← Comparison hub · Export tools · Checked October 26, 2026

TouchCopy: the closest export tool to a numbered record

Of the three consumer export tools in this series, TouchCopy gets closest to what attorneys actually ask for.

It's worth understanding exactly how close. Because “close” and “line-numbered” aren't the same claim — and I'm not going to blur them.

The facts, from its official site

Pricing verified on Wide Angle Software's purchase page, checked October 26, 2026:

• 6 Month License — $30.00 — 1 PC or 1 Mac
• 12 Month License — $40.00 — 1 PC or 1 Mac
• Lifetime License — $70.00 — marked Most Popular — 2 PCs or 2 Macs
• All with unlimited Apple devices.
• No subscription. No auto-renewals.

Two things you need to hear about that price:

• You're paying per computer, not per phone.
• That page shows a $ sign and the checkout defaults to the US, but it doesn't spell out USD on the page itself. So I'm showing you the listed prices as they appear — I'm not dressing up a tax-included total as the price.

What it does:

• It isn't Apple Messages only. TouchCopy exports SMS, iMessage, WhatsApp, and LINE, plus MMS and RCS, from your iPhone to a Mac or PC.
• You can save in PDF, HTML, CSV, and plain text.
• Printed messages include images, dates, and times.
• And a timestamp on every message.

Search, let's get this right too:

• TouchCopy does have local message search and date filtering in the tool itself.
• It doesn't have AI questions with citations.
• No case reports found.
• And no dated plus line-numbered PDF as a stated feature.

Its forensic options are the differentiator:

• Bates numbering, numeric message identifiers and extended device information
• plus an optional forensics footer

Bates numbering stamps pages. Numeric IDs identify messages. Genuinely useful.

But that's still not a dated plus line-numbered PDF as a stated feature — so I'm not claiming it as one.

The trial, exactly as Wide Angle splits it:

• On Mac, you can save the first 5 messages per conversation.
• On Windows, you can save the first 6 messages per conversation.
• Printing messages isn't included in the trial.
• The trial does let you view and browse all your device content.
• Buying a license removes all restrictions.

Know these limits too:

• TouchCopy is for Apple devices. Android is the separate Droid Transfer product.
• Its PDFs embed images but not video or audio.
• It can't restore messages to a new device.
• It doesn't give you AI questions with citations over your messages, and no case reports were found.

What real users say — the good, the bad, and the ugly

There's no TouchCopy-only headline score. Don't let anyone sell you one:

Ratings: Wide Angle Software (company) Trustpilot 3.7/5 · 1,636 reviews — mixed products, NOT TouchCopy-only · SourceForge 2.7/5 · 7 reviews — small sample

Here's the pattern in those reviews, in order:

1. Device detection and staying connected comes first. That's the top complaint — the tool not finding your phone, or losing it mid-save.
2. Lifetime license disputes come second. And I'll give you the balanced update below: the Donna December 2025 1-star review later updated that a complimentary code for the latest version works to her satisfaction.

The good

About: Printing messages “This software is perfect for my needs. It is so nice to be able to print text messages of great importance for my records. Screen shots are not adequate. Now I will look into everything this software is capable of doing ....” Reviewer name not shown in source · star rating not shown in source — Trustpilot, 25 Jul 2025. Company reply confirms TouchCopy. Source: Trustpilot - Wide Angle Software reviews

About: Music recovery — playlists and songs “I was blown away!!! I carelessly deleted 9 playlists from one of my iPhones trying to repair a problem. Performed a sync and lost all 9 (3600 songs) from my iTunes library. Found Wide Angle Software and purchased TouchCopy. It worked absolutely perfect, EASY and quick (considering) restoring all the playlists back to my iTunes library, which would have taken many many hours to rebuild them. Amazing product.” Reviewer name not shown in source · star rating not shown in source — Trustpilot, 24 Mar 2026. Source: Trustpilot - Wide Angle Software reviews

About: Free version and ease of use “Ease of use. Intelligible UI. Accomplished the task with the free version. Accomplished a single task other programs failed to do. Reasonable price, especially if used regularly.” “I attached my iPhone to my Windows PC, opened the program, and a few minutes later I had recovered my file. Unprecedented ease of use in this sub-area of file handing.” Reviewer name not shown in source · star rating not shown in source — SourceForge, 1 Sep 2025. Source: SourceForge - TouchCopy reviews

The bad

About: Device never detected “There are no pros, I couldn't even use this product once! Do not give this company your money!!” “Never worked! Unable to detect a phone. Could never use, not even once!!!” “Terrible! Total rip off!!!!! Do not give this company your $!” Reviewer name not shown in source · star rating not shown in source — SourceForge, 31 Mar 2026. Source: SourceForge - TouchCopy reviews

