Turn a WhatsApp chat into a PDF book
Updated November 8, 2026
WhatsApp exports a chat as a plain text file. Bound Texts turns that file into a PDF laid out like the conversation, with bubbles, times, a heading for each day, color emoji and your photos, at book size (6 × 9 inch). You see every page free; the PDF comes with the printed book.
What the plain export looks like
Open a WhatsApp export in a text editor and you see something like this:
3/8/25, 11:52 PM - Sam: Hey, it's Sam from Jess's party3/8/25, 11:55 PM - Riley: Ah yes, the pizza criminal
Every message is one line: the date, the time, the name, the words. Photos show up as file names, and emoji depend on the font of whatever opens the file.
What the book PDF looks like
- Each person's messages on their own side, in bubbles, with the time inside each one.
- A heading for each new day, so you can find a date by flipping through.
- Color emoji, drawn as pictures, so they print the same everywhere; one to three emoji alone are shown large.
- Photos where they were sent, at their real shape.
- A title page and a page of your story in numbers.
See a sample book, made from a made-up chat.
How to make one
- Export the chat from WhatsApp with its media (steps for iPhone and Android).
- Drop the file into the book maker on the home page. It is read in your browser, not uploaded.
- Choose the title, the dates, and every message or the best moments, and look through the pages.
Questions
Why not just save the text file as a PDF?
You can, but the export is lines of dates, times and names, one after another, and photos appear only as file names. It works as a record; it doesn't look like the chat.
Is the PDF ready for printing?
Yes. It is made at 6 × 9 inch, the size of the printed book, with the margin by the spine a printer needs. The printed book uses the same pages.
Can I get only the PDF, without the printed book?
Not yet: the PDF comes with the printed book ($49). The whole book can be seen on screen for free before you decide.