Relationship evidence apps compared: seven options
Published October 28, 2026
Checked October 2026.
Short answer: if your chat is on WhatsApp, you use an iPhone, and you want the packet built on the phone, the Bona Fide app is the closest thing to a dedicated tool and costs $24.99. If the chat is on Messenger, you are on Android or a computer, or some messages need English translations, Proof of Relationship covers those. If you only need a chat turned into a readable PDF, a general converter such as ChatToPDF does that from $7. And if you have a week and a few dozen messages to show, screenshots in a document cost nothing.
We make one of the tools below, so this is a comparison from one side. The facts about the others come from their own App Store listing, website or add-on page, read in October 2026. Prices change; check before you buy.
The seven options side by side
| Option | Runs on | Chats it reads | What you get | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screenshots in a Word or Google document | Anything | Anything you can screenshot | Whatever you assemble by hand | Free |
| WhatsApp's own Export chat, printed | Any phone | That WhatsApp chat | A text file of every message with dates and times; no layout, no photos placed | Free |
| Bona Fide: Visa Evidence | iPhone app (also lists Apple-silicon Macs) | WhatsApp export, plus photos | A packet with a cover, an exhibit index and numbered, dated, captioned items in date order; formats for USCIS marriage filings, UK Appendix FM and Canada; English or French | Free to build; $24.99 to export |
| ChatToPDF | Browser; files go to its server | WhatsApp; separate converters for Telegram, Instagram, SMS and iMessage | The whole chat as a formatted PDF, plus Excel and CSV; photos from the $14 tier, voice-note transcripts from $49 | $7 to $99 per chat |
| WhatsApp Chat Export (browser add-on) | Computer, with WhatsApp Web open | The WhatsApp chat open on screen | Free text export; the paid version adds a cover sheet, numbered messages, an image index and a checksum | Free; Pro is a one-time purchase |
| A translator or paralegal | A person | Whatever you give them | Translations with a signed statement, or a packet put together for you | Usually per page or per hour |
| Proof of Relationship (ours) | Any phone or computer, in the browser | WhatsApp, and Messenger including the end-to-end encrypted download | One PDF under 4 MB: cover, index, a calendar of messages per month, an even sample of dated messages, photos with camera dates and your captions, English drafts under foreign-language messages with a translator's statement page, and a method statement | Free preview; $29 once |
Which one fits your case
WhatsApp, an iPhone, and you would rather stay in an app
Bona Fide is built for exactly this. It reads the WhatsApp export and your photo library on the phone, says nothing is uploaded and no account is needed, and lets you page through the whole packet before paying. It is also the only option here with a layout for UK and Canadian filings and French output. At the time of writing it had too few App Store ratings to show a score, so there is not much outside feedback yet. It does not list Messenger, Android or translations.
Messenger, Android, a computer, or a mix
Messenger chats since 2024 are split between Facebook's download and Messenger's encrypted-chat download, and most tools read neither. Proof of Relationship takes both zips as they are, joins them into one timeline, and warns you if the Messenger part stops early, which is the sign that the encrypted half is missing. It runs in any browser, so the same steps work on Android, an iPhone or a laptop. If you have WhatsApp and Messenger with the same person, both go into one document.
Some messages are not in English
USCIS asks for a complete English translation of any foreign-language document, with the translator's statement that it is complete and accurate and that they are competent to translate (see USCIS translation requirements). A sample makes that practical. Proof of Relationship drafts English for the sampled messages, you check every line, and the PDF prints the English under each message with a statement page for the translator to sign; the drafts are included in the price, and only the sampled messages are sent to be translated. A professional translator does the same work by hand and signs it themselves, which is the route to take if nobody you know can check the drafts.
You just need the chat as a PDF
ChatToPDF and the WhatsApp Chat Export add-on are general converters: they turn a whole chat into a clean PDF and are good at it, but they are not built around a visa petition, so there is no sample, no calendar and no photo exhibit. ChatToPDF's own page is careful to say that a formatted PDF does not show that every message is genuine or complete, which is true of every tool on this page. Its footer describes server-side processing and source files are deleted within seven days; the add-on works locally in the browser.
A short relationship history, or no budget
Screenshots in a document are free and every reviewer has seen them. Put a date on each, keep them in order, spread them across the whole relationship rather than the last month, and add a one-line caption. The weakness is that a reviewer cannot tell how much talking happened between the screenshots; a month-by-month count from the export, which you can tally by hand from WhatsApp's text file, fills that gap. See how to print WhatsApp messages.
Landed! Customs line is huge, see you in 40 min
I'm at arrivals with the sign 😂
What to look for in any of them
- Dates and names on every message. A page of messages without dates shows very little.
- A sample, not the whole chat. Six hundred pages bury the point. Twenty to forty pages spread across the relationship, chosen by a stated rule, read as representative.
- Something that shows the whole span. A count per month, or a calendar, shows continuous contact on one page.
- Photos from the original files. The camera's date survives in the original; a photo forwarded through a chat loses it.
- A file size the portal takes. USCIS, IRCC, ImmiAccount and UK visa portals cap uploads per file, some at 4 to 5 MB.
- Where your messages go. On the phone, in the browser, or to a server: each tool says which, and it is worth reading.
None of these tools decides whether the evidence is enough, and none of them is legal advice. The form instructions, and a lawyer if your case is complicated, do that.
Common questions
Is there an app that makes a relationship evidence PDF?
Yes. Bona Fide: Visa Evidence is an iPhone app that builds a packet from a WhatsApp export and photos, with a $24.99 export. Proof of Relationship does the same in any browser, reads Messenger as well as WhatsApp, and costs $29 once.
What is the cheapest way to organize relationship evidence?
Screenshots in a document, which cost nothing. Date each one, keep them in order and spread them across the whole relationship, and add a monthly message count taken from WhatsApp's export file.
Can I use a WhatsApp to PDF converter for my visa application?
Yes, it produces a readable record of the chat. General converters print the whole conversation, so you still need to pick a sample, add photos and an index, and keep the file under the portal's size limit.
Does USCIS accept PDFs made by an app?
USCIS looks at what the evidence shows, not which program laid it out. Every tool here organizes what you supply; none of them changes what the messages and photos say.
Which tool works with Messenger?
Proof of Relationship reads both of Facebook's downloads, including the end-to-end encrypted one, and joins them. Most other tools on this page read WhatsApp only.
Turn your chat export and photos into an organized evidence PDF →More guides: K-1 visa evidence: proof of relationship · I-751 evidence · Affidavit of bona fide marriage: sample and template · Evidence of bona fide marriage: the full list · I-130 request for evidence on the marriage · How to print WhatsApp messages with dates · USCIS translation requirements · I-751 cover letter: sample · I-130 cover letter for a spouse: sample · K-1 visa interview: questions and documents · Download Messenger chat history