About: Stuck on 'Looking for devices' “The software and the company are ABSOLUTE JUNK.” “this junk software has been sitting for hours now saying 'Looking for devices' when the device is attached” “NO support, NO working software, and now the fight to get my money back.” “WASTE OF TIME.” Pat — Trustpilot, 2 Jan 2026 · star rating not shown in source. Company replied it normally responds within 1 working day, slower over Christmas/New Year, and would provide a full refund if unresolved. Source: Trustpilot - Wide Angle Software reviews

About: Lifetime licence and iOS updates “I purchased a lifetime license for TouchCopy version 16. After normal automatic iPhone updates, the software no longer works at all on iOS versions 16 and higher.” “This limitation was not disclosed when I purchased the license. If you keep your iPhone updated—as Apple recommends—this product becomes completely unusable. That makes the 'lifetime' license meaningless.” “Calling this a lifetime license is misleading.” Donna — Trustpilot, 1 star (stated in review title “One Star – Misleading 'Lifetime' License”), 9 Dec 2025. Later update: she updated that review to say a complimentary code for the latest version works to her satisfaction, and “The current version is a significant improvement and works to my satisfaction.” Wide Angle replied lifetime licences apply to the lifetime of the specific major version purchased. Source: Trustpilot - Wide Angle Software reviews

The mixed

About: Staying connected “If it would stay connected it could be a decent program. The options offered for saving are good. Visually it looks good” “Issues of it finding my iPhone. Have to shut off phone then restart it. Then in the start of saving messages it says it can not find my phone.” “Not worth the $70.00 for something that will not stay running, and tech support is hard to find. You will end up leaving a message.” Reviewer name not shown in source · star rating not shown in source — SourceForge, edited 7 Oct 2025. Source: SourceForge - TouchCopy reviews

About: Lifetime upgrade “The platform was intuitive and pretty easy to use. My complaint is I purchased the 'Lifetime' subscription and they updated their platform and want me to pay again for the updated version. That is not 'lifetime'.” Chris — Trustpilot, 22 Nov 2025 · star rating not shown in source. Source: Trustpilot - Wide Angle Software reviews

Why TextEvidence is better here

I'll be direct, because you're here to build the strongest record you can, fairly.

TouchCopy gets close with Bates numbering, and it's still iPhone-only in TouchCopy itself. Android is a separate product.

• iPhone AND Android AND WhatsApp in one place. You don't need a second product for WhatsApp, and you don't lose Android threads.
• Dated AND line-numbered PDF. None of the four export tools verified that as a stated feature. Ours is built that way, so you can say “start at line 412.”
• Not just a printout. On the paid platform you get whole-history search, AI questions with citations your attorney can check, and reports. Those are paid features, not in the Text-to-PDF Tool.
• Start free, literally nothing to lose. The Free Text-to-PDF Tool turns an iPhone backup, an Android SMS Backup & Restore (.xml), or a WhatsApp/chat export (.csv/.xml/.json/.txt) into a dated, line-numbered PDF, in your browser only. Messages never leave your device, nothing's saved on page close, free to 1,000 messages, no account needed. You pick a conversation thread, filter by conversation and date range, preview shows first 50 rows.

We're not a forensic unlock tool. We don't unlock phones or recover deleted messages. I'm not promising a court will accept any printout.

— Matt

Use the Free Text-to-PDF Tool — up to 1,000 messages

Related comparisons

• iMazing for messages
• Decipher TextMessage
• Do you need Cellebrite?
• Back to the comparison hub
• Use the Free Text-to-PDF Tool first

The fit test

1. You live entirely on iPhone, want a one-time purchase, and your attorney is comfortable with Bates-style numbering? TouchCopy is a serious contender.
2. Your record spans Android or WhatsApp exports too, or you want answers cited to numbered lines without installing desktop software? Start with the Free Text-to-PDF Tool and compare the outputs side by side. Your own messages will settle it faster than any post, including this one.

Use the Free Text-to-PDF Tool

Turn your iPhone, Android, or WhatsApp messages into a dated, line-numbered PDF — free up to 1,000 messages, in your browser, nothing saved, no account needed.

General information, not legal advice. Sources: https://www.wideanglesoftware.com/touchcopy/purchase/ · https://www.wideanglesoftware.com/touchcopy/help/messagePDF.php · https://www.wideanglesoftware.com/support/touchcopy/what-are-the-touchcopy-demo-restrictions.php

By Matt Cretzman

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This article is general information, not legal advice. TextEvidence is software, not a law firm, and nothing here promises a court will accept any printout — that decision is always the court's. Prices change — confirm on the vendor's site before you buy anything, including ours.