Turn your iMessage history into a keepsake you read together.
To turn your iMessage history into a keepsake you need a Mac, because an iPhone has no way to export full message history: on the Mac it lives in one file, chat.db, inside ~/Library/Messages. Drop that file into Story of Us and your browser reads it without uploading it. In about a minute you get a short keepsake built from the patterns in your own words, to read on screen or download as a PDF.
Your iMessage history lives in one file on your Mac — chat.db, tucked inside ~/Library/Messages. It's the plain record of years of good-mornings, drive-safes, and you up? at 2 a.m. Story of Us reads that file on your own screen and turns it into a short keepsake built from your actual words — not a template with your names swapped in.
Make our iMessage keepsake One-time · no subscription · ready in about a minute
What you'll need
iMessage only exports from a Mac — there's no way to pull full message history straight off an iPhone. Open Finder, press Cmd+Shift+G, paste in ~/Library/Messages, and that's where chat.db lives. The import screen walks through it step by step, including the Full Disk Access prompt macOS shows the first time an app reads that folder — or read the full iMessage export guide first.
What you get
Years of iMessages, from the first “hey” to last night’s goodnight, read back as one story. It’s 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. Read it on screen, then download the PDF to keep or print, ready in about a minute. No subscription, nothing shipped.
Don't wait on it
The keepsake is built from whatever's in your chat.db today — and on many Macs, that file is quietly shrinking. If Messages is set to keep history for 30 days or one year instead of Forever (Messages → Settings → General), older messages are already being deleted from it before you ever open it. The sooner you read the file, the more of your own history the keepsake has to work with — the pet names from the early years, the conversations that would otherwise quietly age out. It's worth checking that setting before you start: the export guide covers it →
Privacy, plainly
Your Mac’s chat.db never leaves your device: it’s read right there in your browser. To write the captions, a much smaller slice goes to our server: your most-used words and phrases, counts and rhythms (who texts more, your streaks, your busiest hour), and a few sample messages, your first texts and your most recent. Never the file, never the whole conversation. Read exactly what we send →
Where this doesn't work
- Mac only — there's no equivalent export path from an iPhone or iPad alone.
- Built for one-on-one texting. A group thread's
chat.dbusually won't parse into a clean two-person story. - If Messages isn't set to keep history "Forever," older years may already be gone from the file before you ever export it.
Make our iMessage keepsake One-time · no subscription · stays on your device
Talk on WhatsApp instead? Make a WhatsApp keepsake →
Want it on paper? How to print your iMessage conversation →
¿Prefieres el español? Leer esta página en español →
Want the full book route? iMessage chat book options →
What is a chat keepsake, exactly? The full explanation →
Questions
What is Story of Us?
Story of Us (storyofus.app) is a web app that turns your iMessage, WhatsApp, or Messenger chat history into a private keepsake you read on screen — a short page built from the patterns in your own words, ready in about a minute. Your chat export is read in your browser and never uploaded; you can download the keepsake as a PDF and print it yourself.
Do I need my partner's Mac too, or just mine?
Just yours. chat.db already holds both sides of every conversation you've had with them, so one Mac is enough.
Can I do this from my iPhone instead?
No — iOS doesn't expose a way to export full message history, so a Mac is required for iMessage specifically. WhatsApp and Messenger both export from a phone.
Will this change or delete anything in Messages?
No. The app only reads chat.db in your browser to build the keepsake; nothing is written back to your Mac or deleted.
Is the result a physical printed book?
No — it's an on-screen keepsake you read together, and you can save it as a PDF afterward and print it yourself if you'd like a physical copy.
What if our history is years old and huge?
That's fine — chat.db is read locally in your browser regardless of size, and only small phrases, counts, and a handful of sample messages are sent along for the captions.
My Mac keeps asking for Full Disk Access — is that normal?
Yes — the first time a browser reads the ~/Library/Messages folder, macOS asks for Full Disk Access. Grant it to your browser in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Full Disk Access, then reload the page. The import screen covers the exact clicks.
Should I check my Messages keep-history setting first?
Yes, and it matters: Messages → Settings → General lets history be kept for 30 days, one year, or Forever. If it's set to anything but Forever, older messages may already be gone from chat.db — so read the file sooner rather than later.
When do I pay — before or after I upload my chat?
After. You upload your chat first — the button takes you straight to the upload page, where your conversation is read on your own device and no chat content is sent before payment. You get a free preview built from your own messages: the real cover plus three open cards, with the rest locked behind a pay bar. One payment, not a subscription — and once you pay, the full keepsake generates on the same screen.
What exactly happens after I pay?
You upload your Mac's chat.db first — it's read in your browser and never uploaded. Your free preview shows the real cover plus three open cards built from your own words, with the rest locked behind the pay bar. Once you pay, the full keepsake is ready in about a minute: a short page built from the patterns in your own words, which you read on screen together and can download as a PDF to print yourself.