How do you show text messages are real?
Text messages are usually shown to be genuine through the testimony of someone who sent or received them, supported by details such as the phone number, the content and the context of the conversation. You help by keeping the original phone unchanged, exporting the complete conversation with exact times and numbers, and keeping a record of how and when the export was made.
What courts commonly look at
In US courts, the rules on authentication (such as Rule 901 of the Federal Rules of Evidence and the state equivalents) generally require enough evidence for a finding that the messages are what you say they are. In practice that is often a person saying they recognise the conversation, plus things that tie it to the sender: their number, details only they would know, replies that fit, and the way they write.
How much is needed depends on the court and on whether the other side disputes the messages. Your lawyer will know.
What you can do now
- Keep the phone: do not delete the conversation, reset or trade in the phone, or change the contact, until your lawyer says it is fine.
- Export the whole conversation, or a full date range, rather than hand-picked messages.
- Make sure the export shows each sender’s number and the exact time of each message. See showing phone numbers.
- Keep the export folder as it was made. Hashes of the files, such as those in TextExhibit’s manifest.txt, let anyone check later that nothing changed.
- Write down when, how and from which device you made the copy. TextExhibit’s cover page records this for you.
When it gets contested
If the other side says messages were faked or edited, the court may want more: the phone itself, the other person’s phone, carrier records of when messages were sent, or a forensic examiner. These are steps for your lawyer to decide.
What to keep in mind
- This is general information, not legal advice. Rules differ by country, state and court.
- An export makes messages easier to check; it does not prove by itself who typed them.
Questions
What is a hash and why does it help?
A SHA-256 hash is a fingerprint of a file. If even one byte changes, the hash changes. Recording hashes when you export lets anyone confirm later that the files are the same.
Should I get the messages notarized?
A notary confirms who signed a statement, not whether messages are genuine. Ask your lawyer whether a declaration from you is useful in your case.
The other person deleted their copy. Does that matter?
Your copy still exists on your phone and in your export. Whether deletion by the other side matters legally is a question for your lawyer.
Export the whole conversation
TextExhibit turns a conversation into one PDF with exact times, names and numbers, photos in place and page numbers, on your Mac. Free to preview; $24.99 once to export.