How to Export Chat History in Microsoft Teams

Are you someone whose messages are getting deleted constantly by your company’s Microsoft Teams retention policies? Are you searching for a way to export the messages?

Then your agitation ends right here cause I’ve got the perfect solutions for you.

I’ve experienced the same issue as you for a long time and lost a substantial amount of data until someday I promised to end that suffering. So, I sat in front of my pc and searched for hours and came up with several effective solutions.

Can you export chat history in Microsoft Teams?

You can export chat history by requesting an export of your data directly from Microsoft. Exporting the chat history directly from Microsoft is the only official way. The third-party alternatives include Exporting as PDF, Long Screenshot, and copying the entire chat to a Microsoft Word document.

I’ll show you the easiest way to export your Microsoft Teams’ chat history to save them from the retention policy in this post.

So, without any further adieu, let’s get your chats exported.

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How to Export Microsoft Teams Chat History Officially

The first way I’m showing you is the official way. You have all the authenticity of the exported chat history as it’ll come directly from the Microsoft server. You can present the chat history as a valid document if you need it.

So, in terms of authenticity, there’s no exception.

To extract the chat history from Microsoft, you’ll need to perform a set of steps. Don’t worry; I’ve already prepared a step-by-step guide for you. Just follow the steps, and you’ll be all set.

Follow these steps to export your chat history from Microsoft Export My Data:

Open a browser on your device.
Head over to the Microsoft Export My Data webpage.
Log in with your credentials.
Click on Chat History on the home page.
Click on Submit request.
Hit Continue on the following prompt.
Click on Available Exports to check export status.
Click on Download when the chat history is exported and ready to use.

Keep in mind that your data will not be instantly ready to export and download. It needs a day or two to process the request. After that, they’ll execute your request and provide you with a copy of your chat history. Then you’ll be able to download it.

So, frequently visit the Export My Data page and check the export status to keep yourself up to date.

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Alternative Ways to Extract Microsoft Teams Chat History

So, if you feel like getting your entire chats instantly without the delay of any kind of processing, I have that option for you too.

I told you before that Microsoft needs a while to process your data exporting request, and then your file will be ready to download.

But, if you need them instantly, like the retention policy will be activated within hours or a day, then there isn’t enough time to export it officially. That’s why you need a robust and effective way to obtain your chat history.

I’ve prepared a list of easy, effective, and most importantly, free ways to extract and export your chat history from Microsoft Teams. I’m presenting the list below and describing how to extract data from a web page using these methods.

Here are the methods to export Microsoft Teams chat history:

1. Copy and Export as PDF

So, the first alternative method I’m showing you is relatively easy. With just a couple of clicks, you can export your entire conversation chats inside a portable document file.

The most exciting part is you won’t need to install any software to perform this method. It’s completely free and effortless.

I’ve created a quick-step guide for you to perform this method yourself. Follow the steps below to copy your chat history and paste it into a PDF file:

Open Google Chrome on your PC.
Head over to Microsoft Teams web version.
Log in with your credentials.
Open the conversation you want to export.
Scroll up to the top of the conversation to load the entire chat.
Press Ctrl + A keys to select all texts.
Press Ctrl + P to open the Printing window.
Choose Save as PDF from the Destination option on the following window.
Click on Save and choose the destination folder to preserve the PDF file with the entire conversation.

Now your entire conversation is exported as a PDF file, and you can use it anytime you want, wherever you want.

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2. Use Exchange PowerShell

Another great way to extract the Team chat history is through Exchange Management Shell. It gives you access to a group mailbox that’s created by Office 365.

Every time a Teams group is created, an Office 365 mailbox is also created automatically, where the chat history is stored. You need to use some specific commands to access the Team chat history for a specific mailbox.

Don’t worry if you’re unfamiliar with codes and commands. Follow my steps below to export Microsoft Teams chat history via Exchange PowerShell:

Open the Exchange PowerShell.
Type the command below:

Get-mailbox – groupmailboxname | get-mailboxstatistics | select-object identity, itemsinfolder, foldersize

Type this command if you don’t have the permission to open that mailbox:

Get-mailbox – groupmailboxname | get-mailboxfolderpermission

Add the Teams mailbox that represents a folder called -\conversation\teamchat to your Onedrive Web Application to view the contents easily.

Remember, use this command only for chat history from shared mailboxes. It does not apply to the Microsoft Teams mailbox.

3. Google Chrome Extensions

Now, if there’s any complication to performing the previous method, don’t worry. I’ve got another method for you.

To perform this one, you’ll need to install Google Chrome extensions on your device, who’ll do the exporting for you.

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I’m describing both of the extensions below.

i. Full Page Screenshot

Taking a full-page screenshot and converting the image file to a PDF format will solve your issue of exporting chat history. Follow the steps below to export your chats by taking a large screenshot inside Microsoft Teams:

Open Google Chrome on your device.
Go to Chrome Webstore.
Search for the GoFullPage extension and click on it.
Click on Add to Chrome.
Click on Add extension on the pop-up screen.
Click on the puzzle icon beside your User icon on Chrome.
Click on the pin icon beside GoFullPage to stick it on the quick bar.
Head over to Microsoft Teams web page.
Sign in with your credential.
Select the desired chat for export.
Scroll up to the first message.
Click on the GoFullPage icon.
Click on the download as PDF icon on the capture preview page.
Click on allow on the manage download permission pop-up.
Open the downloaded PDF file.

Remember, if you want to download the file in PNG format, just click on the download icon next to the download as PDF icon.

However, you can’t copy the texts on the document because they’re in image format. But, you can extract text files from them by using OCR services. For example, Google Vision.

ii. Microsoft Teams Chat Extractor

Throughout the whole post, you’ve already seen the hassle of extracting chat history from Microsoft Teams. There isn’t a direct way of getting chat history from Teams.

Now, introducing Microsoft Teams chat extractor. It’ll extract the messages from a Teams’ conversation with just one click.

Follow the steps below to learn how to use Microsoft Teams Chat Extractor:

Open Google Chrome on your device.
Go to Chrome Webstore.
Search for the Microsoft Teams Chat Extractor extension and click on it.
Click on Add to Chrome.
Click on Add extension on the pop-up screen.
Click on the puzzle icon beside your User icon on Chrome.
Click on the pin icon beside Microsoft Teams Chat Extractor to stick it on the quick bar.
Head over to Microsoft Teams web page.
Sign in with your credential.
Select the desired chat for export.
Scroll up to the first message to load the entire conversation.
Click on the Microsoft Teams Chat Extractor icon.
Copy the text and paste it on a Microsoft Word document when the extension extracts all the chats with the date and time stamps.

Now you have all the messages of a Microsoft Teams conversation extracted. But, It won’t load the image or gif files from the conversation, only the texts.

Unlike the GoFullPage extension, you can copy and paste the doc file’s text with the extracted chats, but you’ll miss the visual traits of Microsoft Teams.

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FAQ

Question: Can you copy an entire Teams’ chat?

Answer: You cannot copy an entire Teams’ chat as of this moment. Microsoft doesn’t permit to export of an entire conversation for security reasons. The right to copy the entire Teams’ chat violates corporate rules and regulations of sharing data. However, there are some manual methods to copy Teams’ chats.

Question: Where is Teams chat history stored?

Answer: Microsoft Teams chat history is stored as a hidden file located in the user’s mailbox. Users or administrators of Microsoft Teams cannot access the chat history files through Outlook. Although the Exchange PowerShell can access the file and redirect the chat messages to a specific Outlook account.