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The simplest way to print text messages from Android is to take screenshots of the messages, put them on a blank document, and print it. There are also third-party apps for creating text transcripts, which you can then print.

Text messages pretty much only live on your Android phone. However, there may come a time---whether it's for a court date or personal records---that you want a physical copy. Printing a text conversation isn't as simple as it sounds, but we'll walk you through it.

How to Print Android Text Messages Screenshots

To preserve a sense of authenticity and avoid any sort of backup or transfer tool, your best bet is to take screenshots and print them. It's a little clunky, but it works.

First, open the text conversation and navigate to the start of the part you'd like to print. To take screenshots on an Android device, press and hold both the Power + Volume Down buttons for a second.

Press the physical Power + Volume Down buttons until the screen flashes.

An even better option for screenshotting a text conversation is "scrolling screenshots." This will capture more of the screen than you can see and result in fewer screenshot images. You can take scrolling screenshots with most Android devices. Here are instructions for taking screenshots on Samsung Galaxy devices.

Next, tap "Capture More" from the image preview menu.

Keep in mind that you want the screenshots to be easily readable. Scrolling screenshots can get very long, which makes the text small if cramped onto a single page of paper. Crop the screenshots (be careful about cropping if you need screenshots for legal purposes) or span them across multiple pages.

When you're done with the screenshots, we're going to add the screenshots to a word-processing application. We'll be using Google Docs for Android in this guide, but you can just as easily use Microsoft Word. Insert the screenshots into a blank document to begin.

Insert image into Google Docs.

You can resize the screenshots to fit more than one on a page and adjust the readability.

Resize and move screenshots.

When you have the screenshots embedded, tap the three-dot menu icon in the top right and select "Share & Export." Look for a share button in whichever app you choose to use.

Open the menu and select "Share & Export."

Select "Print."

Select "Print."

The built-in Android printing dialog will appear. You can print to a printer connected to the same Wi-Fi network, or "Save as PDF" and transfer the PDF to a computer connected to a printer.

Choose a printer or PDF.

You can also adjust the paper size, color, and orientation by expanding the menu.

Adjust printer options.

Tap the printer icon or "PDF" button when you're all set!

Tap print or "PDF."

This is certainly not the most elegant solution, but if you just need a quick and dirty way to get text messages onto a piece of paper, it will do the trick.

How to Print an Android Text Message Transcript

If printing screenshots isn't a viable option, there are also apps that can create transcripts to print. This may not be an accepted method if you need a record of conversation for legal purposes, however. (Disclaimer: We are not lawyers, and we recommend contacting an attorney for advice on legal matters.)

SMS Backup & Restore app.

We'll be using an app called "SMS Backup & Restore." It's a free app with over 10 million downloads and a 4-star rating. Open the app and give it permission to access your call logs, contacts, and SMS messages.

Give the app permission.

Next, we need to create a backup of your text messages. This is what creates the transcript that we can print. Tap the "Set Up a Backup" button.

Tap "Set Up a Backup."

Make sure "Messages" is selected, then tap "Advanced Options."

Select "Messages" and Advanced Options."

In the Advanced Options, select "Selected Conversations Only" and tap "Change" to select specific conversations to backup. You may also want to enable "Attachments and Media" here.

Select the conversation you want to backup and print.

Tap "Next" at the bottom of the screen to proceed.

Tap "Next."

Choose where you would like to store the backup and tap "Next" again.

Choose where to store backup.

Toggle off "Schedule Recurring Backups" and tap "Back Up Now."

Tap "Back Up Now."

After the backup is complete, open the hamburger menu button in the top left and select "View Backups."

Open the menu and select "View Backups."

Open the backup you just created.

Open the backup.

Tap the three-dot menu icon for the conversation you'd like to print.

Tap the menu icon.

Finally, select "Print Conversation" from the menu.

Select "Print Conversation" from the menu.

The built-in Android printing dialog will appear and you'll see a preview of the conversation in a spreadsheet format. You can print to a printer connected to the same Wi-Fi network, or "Save as PDF" and transfer the PDF to a computer connected to a printer.

Choose a printer or PDF.

You can also adjust the paper size, color, and orientation by expanding the menu.

Android print options.

Tap the printer icon or "PDF" button when you're all set!

Tap print or "PDF."

This method has a much cleaner result, but it also appears easier to edit, if that's something you need to consider.


Unfortunately, there's really not a straightforward built-in method to print text messages. It's weirdly easier to transfer text messages from an iPhone to an Android device, however. If you need to retrieve deleted text messages on your Android device, there are options for that as well.