Turn an SMS backup into a PDF

A PDF of a conversation is easy to keep, share or print. Threadlode lays out a conversation like a phone does – bubbles, dates, names and pictures – and your browser saves it as PDF.

Open Threadlode – free

Steps

Open your sms-….xml backup in Threadlode.
Choose the conversation. Optionally set a date range in the Export section.
Click Print / save as PDF. In the print window choose Save as PDF (or “Microsoft Print to PDF” on Windows).

What the PDF shows

Conversation name and phone numbers
Date headings and the time of every message
Who sent each message in group conversations
MMS photos (JPEG, PNG, GIF), and names of other attachments
Marks for drafts and messages that failed to send

Free version

The free version prints the 200 most recent messages of the conversation (or of your date range), so you can see exactly what you will get. A license prints conversations of any length.

Questions and answers

Can I make one PDF with all conversations?

Print works per conversation. For everything at once, export the HTML archive: it has one page per conversation that you can open and print.

Is a PDF from Threadlode accepted as evidence?

We can’t say – that depends on where and why you need it. Threadlode shows what is in the backup; it does not certify anything. Ask the person or office that requests the messages which format they need.

Last updated: 2026-10-26