How to export your iMessage history

On a Mac, Story of Us can read the local Messages database at ~/Library/Messages/chat.db. An iPhone alone does not expose the full history needed for this workflow. The database is read locally in the browser; only a small slice of phrases, counts, and sample messages is sent for the captions.

What you need

A Mac that has the conversation in Messages — Apple does not publish a supported way to export full iMessage history from an iPhone or iPad alone, so a Mac is required. Reading chat.db directly is Story of Us's own import method, not an Apple-provided export feature: Apple publishes no export or support article for this workflow, so the steps below are verified by Story of Us's own testing against the current version of Finder and macOS System Settings as of the date at the bottom of this page, not sourced from Apple documentation.

Steps to read your history

1. Open Finder. Click the Finder icon in your Mac's dock — any open Finder window works.
2. Open the Go to Folder dialog. Press Command, Shift and G together.
3. Paste the folder path. Type or paste ~/Library/Messages and press Return. The first time a browser reads this folder, macOS may prompt for Full Disk Access in System Settings, under Privacy and Security.
4. Find chat.db. Inside that folder is a file named chat.db, the local database of every Messages conversation on that Mac.
5. Upload chat.db. Open the iMessage import screen and drag chat.db into the drop zone. It is read directly in your browser.

The file you're looking for

chat.db is a single SQLite database file — no unzipping needed, and it can be tens or hundreds of megabytes for a long history. The import screen reads it entirely in your browser; the file itself is never uploaded to a server.

Common problems

• Full Disk Access prompt keeps appearing, or the folder looks empty. Grant Full Disk Access to your browser in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Full Disk Access, then reload the page.
• Only have an iPhone, no Mac. There's no supported way around this for iMessage specifically — a Mac with the conversation in Messages is required.
• History looks shorter than expected. If Messages is set to keep history for 30 days or one year instead of Forever (Messages → Settings → General), older messages may already be gone from chat.db before you ever open it.
• It's a group chat. Story of Us is built for one-on-one texting; a group thread's chat.db usually won't parse into a clean two-person story.

Privacy, plainly

The export itself never leaves your device — it's read right there in your browser, the same way a photo opens on your computer. To write the handful of captions that need real words (your busiest year, your first exchange, the phrase you didn't know you repeated), we send a much smaller slice to our server: your most-used words and phrases, counts and rhythms (who texts more, your streaks, your busiest hour), and a very small handful of sample messages — your first few texts and your most recent. Not the export file, not your full conversation. Read exactly what we send →

What you get

A short, private keepsake built only from your own history — pet names and inside jokes it noticed on its own, your year-by-year rhythm, your busiest hour, the words you reach for without thinking. You read it on your screen, then you can download it as a PDF to keep or print yourself, no subscription and nothing shipped. It's ready in about a minute.

Make our iMessage keepsake $5 · one time · stays on your laptop

Want the fuller picture first? See the iMessage keepsake page →