Court Copy · Guides · Privacy

Read iPhone texts from a backup on a Windows PC

An iPhone backup made on a Windows PC holds your Messages database. Court Copy reads it in the browser and prints one conversation as a PDF. No Mac needed.

1. Make the backup

1. Install Apple Devices from the Microsoft Store (Windows 10 or 11), or iTunes.
2. Connect the iPhone with a cable, unlock it and tap Trust.
3. In Apple Devices open the iPhone, then General → Backups (in iTunes: the phone icon → Summary → Backups). Choose Back up all of the data on your iPhone to this PC.
4. Tick Encrypt local backup and set a password you will remember (why), then Back Up Now. Large phones take a while.

2. Find the folder

• Apple Devices, or iTunes from the Microsoft Store: %USERPROFILE%\Apple\MobileSync\Backup\
• iTunes downloaded from apple.com: %APPDATA%\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\

Inside is one folder per phone, named with a long string of letters and numbers.

3. Print the conversation

1. Open Court Copy in Chrome or Edge and click Choose backup folder.
2. Paste one of the paths above into the picker's address bar, press Enter, and choose either the Backup folder or the phone's folder. Chrome asks “Let site view files?”: the page reads them on your computer; nothing is uploaded.
3. Type the backup password if you set one, pick the conversation, set the dates, and click Make PDF.

Firefox works too; it shows an “upload” prompt for folders, but here too the files stay on your PC.

Open Court Copy: free preview of any conversation, nothing uploaded.