Option-Space, from any app.
A search bar floats over whatever you're doing. Pick a result, press Return, and Textlore opens at that message.
Textlore 1.1Recs, Promises and WhatsApp, $20 until 28 OctoberRecs, Promises and WhatsApp are here
Everything your friends told you to try, found in your texts.
Recs lists every book, show, restaurant, song and app friends recommended in iMessage and WhatsApp, with who said it and their exact words. Promises shows every time you said you'd do something for someone, and which ones are still open.
Download free14 days, no account
Buy Textlore, $39 $20Buy Textlore, $39Launch price until 28 OctoberOnce, for 2 Macs
Textlore is a Mac app. Open this page on your Mac to download.
- macOS 26 or later
- Recs and Promises on Macs with Apple Intelligence
- Notarized by Apple
- 9 MB download
Recs, sorted by most recommended, with who said it and whenSam's demo library
NotarizedSigned and checked by Apple
17 msto search 123,580 messages
0accounts, trackers or uploads
78K+readers follow the maker on Medium
What is Textlore?
Textlore is a Mac app that reads the iMessage and WhatsApp for Mac history on your Mac. It lists the things your friends told you to try (Recs) and the promises you made (Promises), and it lets you search, keep and export every message. It only reads: it never sends, edits or deletes a message, and nothing about your messages leaves your Mac. Version 1.1 needs macOS 26 or later and costs $20 once until 28 October 2026, then $39$39 once, with every feature free for 14 days. It is made by Raja at The Useful Media Co. in Chennai, India. See pricing and how it compares. Last updated 22 October 2026.
Recs
The show 3 friends told you to watch is at the top of the list.
Recs gathers every book, show, film, restaurant, place, podcast, song, app and thing to buy that someone told you to try. Each one shows who said it, when, and their exact words, sorted by how many people recommended it.
Found on your Mac by Apple's on-device model, on Macs with Apple Intelligence. The first full scan of a long history can take hours and runs in the background, and this year is ready first.
In their wordsJordan's "you HAVE to watch Severance", with the day and a link back to the conversation.
Most recommended firstWhen 3 people tell you about the same book, it rises to the top.
Mark as triedTick off the restaurant once you've been, and see how many you've tried.
Promises
Every “I’ll do it” you texted, with how late it is.
Promises finds every time you said you would do something for someone, with the day you said it and how many days late it is. When a later message suggests you kept it, Textlore tells you, so you can check it off.
Each one has I kept this, Remind me and Open in Messages.
Read only. Textlore never sends a message, so you keep every promise yourself.
13 of 15 promises still open, 7 past the day you saidSam's demo library
Your WhatsApp chats, next to your iMessages.
Textlore imports your chats from WhatsApp for Mac alongside iMessage. Each one carries a badge, the Sources filter shows one app or both, and Settings > Sources is where you set them up. Recs, Promises, search, Ask AI and export all cover WhatsApp too.
The app
Made for macOS, in light and dark.
Every conversation, newest firstPeople first, with bank codes and delivery alerts tucked into their own place.
Jump to any dayOpen a conversation at an exact message or date, with everything around it.
Read only, alwaysTextlore never sends, edits or deletes a message.
Your texts are a journal you already wrote. The first message from someone who became family. The address of your first flat. The photo from that trip. Messages is built for talking. Textlore is built for everything after.
Find
That one text from 2019 is a few letters away.
Search years of conversations as you type, by word, person, date or photo. Matches light up in amber, and Return opens the conversation at that exact message.
Narrow it with from:Jordan, has:photo, during:summer 2024 or "an exact phrase".
Sam is a made-up person from Textlore's demo library. Each dot is a message, on the ring for its year.
Narrow it as you type.
Every filter becomes a token you can see and remove: from:, in:, before:, has:video, is:sent and more.
Every photo, video and file.
Browse what people sent you by person and by date. Click a photo here to open it, just like pressing Space in the app.
Keep
Messages lets old photos go, but Textlore keeps its own copy.
When your Mac runs low on space, Messages removes its copies of photos and files and leaves them only in iCloud. Textlore saves every message and photo into its own folder the moment it arrives, so a photo from today is still here in 10 years.
The archive starts the day you install Textlore. One-time codes are skipped if you've told Messages to delete them.
Need it on paper? Save a whole chat, or just 3 messages, as a PDF.
Or as HTML, plain text, Markdown, CSV or an image. Phone numbers and emails are hidden unless you switch them on, and the preview shows exactly what you'll get. For keepsakes, records and proof.
PDFHTMLPlain textMarkdownCSVImage
Relive: Your Lore
Every year of texting, drawn as a ring.
Your Lore reads your history back to you as tree rings, one for every year, the busiest year in amber. Then it tells the story: your busiest day, your longest streak with one person, the hour you text most, your laughs and your emoji.
Counted on your Mac. Bank codes, delivery alerts and other business texts are left out of every people stat.
