Done-for-you WhatsApp evidence certification
A WhatsApp conversation you need as evidence? We certify your export.
Export your WhatsApp chat, send it to us, and we deliver a court-ready certified package: a readable, line-numbered transcript with an eIDAS qualified timestamp. One conversation, certified in 24 hours.
Divorce, harassment, fraud, a broken promise, defamation? If a WhatsApp message is your proof, capture it now, before it is deleted, disappears, or gets dismissed as a fake screenshot.
A plain screenshot has no provable date and is easy to dismiss as edited. Your certified package carries an eIDAS qualified timestamp (presumption of accuracy under Article 41(2)), a chain of custody, and your preserved raw export, so it holds up in court.
Not sure you can export? Email us first, we confirm you can export before you pay. If we cannot process your files, you get a credit.
We never see what we do not need. We work only from the file you send us, from a full export we transcribe only the one conversation you ask for, and after we hand over your package we delete all your data from our servers.
One-time payment · no subscription · the certified package is yours to keep forever.
Delivered in 24 hours · eIDAS qualified timestamp included · Verifiable by anyone
John Smith
online
Saturday
I'll transfer the deposit today, send me the address.
2:02 PM
Sure. You'll get the keys on Friday, I promise.
2:05 PM
Done. Sent EUR 1,200.
2:11 PM
Friday came and went. Where are the keys?
Fri 6:40 PM
Illustrative example. We turn your raw WhatsApp export into a line-numbered transcript, so you can cite Line 47 and point to the exact message.
Every package can be verified by anyone, for free, in the open Trust Verifier.
Quick answer
How do I turn a WhatsApp conversation into court-ready evidence?
Export your WhatsApp chat (open the chat, use Export chat, and choose Include or Attach media), send it to ProofSnap, and we deliver a certified package within 24 hours. We render a readable, line-numbered transcript so you can cite a specific message, hash every file with SHA-256, sign the manifest, anchor it in the Bitcoin blockchain and add an eIDAS qualified timestamp. The raw export is preserved untouched. One conversation is $59.99.
What it proves: that your export existed in that exact state no later than the timestamp, and that it has not changed since it was sealed. What it does not prove: who wrote a given message. Authentication of origin stays with the court. ProofSnap is an evidence tool, not legal advice.
Why a WhatsApp screenshot will not hold up
You may already hold the decisive evidence in your case. The problem is the form it is in. Certification fixes all four weaknesses.
"Anyone could have edited this"
A screenshot or a copy-pasted export is trivial to alter. Without a cryptographic hash the other side can dismiss it as unverifiable, and the burden is on you.
No provable point in time
A file on your computer has no independent date. Certification anchors it in time with a Bitcoin OpenTimestamps proof and an eIDAS qualified timestamp that carries a legal presumption.
Disappearing messages
WhatsApp supports disappearing messages and delete-for-everyone, and the other party can delete their account. Export and certify now, while the conversation still exists on your device.
No chain of custody
A raw export is missing the metadata, custodian declaration and integrity record that authentication needs (FRE 902(14)). We preserve the raw export and add all of it.
From "I have the chat" to court-ready, in four steps
A done-for-you service. You export and send, we do the rest, you receive the sealed package within 24 hours.
Export your WhatsApp chat
On WhatsApp: open the chat, tap Menu, More, Export chat. On iPhone, tap the chat name, then Export chat.
See exact steps ↓Upload on the secure page
A secure upload page opens right after payment. Upload your files and email us which chat to certify plus your case reference.
We certify and deliver
A signed ZIP with your line-numbered transcript, preserved raw export, Bitcoin anchor and eIDAS timestamp, within 24 hours.
Step 1 in detail
How to export your WhatsApp chat
WhatsApp has a built-in per-chat export on your phone (iPhone and Android) and in the WhatsApp Desktop app (Mac and Windows). Here is the exact path for each.
On WhatsApp Desktop (Mac and Windows)
Export from WhatsApp Desktop
In the WhatsApp Desktop app on Mac or Windows, this is the quickest route:
- 1Right-click the conversation in your chat list (or click the chevron that appears on hover), then click Export chat.
- 2Choose Attach media (recommended) or Without media.
- 3The file is saved straight to your Downloads folder (a message confirms "Exported chat was saved to Downloads folder"). Send us that .zip.
You get the same _chat.txt plus media as the phone export. Desktop is easiest when the chat is on your computer or is too large to email from a phone.
On your phone (iPhone and Android)
Get your chat out of WhatsApp
On iPhone: open the chat with that person or group, then:
- 1Tap the contact or group name at the top to open contact info.
- 2Scroll down and tap Export chat.
- 3Choose Attach media (recommended) or Without media.
- 4Choose where to save or send it: Save to Files, AirDrop, Mail, or another app.
On Android: open the chat with that person or group, then:
- 1Tap More options (the three-dot menu at the top right).
- 2Tap More, then Export chat.
- 3Choose Include media (recommended) or Without media.
