Technology
How to print, save, send Android text messages
There are many reasons for wanting to print out a text message. Maybe someone sent you some exciting news via SMS, and you’d like to print it out and pin it on your bulletin board. Or maybe someone has sent you directions on how to do something or how to get somewhere, and you want to have it for fast reference. Of course, there could also be times when you’re saving a text as documentation of a conversation or agreement that went awry, and you need it as proof to protect yourself.
Printing is one way to hold onto your text messages. But, if you want to stick with keeping everything on your device, then perhaps you’re just looking to know how to save the text messages to your Android phone so you can pull them up later. You may also want to know how to send precious text messages to someone else so they can have a copy, too, or so they can print it for you from their device.
The good news is that if you have an Android phone, it’s relatively easy to print, save or send a text message. Keep reading below.
If you’re an iPhone user, you can get our iPhone tips in our article: Four ways to print, save and send text messages.
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A person texting on Android (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
Do I need to connect my Android phone to a printer to print text messages?
If you want to print text messages directly from an Android phone, you’ll need to connect your phone to your printer. However, if you want to print text messages without connecting your phone to a printer, you will need to send the message from your Android phone to the device that’s capable of printing.
What you need to know about printing, saving and sending text messages on Android
Android doesn’t provide a native way to print text messages directly from your inbox. So, you have to take matters into your own hands. There are several strategies you can utilize to print your text messages, and the choice depends on factors such as ease of use, time efficiency and the specific features of your Android device.
Many of these methods involve creating backups or copies of your messages, which can be stored externally (on a computer or in the cloud) rather than on your Android device itself. This is important because if you happen to lose the printed version, you don’t have to worry; you can access these backups to retrieve and print the messages again. However, it’s crucial to note that these backups are typically not stored on your Android device but rather in the location where you created the backup.
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The No. 1 best option: Take a screenshot to do everything you need
The best way to print, save and send text messages if you have an Android is to take a screenshot of the text message itself. This method is particularly effective for capturing a few screens of text. Why? Because once you have a screenshot, you can do just about anything with it after that. However, if you’re looking to print out a very long thread that may go back many months or years, please refer to the section later in the article for more suitable options.
How to take a screenshot on your Android
Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer.
- Open your messages and select the conversation where you want to print, save or share the text message.
- Scroll to the part in the conversation you want to print or save
- Hold the power button and the volume down button at the same time, and this will take a screenshot.
- Your screenshot will move to the bottom-left corner of the screen.
- Then wait. Head to the corresponding steps below, depending on what you’d like to do
Note: If you can’t capture the entire message in one screenshot, you will need to take multiple screenshots of each part of the conversation.
Steps to take a screenshot on Android (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
How to print the screenshot directly from your Android
For this step, your phone will need to be connected directly to your printer. Make sure your Bluetooth/Wi-Fi is on.
Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer.
- As soon as you take the screenshot following the steps above, you will see two icons appear on the right of the image.
- One is the share icon. Click on it
- Select Nearby Share or Bluetooth, depending on how Android connects to your printer
- Select the printer and click Print
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Steps to print screenshot directly from Android (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
How to send the screenshot to someone else or another device to print
If your Android phone is not connected to your printer, but you have another device that is, then you need to share it with yourself so you can pull it up on another device.
You can also follow these steps if you want to send your screenshot to someone else, either so they can print it for you or just because you want them to have it.
Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer.
- As soon as you take the screenshot following the steps above, you will see two icons appear on the right of the image. One is the share icon.
- Click on the share icon
- You’ll see icons for various messaging apps, and conversations appear.
- Select the conversation or app you want to open …
To send to yourself:
- Select the Gmail app and put the email to your email address in the “To:” field. The screenshot will be automatically attached.
- Hit Send
- Then open your email on your device that’s connected to your printer
- You can also use this method to email it to someone else; just put their name in the “To:” field instead.
To send to someone else:
- If you had a recent conversation with this person, that will appear.
- Otherwise, find the app (i.e., Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp) and pull up their contact
- Click Send
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Steps to send the screenshot to someone else or another device to print (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
How to save and pull up the screenshot to print or send later
Let’s say that the share icon disappeared quickly after taking the screenshot. Now, you need to pull it up again later. Taking a screenshot automatically saves the text message you took a picture of to your phone. Here’s how you can find it:
Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer.
