Files
Vow File Search
Find any file as you type, across every drive
- Free: Unlimited file name search on every drive, 10 searches inside files a day
- $4.95 once: Unlimited searches inside files, network drives and NAS shares
Vow Messages Backup
WhatsApp, iMessage & SMS backup for Windows
Every chat you care about, on your PC. Searchable. Exportable. Private.
Import WhatsApp exports, iPhone backups (encrypted too), Android SMS, Telegram, Messenger and Instagram into one archive. Read them like on your phone, search every message at once and export any chat to HTML or PDF. Nothing is uploaded, and no phone has to stay plugged in.
- No ads
- No malware
- No account
- Light & dark theme
- Import and read every chat, insights, 1 chat export a day
No ads. Ever.No pop-ups, no banners, no "offers".
No malware or bundlewareThe installer installs one thing: this app.
No account, no uploadIt works on your PC, and your files stay there.
Free daily limits, just $9.95 unlimitedNo subscription. No trial that runs out.
The problem
Years of conversations, one lost phone from gone
Chats live on phones that break, get replaced or run out of space, and getting them onto a PC usually means sketchy tools or a subscription.
Locked inside the phone
Phone backups go to the cloud in a form you can't open, read or search on a PC.
Upload your chats to read them
Online chat converters want your private conversations on their servers before they'll show you anything.
Subscription phone suites
Phone manager software often wants a yearly licence just to export a handful of conversations.
Exports you can't really read
A WhatsApp export is a bare text file with photos dumped beside it: no bubbles, no search, no pictures in place.
Every app in a different place
WhatsApp, iMessage, SMS, Telegram and Messenger each keep their own history, with no way to search them together.
Need a record of it?
Getting a clean, dated, printable copy of a conversation for a landlord, employer or lawyer is surprisingly hard.
Vow Messages Backup fixes all of it.
How it works
Import. Read. Keep.
Every chat from every app in one archive on your PC, ready to search or export.
- 01
Drop in your chats
A WhatsApp export, an iPhone backup, an SMS Backup & Restore file, a Telegram export or a Facebook download. Backups and exports already on your PC are found for you.
Drop chat exports or an iPhone backup to start. - 02
Read and search
Bubbles, photos, videos and voice notes, just like the phone. Search every message of every chat at once, or jump to any date.
Search every message of every chat in one place. - 03
Export what matters
Save a chat as a web page that looks like the conversation, a PDF ready to print, or plain text, CSV or JSON.
Features
Your message history, finally in one place
For keeping memories, keeping records, and keeping the chats you can't afford to lose.
Every messenger, one archive
WhatsApp (Android and iPhone), WhatsApp Business, iPhone Messages, Android SMS and MMS, Telegram, Messenger and Instagram.
iPhone backups, encrypted too
Reads iTunes and Apple Devices backups, decrypting them with your backup password, which is never stored.
Photos, videos and voice notes
Pictures inline with a full-window viewer, videos and voice notes that play in place, and files that open with Windows.
Search every message
Search all chats as you type, with "exact phrases", excluded words and filters for person, date, source, media and links.
HTML and PDF exports
A self-contained HTML page that looks like the chat, with its own search box, or a PDF with photos in place (Unlimited).
Chat insights
Messages per person, month, hour and weekday, busiest day, longest streak, reply times, favourite emoji and words.
No duplicates on re-import
Import a newer export later and only the new messages are added, so your history outlives any one phone.
Go to any date
Jump to any day in a long chat, or find a word inside it with Ctrl+F and step through every match.
Any language, any date format
WhatsApp exports from any phone and region are read correctly, 12 or 24 hour clock, even when the dates are ambiguous.
Stays on your PC
Everything is kept in one archive on your own PC. Nothing is uploaded and no phone has to stay connected.
Light & dark theme
Easy on the eyes, day or night.
Messages Backup comes with a crisp light theme and a calm dark theme. Switch with one click, or let it follow your Windows setting by itself. It remembers your choice.
- LightClear and bright for daytime and busy offices
- DarkGentle on tired eyes late at night
- Follow WindowsChanges by itself when your PC does
Screenshots
See Vow Messages Backup in action
Real screenshots of the real app, in both of its themes: 6 light, 6 dark. Click any picture to see it full size.