- 4Choose how to send it: Message, Mail, or another app.
One Attach media export gives you a .zip with the _chat.txt plus the media, all at once. Send us that. Very large chats are the only exception: Attach media caps at about 10,000 messages, so also run a Without media export (about 40,000) for the fullest text and send both.
Send us everything (recommended)
The primary artifact is the _chat.txt export plus its media folder. For the strongest exhibit, if available also send the WhatsApp message database. We seal whatever you send, hashed and timestamped, never opened. If authenticity is ever disputed, a court-appointed technician can verify the transcript against the source. Decrypting the database needs its key, which the custodian provides separately.
Optional: the message database
Find your device below, then send us the folder it points to. When in doubt, send more rather than less.
Connect by USB and copy the whole WhatsApp folder:
Android/media/com.whatsapp/WhatsApp/ (older devices /sdcard/WhatsApp/)
- •
Databases/: takemsgstore.db.crypt15and every datedmsgstore-...crypt15backup - •
Media/: the attachments
Your 64-digit key: WhatsApp › Settings › Chats › Chat backup › End-to-end encrypted backup.
The store lives inside a device backup, so make a full local backup:
- 1.Plug into a Mac (Finder) or Windows PC (Apple Devices / iTunes)
- 2.Tick Encrypt local backup, set a password, back up
- 3.Send the whole backup folder:
~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/(Mac)%APPDATA%\Apple\MobileSync\Backup\(Windows)
Encrypting the backup is what keeps the WhatsApp data complete.
Zip this whole folder as-is (needs Full Disk Access):
~/Library/Group Containers/group.net.whatsapp.WhatsApp.shared/
It keeps these together:
- •Messages:
ChatStorage.sqlitewith its-waland-shmsidecars (deleted and recent messages can live only in-wal) - •Attachments:
Media/andMessage/folders - •Who is who:
ContactsV2.sqliteandLID.sqlite - •Calls:
CallHistory.sqlite - •Keys and identity:
Axolotl.sqliteandenc-key.dat
Too large to zip whole? Send at least these five, each .sqlite with its -wal and -shm.
Zip the whole folder for whichever build you have:
- •Store / older app:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\5319275A.WhatsAppDesktop_cv1g1gvanyjgm\LocalState\
SQLite files with their-wal/-shmand cached media - •Newer WebView2 build (default since late 2025) and website installer:
%APPDATA%\WhatsApp\
includingIndexedDB\file__0.indexeddb.leveldb\(all.log/.ldbfiles), plusLocal Storage\andCache\
Not sure which you have? Zip both paths if present, or just tell us.
Your files stay encrypted. Keep your key or backup password yourself. We seal everything exactly as sent, hashed and timestamped, and never open it. You only hand the key to a court-appointed technician if authenticity is ever disputed.
Export chat greyed out or missing?
Two things can hide the in-app Export chat. It is unavailable in Germany (and may be limited in a few other regions). It is also disabled when Advanced Chat Privacy is turned on for that chat, and in a group only an admin can switch it off. Turn Advanced Chat Privacy off (or ask the admin) and export again, or use a device backup, or just email us. Exported chats cannot be re-imported into WhatsApp, which is fine: we only need the export.
See WhatsApp's guide to exporting your chat history.
WhatsApp's "Request account info" (Settings, Account) returns account metadata, not your messages, so the chat export is what carries the conversation. From a full export we transcribe only the one conversation you ask for; the rest is sealed for integrity but never transcribed. After we deliver your finished package, we delete all your data from our servers. Not sure what you have? Email support@getproofsnap.com before you order and we will guide you.
What you get back
The centrepiece is a human-readable transcript: we convert your WhatsApp _chat.txt export (plus media) into a clean, line-numbered transcript PDF you can actually hand to a court. Around it sits a signed ZIP built for admissibility, and we email you an Evidence Delivery Note alongside it.
Everything is verifiable by anyone, for free, in the open Trust Verifier.
The conversation transcript (rendered from your export)
A raw _chat.txt export is not something you hand a judge. We parse it and produce a Chat Conversation Transcript PDF: every message in original send order, by timestamp, with each entry numbered in the left margin so you can cite "Line 47" in a filing.
Photos and images rendered inline, in place, so the message and the picture are read together
Documents, videos and voice notes referenced by file name and linked to the preserved attachment in the ZIP
Cover sheet: parties, case reference, date range, message count, source file and source SHA-256
Faithful rendering: nothing added, altered, reordered or omitted (not a selective extract); deleted messages shown as markers
Methodology, time-zone (UTC) and scope-of-proof notes included for the court
Inside the signed evidence ZIP
Preserved raw export
Your original WhatsApp export is kept untouched alongside the transcript, so it can be re-derived and independently verified.
Sealed source database
Send the WhatsApp message database and we seal it too, hashed and timestamped but never opened, so a court-appointed technician can later verify the transcript against it.
