Extro

View and save your backed up conversations and voicemails without having to download a thing

This project allows you to save or view your conversations/messages and voicemails from an iOS backup folder. You can use the app hosted at extro.app or use the steps below to run it locally.

Getting Started Locally

First, run the development server:

npm run dev
# or
yarn dev

Open http://localhost:3000 with your browser to see the result.

Usage

Please note that this project uses new web technologies, such as the File System Access API. As such, you may only be able to use it on modern browsers (currently only Chrome supports this technology). The steps are also currently only documented to work on Mac, but a similar process may work on Windows and Linux, so long as you are using a modern iOS backup folder and a modern browser as previously noted.

Steps are included on the home page of the app. They are as follows:

1. Plug your iPhone into your Mac, then open Finder. You should see your iPhone's name show up in Finder's sidebar. Click that name. Then click the "Back Up" button and wait for it to finish.

2. Open Finder and press ⌘+shift+g on your keyboard. In the box that opens, type ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup, then press enter.

   You should now see a list of folders with names like
   00000000-0000000000000000. Locate the folder that was most recently modified. Move or copy this folder to be another folder that is more easily accessible (e.g. your Downloads folder).

3. Click the "Open Backup Folder" button and navigate to and select the folder you just moved (e.g. Downloads/00000000-0000000000000000). As noted above, this currently only works with Google Chrome.

4. Choose what you would like to view. We currently support viewing and downloading Messages; more features will be added in the future.