Voice Messages in WhatsApp and iMessage: How to Keep Them for Court
Reviewed by Jacob Reed, founder of Verity ·
Short answer
On an iPhone, change Settings, Apps, Messages, Audio Messages, Expire to Never today: Apple says an audio message you don't keep is deleted from the conversation on your iPhone 2 minutes after you listen to it. In WhatsApp, export the chat from your phone with media ("With all media" on an iPhone); on Android, WhatsApp says only the most recent media are added, so check the voice messages that matter are in the file. Then write a transcript of each one, with the date, the time and who sent it, and keep the audio files unchanged next to it.
A voice message can say more than a page of texts, in a tone a text can't carry. It is also easier to lose.
iPhone audio messages expire by default
- Apple says audio messages are deleted automatically to save space: unless you tap Keep, the recording is deleted from the conversation on your iPhone 2 minutes after you send it or listen to it.
- The person who receives one can play it any time; to save it, Apple says they need to tap Keep within 2 minutes of listening.
- To keep every audio message from now on: Settings, Apps, Messages, then Expire (under Audio Messages), and pick Never.
- Apple transcribes audio messages automatically in some languages. Read the transcript against the recording: an automatic transcript can mishear words.
For the written side of the conversation, see exporting iPhone messages.
WhatsApp: export with media, then check
- On an iPhone, WhatsApp offers With all media, With selected media or Without media. On Android it offers Include media, and says the most recent media are added, so in a long chat older voice messages may not be in the file.
- Without media, each voice message is only a line in the chat file, such as "audio omitted" or "<Media omitted>", with its date and sender.
- WhatsApp says view-once messages are not exported, and that an export from WhatsApp on a computer leaves media out, so export from the phone.
Steps for the export itself are in exporting WhatsApp messages. Open the zip and check that the voice messages you need are in it before you rely on it.
A transcript for each one that matters
- The date and time it was sent, and who sent it.
- Word for word what was said, with [inaudible] where you can't make it out. Don't tidy it up.
- The name of the audio file it came from, kept unchanged, with a copy somewhere other than the phone.
- Which written messages it sits between, so the reader can place it in the conversation.
Ask your lawyer how your court wants audio presented; some want the recording and a transcript together. For voicemails left on your phone, see saving voicemails for court.
Where Verity fits, and where it doesn't
Verity reads the written messages in an export, in your browser, without uploading them. It doesn't play or transcribe audio. In a WhatsApp export or an SMS Backup & Restore file, the numbered list shows each voice message where it was sent, marked as a voice message or audio, without a number, so the written messages keep their numbers; iPhone exports don't show them yet. That gives you a place to put each transcript: between the two numbered messages around it.
Threats in a voice message? See showing messages to the police and making an exhibit list.
Apple and WhatsApp pages cited
Read on November 3, 2026. These features change; check before you rely on them.
- Send and receive audio messages in Messages on iPhone (Apple)
- How to export your chat history (WhatsApp Help Center)
This is general information, not legal advice. Verity is not affiliated with Apple or WhatsApp. If you are in danger, call 911; the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788.
Put the written messages in order
Drop in your export and read every message numbered in date order. It is read in your browser and is not uploaded.