Light theme
Dark theme
Who it's for
Why people keep their chats
Memories
Keep years of family and friends' chats, photos and voice notes safe when a phone is replaced.
Records and disputes
Export a dated PDF of a conversation for a tenancy dispute, an insurance claim or your lawyer.
Work chats
Archive client and team conversations from WhatsApp or Telegram, searchable in seconds.
Switching phones
Moving from iPhone to Android, or back? Keep the whole history on your PC either way.
Remembering someone
Keep the messages and voice notes of someone you've lost, somewhere they won't disappear.
Freeing up phone space
Keep the media-heavy chats on your PC before clearing them off the phone.
Compare
Vow Messages Backup vs typical chat backup tools
What phone manager suites and online chat converters usually ask of you.
| Feature | Vow Messages Backup | Typical phone backup & chat export tools |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free every day, or $9.95 once | Yearly licences or subscriptions |
| Your chats uploaded | Never: 100% on your PC | Yes, for online converters |
| Messengers in one app | WhatsApp, iMessage, SMS, Telegram, Messenger, Instagram | Usually one or two |
| Encrypted iPhone backups | Yes, password never stored | Varies |
| Search across every chat | Yes, as you type | Rarely |
| Re-import without duplicates | Yes, only new messages added | Rarely |
| HTML and PDF with photos in place | Yes | Limited on free tiers |
| Ads, watermarks, sign-up | None | Common on free tools |
"Typical" describes what we found across the most-downloaded alternatives when we built Messages Backup. Your mileage with any one of them may vary; ours won't.
Pricing
Free every day. Just $9.95 once for the lot.
That is not a typo. Software this powerful usually means a monthly subscription; Messages Backup is $9.95, once, for life: it's almost a giveaway. Use it free for as long as you like, and unlock Unlimited only if you need more.
Free
$0forever
Import and read every chat, insights, 1 chat export a day.
- Import every source, any number of chats
- Read every chat with photos, videos and voice notes
- Encrypted iPhone backups
- Find in chat, go to date and insights
- Search: first 5 hits of each search, plus the total
- 1 chat export a day as HTML, TXT, CSV or JSON
Best valueUnlimited
$9.95USD, once. Yours for life.
Almost a giveaway. Less than a takeaway lunch for software this powerful: no subscription, no renewals, yours for life on 2 PCs.
Exports with media, PDF, all chats at once, full search.
- Any number of exports, every day
- Exports with photos, videos and voice notes
- PDF export, ready to print
- Export all chats at once, with an index page
- Search the whole archive; save all media
- One payment, yours for life on 2 PCs
How unlocking works
- 1Use it free first Install Vow Messages Backup and use it on your own files. No card, no account, no time limit.
- 2Click "Unlimited" in the app Pay $9.95 USD once by card, securely through Stripe in your browser.
- 3It unlocks itself Within seconds, for life, on up to 2 of your PCs. Your license key is emailed to you, and every future update is included.
Payments by Stripe: we never see or store your card. Questions? Ask a real person.
Clean software
Safe to install. Nothing else comes with it.
Most "free" Windows downloads pay for themselves with ads, bundled extras or your data. Vow Messages Backup doesn't need to: it's paid for honestly, once, by the people who find it useful.
Download Messages Backup free- No ads, toolbars or "offers"The installer installs one thing: Vow Messages Backup. No pre-ticked boxes to watch out for.
- No administrator rights neededIt installs just for you, in your own user folder, and leaves the rest of Windows alone.
- Nothing running in the backgroundNo startup programs, no tray nags, no services. When you close it, it's closed.
- Everything includedAll it needs is inside the installer, so you never have to fetch a "required component" from somewhere else.
- Uninstalls cleanlyOne click in Windows Settings > Apps. Your own files are never touched.
- A real company behind itMade, published and supported by XTO Pty Ltd, an Australian company, with real people answering every message.
Step-by-step guide
How to save WhatsApp chats to your PC
From a chat on your phone to a searchable copy on Windows in a few minutes.
