How to Save and Send Call Logs, Voicemails and Text Screenshots

If a company keeps calling or texting you, or a debt collector will not leave you alone, your phone is holding the evidence. To save it: screenshot the whole text thread so the dates and the sender's number show, save each voicemail as an audio file, screenshot your call history, and send everything to your lawyer in one email. The steps below walk through each one on an iPhone and on an Android phone.

Your lawyer cannot see your phone. A case about unwanted calls or texts is built on exactly these records, so the sooner they are saved and sent, the sooner your case can move.

Before you start: three rules

• Do not delete anything. Keep the full thread, including your own replies, and every voicemail, even the ones that seem useless.

• Do not crop or mark up your screenshots. Send them as they came off the phone. A full, untouched screenshot is easier to rely on than an edited one.

• Do not argue with the sender. Replying STOP is fine and, for texts, important (see below). Anything beyond that is not needed.

Step 1: Save your text messages

Every screenshot should show three things: the message, the date and time, and the sender's phone number or short code. If the sender is saved in your contacts under a name, also screenshot the contact card so the actual number is visible.

On an iPhone

1. Open the conversation in Messages and scroll to the first message from the sender.

2. Take a screenshot. On an iPhone with Face ID, press the side button and the volume up button at the same time, then let go. On an iPhone with a Home button, press the Home button and the side button together.

3. Scroll down a little and take the next screenshot, so each one overlaps the last. Keep going to the most recent message. If a full-size preview appears after a screenshot, swipe up or tap the checkmark and choose to save it to Photos. Saved screenshots are in the Photos app, under Screenshots.

On an Android phone

1. Open the conversation in your messaging app and scroll to the first message.

2. Press the Power and Volume down buttons at the same time. If that does not work, press and hold the Power button for a few seconds, then tap Screenshot. Button steps vary by phone maker.

3. On Android 12 and later, you can often tap Capture more to grab a longer, scrolling screenshot. Otherwise, take overlapping screenshots as above. They save in Photos or your Gallery app, in Screenshots.

Make sure your STOP reply is in the screenshots

For marketing texts, Florida's telephone solicitation law generally requires that you replied STOP and the texts kept coming 15 days later before you can sue for damages, under Fla. Stat. § 501.059(10)(c). So the screenshot that shows your STOP reply, with its date, and the texts that arrived after it, are often the most important pictures you will send. If you have not replied STOP yet, our guide to spam text lawsuits in Florida explains how that rule works.

Step 2: Save your voicemails as audio files

A voicemail can prove more than a call log can: it may name the company, give a callback number, or show that the message was prerecorded. Save the recording itself, not just a note of what it said.

On an iPhone

1. Open the Phone app. Depending on your layout, tap Voicemail, or tap Calls and choose the message from your Recents list.

2. Tap the voicemail, then tap the Share button (the square with an arrow).

3. From the share options, choose Save to Files to keep a copy on your phone or in iCloud Drive, or choose Mail to email it straight to your lawyer. The options you see can vary.

Apple notes that voicemails are kept until you delete them, or until your carrier erases them if they are not stored in iCloud. Changing your SIM card can also delete them. Do not wait.

On an Android phone

1. Open the Phone app and go to Voicemail. Some phones and carriers use a separate carrier voicemail app instead, so open that if your Phone app does not list your messages.

2. Tap the voicemail to expand it, then look for Send to (the label in Google's Phone app), or Share, Save or Export on other phones.

3. Share it to email, or save it to your phone or Google Drive.

Do not turn off visual voicemail while you are doing this. Google says turning it off deletes the recordings from the Phone app.

If there is no Share button

Some carriers only let you listen by dialing in. In that case, play the voicemail on speaker and record it with a second phone or a voice recorder app, then write down the date and time it was left.

Step 3: Screenshot your call history

Your call history shows how often they called and when, which matters. A debt collector generally may not call you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. your time without your permission, under 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(a)(1), and repeated calls can be harassment under the FDCPA.

• iPhone: open the Phone app, go to your recent calls, and screenshot the list. Then tap a call from the number (or the info button next to it) to open its details, and screenshot that too.

• Android: open the Phone app, go to your recent calls (the Home tab in Google's Phone app), tap a call from the number, then tap Call details and screenshot it. Steps and labels vary by phone maker.

Phones do not keep call history forever. Alongside the screenshots, keep a short written log: the date, the time, the number, whether you answered, and what you heard (silence, a recording, or a live person).

Step 4: Check when your number joined the Do Not Call list

If the problem is sales calls, your registration date matters. Federal law can give you a claim when a company makes more than one telemarketing call in 12 months to a number on the national Do Not Call Registry, under 47 U.S.C. § 227(c)(5), subject to exceptions such as a recent purchase or your written permission.

• National list: go to donotcall.gov and use Verify Your Registration. The site emails you the date your number was registered. Screenshot or forward that email.

• Florida's own list: Florida keeps a separate, free Do Not Call list through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). You can check your number on the FDACS consumer site.

Being on a list does not, on its own, make every text a case. For texts, the STOP reply in Step 1 is still the step to document. Our guide to stopping robocalls in Florida covers registering if you have not.

Step 5: Send it all to your lawyer

1. Put everything in one email: your text screenshots, voicemail files, call history screenshots, your written log and your Do Not Call email.

2. In the subject line, write your full name and the name of the company or number that contacted you.

3. If the files are too large to attach, upload them to iCloud Drive or Google Drive and send a share link instead.

4. If our office emailed you asking for documents, reply to that email with your files. If you are not sure where to send them, email info@consumerlawflorida.com or call (833) 645-3247.

Keep your own copies on the phone and in the cloud until your case is over.

What if some of it is already gone?

Send what you still have. Your carrier may have records of calls that are no longer on your phone, and your monthly bill or online account may list them. Write down what you remember, including roughly when the calls or texts started and how often they came. A case can still be reviewed with incomplete records, and your lawyer can tell you what else may be available.

Not a client yet?

If a company keeps calling or texting after you told it to stop, or a debt collector is calling at odd hours or will not leave you alone, save these records first, then let us look at them. We handle robocall and text cases and debt collection cases across Florida. Request a free case review and tell us what happened.