Import SMS / iMessage

What you need

An SMS backup in XML format, created by the SMS Backup & Restore app (Android) or exported from iMessage.

How to export from Android

1. Install SMS Backup & Restore from the Play Store
2. Open the app and tap Back Up Now
3. Choose to back up Messages (and optionally call logs)
4. Save the backup to your phone or Google Drive
5. Transfer the .xml file to your Mac (via AirDrop, email, or Google Drive)

How to export from iMessage (Mac)

If you use iMessage on your Mac, Retrace can read your messages directly from the local database. No export step needed. See the import step below.

How to import into Retrace

1. Open Retrace and go to Settings
2. Click the Data Sources tab
3. Click the SMS card
4. Drop your .xml file or click to select it (for Android backups)
5. For iMessage, click Connect iMessage and grant Retrace access to your message database
6. Review the conversations found in the preview
7. Link participants to people in your address book (or create new ones)
8. Click Import

What gets imported

• All text messages with timestamps and sender/receiver info
• Contact names (when available in the backup)
• Message type (SMS, MMS)

Common issues

• Large XML files: SMS Backup & Restore can create large files if you have years of messages. The parser handles files of any size.
• iMessage permissions: macOS may ask you to grant Retrace "Full Disk Access" to read the iMessage database. This is required for direct iMessage import.
• Re-importing: Safe to do. Retrace deduplicates messages automatically.