Step 1: get it freeInstall Vow Messages Backup free
Download it from this page and run the installer. There is no account and no sign-up, and nothing is uploaded: your chats stay on this PC.
Export the chat from your phone
In WhatsApp on Android, open the chat, tap the three dots, then More and Export chat, and include media. On iPhone, open the chat, tap its name, choose Export Chat and Attach Media. Get the .zip onto your PC.
Drop it on the window
Drag the .zip onto Vow Messages Backup or press Ctrl+O. For iMessage and SMS, use an iPhone backup made with iTunes or the Apple Devices app; it is listed under Found on this PC.
Read and search
Open the chat from the Chats page. Press Ctrl+F to find a word in it, Ctrl+Shift+F to search every chat, or open Insights to see who wrote what and when.
Export a copy
Press Ctrl+E, pick HTML, PDF, plain text, CSV or JSON, and export. Files are saved in Documents\Vow Messages Backup unless you choose another folder.
Technical details
Messages Backup at a glance
- Works on
- Windows 10 (1809+) and Windows 11, 64-bit
- Reads
- WhatsApp, iPhone Messages, Android SMS, Telegram, Messenger, Instagram
- iPhone backups
- iTunes / Apple Devices, plain or encrypted
- Exports
- HTML, TXT, CSV, JSON (free) · PDF and media (Unlimited)
- Search
- Full-text across every chat
- Internet
- Not needed: works fully offline
- Install
- Per-user, no administrator rights, no account
- Languages
- English
- Theme
- Light, dark or follow Windows: one click to switch
- Version
- 1.0.0, released 7 November 2026
- Publisher
- XTO Pty Ltd (Australia)
FAQ
Questions about Messages Backup
Is Vow Messages Backup free?
Yes. Importing and reading every chat with its photos, videos and voice notes is free, along with find in chat, insights and encrypted iPhone backups, and you can export 1 chat a day as HTML, TXT, CSV or JSON. Unlimited, a one-time $9.95 USD payment, adds unlimited exports with media, PDF, exporting all chats at once, full archive search and saving all media.
Does it upload my messages?
No. Everything is read and kept on your own PC. There is no account and no cloud, and the exports and backups it reads are never changed.
Which apps can it read?
WhatsApp exports from Android and iPhone, WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business from iPhone backups, iPhone Messages (iMessage, SMS and MMS), Android SMS, MMS and call logs saved with SMS Backup & Restore, Telegram Desktop exports, and Facebook Messenger and Instagram downloads.
Can it read an encrypted iPhone backup?
Yes. Type the backup password you chose in iTunes or the Apple Devices app. It is used only on your PC to read the backup and is never saved.
Can it open WhatsApp's own Android backup file?
No. WhatsApp's encrypted Android backup needs a key that only the phone holds. Use WhatsApp's Export chat instead; the app's How to get your chats guide walks you through every source.
Can I print a chat or keep it as a record?
Yes. With Unlimited, any chat exports as a PDF with photos in place, dates and times on every message, ready to print or keep. The free HTML export looks like the chat and opens in any browser.
What happens if I import the same chat again?
Only new messages are added. Each message gets a fingerprint, so nothing is duplicated and your history survives a phone being wiped or replaced.
Is it safe to install?
Yes. It is made and published by XTO Pty Ltd, an Australian company. There are no ads and no bundled software, it needs no administrator rights, and if you uninstall it, it asks before deleting your chat archive (keeping it is the default).
The Vow collection
More apps you'll never have to go looking for
Same design, same promises, a tiny one-time price. Learn one and you already know them all.
Open every archive, and fix the ones that won't open
- Free: Extract and browse every format with no limit, 3 repairs or joins a day
- $4.95 once: Unlimited repairs and joins, batches of any size, a watch folder
See what's filling your drive, then win the space back safely
- Free: Unlimited scans, the full map and every view, 3 one-click cleanups a day
- $4.95 once: Unlimited cleanups, Clean all safe items, all drives at once, scheduled scans
Done searching. Get Messages Backup.
Save WhatsApp, iMessage and SMS chats on your PC, searchable. Free to use every day, $9.95 once if you ever want Unlimited.
- No ads
- No malware
- No account
- No subscription