Busiest day14 March 20201,206 messages in one day
Longest streak412 days in a rowwith Person 1, every single day
Peak hour10 PMa certified night owl
Laugh count9,842 laughsevery haha, lol and 😂
Your Lore in the app: hover a ring for its year, click it to see just that yearSam's demo library
Ask AI
Ask your texts anything and get the answer with the receipts.
Ask AI reads your messages with Apple Intelligence, right on your Mac. Every answer lists the messages it used, and one click takes you to them.
Recs, Promises and Ask AI need a Mac with Apple Intelligence. Everything else works on any Mac running macOS 26.
Try it on Sam's texts
Searching messages…
Why Textlore
Everything your messages need, in one app.
| Feature |  Textlore | Messages search | Backup and export tools | Wrapped scripts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What friends told you to try, in their words | Recs | |||
| Promises you made, and which are still open | Promises | |||
| iMessage and WhatsApp in one place | WhatsApp for Mac | iMazing, from iPhone backups | ||
| Search every year as you type, with filters | Often misses old texts | |||
| Keeps photos after Messages clears space | Only when you back up | |||
| Export to PDF with phone numbers hidden | ||||
| Your texting story, as cards and video | Once a year, in Terminal | |||
| Ask questions, with the source texts | ||||
| No account, nothing uploaded | Varies | |||
| Price | $20 until 28 Oct$39 once | Built in | From €30 a yeariMazing. Decipher is $29.99 once and needs an iPhone backup. | Free |
Tour
Every screen, up close.
Privacy
What Textlore will never do.
- Send, edit or delete a message.
- Upload your texts anywhere.
- Ask you for an account.
- Track you or show you ads.
- Charge you every month.
Textlore only reads. Your messages, photos and stats stay on your Mac, and Recs, Promises and Ask AI use Apple's on-device model. Read the privacy policy
It goes online for 2 things only: checking your licence and checking for updates. It asks for Full Disk Access because macOS keeps your Messages history in a protected folder.
Pricing
Try it free for 14 days, then keep it for $20$39.
- DownloadA 9 MB download, notarized by Apple.
- Try every feature for 14 daysNo account, no email, no card.
- Buy once, if you keep itYour archive keeps saving while you decide.
Textlore for MacVersion 1.1, macOS 26 or later
$20once $39
$39once
Launch price until 28 October, then $39.
- Recs and Promises
- iMessage and WhatsApp
- Search with filters
- Option-Space quick search
- An archive that keeps photos
- Every photo and file
- Export to PDF and more
- Your Lore and share cards
- Ask AI, on your Mac
- 2 Macs, every 1.x update
Textlore is a Mac app. Open this page on your Mac to download.
Try every feature free for 14 days, so every sale is final.
Every 1.x update is included, and 2.0 will be a discounted upgrade, never a subscription. Secure checkout by Gumroad. Prices adjust for your country at checkout.
Does it work with WhatsApp?
Yes, with WhatsApp for Mac. Textlore imports your WhatsApp for Mac chats alongside iMessage, each with a badge, and the Sources filter shows one app or both. Recs, Promises, search, Ask AI and export cover WhatsApp too.
Do Recs and Promises send my messages anywhere?
No. Apple's on-device model finds them on your Mac, and nothing leaves it. Both are read only: Textlore never sends a message. They need a Mac with Apple Intelligence.
How long does the first scan take?
On a long history, the first full scan can take hours. It runs in the background while you use Textlore, and this year's messages are ready first.
I bought 1.0. Do I pay for 1.1?
No. Every 1.x update is included with your licence. Choose Textlore > Check for Updates… to get it.
Do I need my iPhone?
No. Textlore reads the Messages history on your Mac. Turn on Messages in iCloud on your iPhone and Mac to have your full history there.
Why does it ask for Full Disk Access?
macOS keeps your Messages history in a protected folder and only opens it to apps you switch on. Textlore only reads it.
Why isn't it on the Mac App Store?
Apple doesn't let Mac App Store apps read the Messages history, so every app like this is sold directly.
Can it show photos that are only in iCloud?
It shows the preview Messages keeps on your Mac, and a button that opens the photo in Messages. From now on, the archive saves each photo while it's on your Mac.
What happens after 14 days?
Textlore asks for a licence. Your archive keeps saving in the background while you decide, so nothing is lost.
Can I use it on my MacBook and my iMac?
Yes. One licence works on 2 Macs.
Can I get a refund?
No. You can try every feature free for 14 days before you buy, so every sale is final. If something does not work, email raja@theusefultech.com and it gets fixed.
What happens when version 2 comes out?
Every 1.x update is included with your licence. Version 2.0 will be a discounted upgrade for people who own Textlore, never a subscription.
Your friends' best tips are already in your texts.
Download Textlore and see this year's Recs and Promises first, while it reads the rest. Free for 14 days.
Textlore is a Mac app. Open this page on your Mac to download.