Start with the app where the conversation happened. WhatsApp has Export chat; Instagram uses Accounts Center; iMessage needs a Mac or a computer-based export tool. Save the file with names, timestamps and both sides of the conversation. Then check its date range before you upload.
Choose one conversation and the period you want to understand. Use a history you have permission to analyze.
Follow the export instructions for your messaging app below. Save the original conversation file with sender labels and timestamps.
Open the export and compare its first and last dates with the chat. Check that both people’s messages are present.
Keep every part of that conversation together. Leave the original file unchanged instead of pasting it through a document editor.
Upload the file to Grey Mirror. Confirm the selected conversation, participants and recovered date range before reading your free analysis.
Choose your messaging app
Use the app’s own export when one is available. The platform guides below show the device-specific steps and the checks that catch the most common missing-history problems.
Open the beginning and end of the file. Do the dates cover the period you wanted? Can you identify both people? Are ordinary messages present as well as media notices? These checks matter more than the file size.
For a split archive, find all parts of the same conversation. A file named message_1.json may be only part of an Instagram thread. A large WhatsApp ZIP may contain many photos but less text history than you expected.
For a PDF, look for readable message text and unambiguous sender labels. Reply timing also needs timestamps. If the export leaves those out, choose a structured format before asking the analysis to measure changes over time.
Fix the export, keep the conversation intact
Keep an untouched original. Do not invent missing times or rename senders inside the transcript to make an error disappear. The upload flow can ask you to confirm identities; it needs the labels your file actually contains.
Keep the export somewhere private
A conversation export can contain information about both people. Save it to a location you control and upload only the conversation you intend to analyze. Read the retention and deletion details before sharing a history with any service.
Once the file has both senders, the expected dates and the original messages, you are ready to upload it. Grey Mirror asks you to confirm the recovered conversation before you read the result. The initial analysis is completely free, with no card required. Keep your export until you have checked the preview; a full report is optional.
Where to startMessages on Mac, or a computer-based iPhone export tool.
File to keepA readable PDF or structured CSV/text with senders and dates.
WhatsApp
Where to startExport chat inside the conversation on your phone.
File to keepThe TXT transcript or original ZIP.
Instagram
Where to startAccounts Center > Your information and permissions.
File to keepThe JSON download, including every part of the chosen thread.
Telegram
Where to startThe export controls in Telegram Desktop.
File to keepThe conversation export with its original structure.
Android SMS
Where to startA compatible SMS backup/export app.
File to keepThe supported message file, with sender and time fields.
When the file is not ready yet
Problem
Likely place to check
Next step
Older messages are missing
Likely place to checkDate filters, the backup date or the app’s export range.
Next stepCheck the source app and export the available period again.
Only photos appear
Likely place to checkAn attachments-only folder or download category.
Next stepFind the transcript or request Messages in the export settings.
Names run into the message text
Likely place to checkText copied out of an HTML page or document.
Next stepUpload the original archive or request a structured JSON/text export.
The wrong person appears
Likely place to checkA multi-conversation archive or the selected thread.
Next stepSelect the intended conversation and confirm the sender labels.
Frequently Asked Questions
What must a message export contain?
Keep the message text, sender labels, dates and times, and the original sequence. Verify the available date range rather than assuming the export contains the entire conversation.
Can I use screenshots instead of an export?
Screenshots can preserve an exchange, but may omit older context, sender labels and exact times. Prefer a structured export when your question depends on reply timing or patterns over a long period.
Do I need to buy a full report before uploading?
No. The initial analysis is completely free, with no card required. Upload, confirm the conversation and read the preview before deciding whether to buy the full report.
Why does my export have fewer messages than the app?
The export may have a date filter, a platform limit or only some parts of a split conversation. Compare the first and last exported messages with the app, then follow the platform guide to check what is missing.
Each message needs an actual participant label; guessing identity from tone can reverse the report.
02
Time and order
Keep the timestamps and sequence supplied by the platform so gaps and changes can be interpreted correctly.
03
Available range
Check the beginning and end of the file and note anything the platform did not include.
Conceptual reading guide. This diagram explains what to inspect; it is not a customer report, diagnostic test or measured relationship score.Use this guide on the question you came with
Choose the guide for your platform, then upload the supported export. Analyze the history you actually have rather than assuming missing messages were processed.