keep the messages
- Don't delete anything, even the ones that frighten you most.
- Export the whole conversation, not single screenshots; keep the export somewhere they can't reach.
- Messages from new numbers or apps belong in the record too; see texts from new numbers after blocking.
- If they seem to know where you are, check your location sharing; see stopping location sharing.
Log everything else beside them
SPARC says keeping a log of stalking incidents can help identify options to increase safety, tell the story and assess risk, and offers a template log in 10 languages. Write the date, time, place, what happened and who saw it. Remember that what you give the police or put in a court petition may be seen by the other person; your lawyer or advocate can tell you what to include.
What Verity can show
Verity reads your export in your browser, without uploading it, and numbers every message in date order. It flags patterns that often appear in stalking: bursts of messages, contact after you asked them to stop, demands to know where you are, and threats, each with its date. It can't see anything that happened outside the messages, which is what the log is for.
Next steps: text evidence for a protective order and showing messages to the police.
SPARC pages cited
Read on November 3, 2026.
This is general information, not legal advice. If you are in danger, call 911. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788.
See the pattern in order
Drop in your export and read every message numbered in date order. It is read in your browser and is not uploaded.