Text Message Evidence: What to Ask a Client For at Intake
Reviewed by Jacob Reed, founder of Verity ·
Short answer
Ask for the whole conversation exported from the app it lives in, not screenshots; for the phone to be kept as it is, with nothing deleted or reset; for any other device or backup that holds the same messages; for the other party's numbers and accounts; and for the dates that matter. Ask how the client communicates, not only what was said: which apps, which phone, whether anyone else can get into it. Then send them the export steps for their app the same day, before something changes.
The first week decides whether the record is complete. Screenshots gathered later rarely fill the gaps.
The first-week list
- Every app the parties use to talk: texts, WhatsApp, a co-parenting app, email, social media messages.
- The whole conversation from each, exported, from the start of the relationship or the period in issue.
- The phone itself, kept charged, unreset and with nothing deleted. A new phone is fine; wiping the old one is not.
- Other places the messages live: an iPad or Mac, a computer backup, iCloud or a Google account.
- The other party's numbers and accounts, including any new ones.
- Dates that matter: separation, incidents, filings, exchanges that went wrong.
- Anything already deleted, when and why, told to you now rather than found later.
- Who else can get into the phone or the accounts, including the other party.
What to tell them not to do
- Don't delete, edit or "tidy up" anything, including their own messages.
- Don't screenshot only the worst messages; the context will be asked for.
- Don't reply to bait while the case is open; see should I respond to my ex's texts.
- Don't log into the other party's phone or accounts; see reading a co-parent's messages.
Why deleting is the expensive mistake: deleting texts during a case.
Getting the file from the client
Most clients have never exported a chat. Send them the steps for their app (the public export guide covers iPhone, Android, WhatsApp, Messenger and more), or, in Verity Pro, a client intake link: after the client fills in the form, it shows them how to export the conversation from their app, so you receive the record rather than a set of screenshots. For WhatsApp specifically, see getting a client's WhatsApp messages into the file.
What you can do with it
Verity reads the export in the browser, so the conversation itself isn't uploaded (a saved Pro report keeps short excerpts of flagged messages), and numbers every message in date order, with gaps of seven days or more flagged. The numbered list a client can buy on the consumer site records the SHA-256 of the export and can carry Bates-style page stamps (SMITH-000001); the Verity Pro exhibit carries the firm's details and matter number and can blank out words or names you list. For the review itself, see the paralegal's guide to organizing text evidence.
Jacob Reed wrote about this for attorneys in The Bar Review (Shreveport Bar Association, November 2026, page 12): Preserving Evidence When It’s On the Phone.
This is general information for legal professionals, not legal advice. Follow your jurisdiction's rules on preservation and production.
See what a case package looks like
A sample built from a fictional conversation: the numbered exhibit and the pattern report, with firm branding.