Two timestamp layers
Bitcoin OpenTimestamps anchor plus an eIDAS qualified timestamp from Disig. We email a delivery note carrying the ZIP SHA-256.
Two layers of proof, and what each one means
Both layers are included in every certification. The qualified timestamp is what carries legal weight in the EU.
Bitcoin OpenTimestamps
The SHA-256 hash of your sealed manifest is anchored in the Bitcoin blockchain: a decentralised, independent, tamper-resistant proof that the export existed at a point in time. Subject to the court's free evaluation of evidence.
eIDAS qualified timestamp
Court-grade in the EU
Issued by Disig a.s., a Qualified Trust Service Provider on the EU Trusted List. Under eIDAS Article 41(2) it carries a presumption of accuracy of the date and integrity of the data: the other side has to rebut it.
What certification proves, and what it does not
What certification proves
- The export existed in that exact state no later than the timestamp.
- It has not been altered since it was sealed.
- The raw export is preserved for later expert examination.
- If you also send the sealed message database, an expert can examine the sender identifiers (the phone number and WhatsApp account each message is bound to), which materially strengthens attribution.
What it does not do
- On its own the transcript ties messages to an account, not conclusively to a person; an account is not proof that a specific hand typed the message.
- It is verifiable preservation, not a full forensic acquisition of the device.
- Admissibility and final authorship are decided by the court.
We make the content, order and timing impossible to dispute, so the fight is about what the messages mean, not whether you faked them. Send the message database too and the package also carries the sender identifiers that tie each message to a specific number and account, which pushes attribution as far as the evidence can go. The court still assigns final authorship, as it always does.
Built to support authentication under FRE 901 and self-authentication under FRE 902(14) in the US, and the eIDAS Article 41(2) presumption in the EU. In the UK, the Family Procedure Rules allow digital evidence that is authenticated and documented. ProofSnap is an evidence tool, not legal advice. For your specific case, consult a qualified lawyer.
Pricing
Already have the WhatsApp conversation exported? We certify it as-is.
One certification covers one conversation, including its attachments and any supporting file.
WhatsApp Chat Certification
1 conversation · certified in 24 hours
- Your WhatsApp export, certified as-is
- One conversation, including attachments and a supporting file
- Readable, line-numbered transcript rendered
- eIDAS qualified timestamp + Bitcoin anchor
- Signed ZIP + certificate PDF + chain of custody
Right after payment, a secure upload page appears where you send us your files, so nothing sensitive has to go by email. If we cannot process your files, we will help you produce a usable export or issue a full credit toward a future certification. Not sure what you have? Ask us before you order.
Several conversations or a recurring need?
Law firms and investigators certifying chats regularly: email support@getproofsnap.com and we will arrange volume handling.
Just want to print it yourself?
Our free guide to printing a WhatsApp chat for court covers WhatsApp to PDF on iPhone, Android and Desktop. We also certify Signal chat exports and Telegram chat exports.
vs. a screenshot, a DIY exporter or a forensic examiner
Court-grade certification, delivered in 24 hours, at a fraction of a forensic examiner's cost.
| Feature | ProofSnap | Screenshot | DIY exporter | Forensic examiner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Readable, line-numbered transcript | No | Sometimes | ||
| SHA-256 hash + signed manifest | No | No | ||
| eIDAS qualified timestamp | No | No | Rarely | |
| Raw export preserved for re-derivation | No | No | ||
| Turnaround | 24 hours | Instant, no proof | Instant, no proof | Days to weeks |
| Typical price | $59.99 | Free | ~$30 | $375 and up |
Frequently asked questions
For a website, not a chat
Need to prove a web page, not a WhatsApp conversation?
This page is about WhatsApp chats. If your evidence is a website, a social post, a marketplace listing, a review or an online article, ProofSnap is a Chrome extension that captures it as court-ready evidence yourself, in seconds. Same integrity you get here: a SHA-256 hash, an RSA-4096 signature, a Bitcoin blockchain timestamp and a Provenance Certificate, packaged into an 11 to 15 file evidence ZIP you can verify for free.
Standard SnapPack
10 captures · no expiration · one-time purchase
Pay-as-you-go, no subscription. All features: export, metadata, a short video proof, Provenance Certificate and blockchain timestamp.
eIDAS SnapPack
EU qualified timestamps (Disig a.s.)
$5.00 / stamp · also 1× $6.99 or 10× $49.99
Adds a qualified eIDAS timestamp per capture (Article 41), with a legal presumption of accuracy across the EU. Whitelabel branding on the evidence PDF.
Subscription
Essential · Professional · Enterprise
Annual plans save 20%
For regular use: monthly capture allowances, File Certification and eIDAS stamps on higher tiers. Includes a 7-day free trial (a credit card is required to start).
Prefer no subscription and no auto-renewal? The Standard SnapPack at $4.99 is a one-time purchase. SnapPacks are bought inside the extension after you install it. See the full ProofSnap pricing and features on getproofsnap.com.
Free to install · capture your first web evidence in under a minute.