Print texts for court (or anything else): For iPhone, iExplorer lets you access, view and transfer music, messages, photos and files from any iOS device to Mac or PC. On Android, you can use SMS Backup & Restore.
Ask a tech expert: How can I stop annoying group text notifications?
Someone added me to a long chain of useless text messages. Now, I’m getting constant notifications. Can I delete the entire thread without suffering through every annoying response? I have an iPhone.
— Susan in Illinois
Here’s the deal: Group chats are fun when you’re happy to be there and awful when you don’t care about the convo.
The adult move is to ask whoever added you to remove you. Or you can do the ol’ Irish exit if you have an iPhone. Tap the thread, then select the group icon at the top. Scroll and tap Delete and Block this Conversation.
You can also go the subtle route and mute the convo. (This is what I usually do.) Tap the group text message, select the group icon at the top of the thread, then scroll and enable Hide Alerts.
Not all texts are annoying. In fact, some are from loved ones that you’d like to keep forever.
Best ways to save precious text messages
For Apple devices: iExplorer
While you have many backup choices for Android, the same can’t be said for Apple devices. iExplorer lets you access, view and transfer music, messages, photos and files from any iOS device (iPhone, iPad, iPod) to any Mac or PC.
The iExplorer SMS client works with text messages, including groups and messages containing media such as videos and images. iExplorer lets you access and save your iPhone’s messages to your Mac or PC as .PDF, .TXT, or .CSV documents.
You’ll need to be running Windows 7, 8, 10 or later and have an iTunes account.
Here’s how to transfer text messages from your iOS device to your computer:
Tech how-to: Save important texts on iPhone and Android
It’s hard to imagine everyday life without text messages. In fact, people send nearly 23 billion text messages each day worldwide. Of course, not all texts are good news. Tap or click here to see six scam text messages that are ripping people off.