- Go to your Gallery or Google Photos to pull up the image from the Screenshots folder
- Find the image of the text message screenshot
- Then, to print, select the three dots in the upper-right corner
- A toolbar will appear that will go about halfway up your screen. Look for the icons that say Back up now, Move to folder, Copy to folder, etc., and keep scrolling to the right until you see Print.
- If your Android is connected to your printer (or if you’re choosing another printer, click the upper-left corner to select the printer.
- Select Print
- If you want to send instead, in the bottom left corner there will be the share icon.
- Select the conversation and/or app you want to send the image to. If you had a recent conversation with this person, that would appear. Otherwise, find the app (i.e. Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp) and pull up their contact.
- Click Send
Steps to save and pull up the screenshot to print or send later (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
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How to (only) send: Forward the text message
If you just want to send the text message to someone else, you can forward the specific text message from your conversation to someone else. To do this:
Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer.
- Open the conversation where the text message is
- Click and hold on to the message you want to forward until it’s highlighted.
- Click the three dots in the upper-right corner of the screen.
- Select Forward
- Choose who you want to send it to or click New message if you don’t see the contact appear or the person is not saved in your contacts.
- Hit the send button.
Note: You can only forward one text at a time.
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Steps to (only) send: Forward the text message (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
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How to (only) print from another device: Open the Google Web Messaging app
Just as iPhone uses iMessage, Android phones use Google Messaging. It may be hard to recognize this on your phone, as it just looks like a standard text messaging app. But you can pull up Google Messaging on your laptop or another device, especially since most Google/Android products are synced if you have a Gmail account.
Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer.
- On your other device, go to www.messages.google.com
- Follow the directions to pair your phone with Google Messages with your Android device via a QR code
- Once you’re signed in, you will see your text messages from your phone appear here.
- Select the conversation with the text messages that you want to print
- Click the three dots in the upper-right corner of your browser window (not the three dots just beneath them in the app)
- Select Print
Alternatively, you can also take a screenshot of the text message conversation on your laptop following the screenshot directions that are unique for your computer and then print that way.
How to (only) save: Back up text messages to your device with Google One
Finally, you can save text messages to your phone with the help of Google Account storage on Google One. All Android devices come with 15GB of storage for Google One, but other accounts come with free 100GB, depending on a few factors. To back up your text messages (as well as other data from your phone):
Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer.
- Go to your phone’s Settings
- Search Backup
- Click the first one under System > Backup
- Then click Turn on in the bottom right corner; this will automatically back up your texts to your Google Drive in the future.
- On the next screen, click Back up now
Note: Having “backup” on doesn’t necessarily allow you to view specific text messages. What it does is save all your phone’s data so that if you lose your phone, you can back up the new one with the same data without having to worry about losing anything forever. When you do that, you’ll find those text messages as long as they were there during the backup.
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Steps to (only) save: Back up text messages to your device with Google One (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
Extract and print Android text messages (Spanning days, months or years) with Droid Transfer
Here’s an option for extracting and printing messages from an Android phone. For this step, you’ll need Droid Transfer. Droid Transfer can access your Android device’s data and copy it to your PC or print it out. The software can find any SMS or MMS message conversations, including images, emojis and timestamps on your device, save them to your PC or print them out. Droid Transfer is capable of handling and printing text messages that span days, months or even years.
To print text messages from Android:
Download Droid Transfer on your PC and run it
- Get the free Transfer Companion App on your Android phone
- Scan the Droid Transfer QR code with the Transfer Companion App
- The computer and phone are now linked.
- Click Messages in Droid Transfer to view all your Android messages
- Select a conversation and click Print
Kurt’s key takeaways
In today’s world, most human interaction happens via a phone, whether on video chat, a messaging app or good ole SMS text messaging (as well as MMS, which is for picture messages). For one reason or another, you may want to print these messages or know how to send and save them. Though there are many different ways to do this on Android, taking a screenshot is by far the most versatile option.
Have you ever printed a text message from your Android phone? What’s your preferred way to save or send messages? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.
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Those little white robots that once rolled across college sidewalks with lattes, fries and late-night snacks are getting a new assignment. Starship Technologies recently announced that it will wind down its U.S. university campus operations and redeploy more than 1,200 robots toward grocery chains and hot food delivery in cities across the United States and Europe.
If you have ever watched one of these robots patiently wait at a crosswalk like a polite cooler on wheels, you know why students got attached. They became part campus convenience, part mascot. Now, the company is moving from a controlled campus setting into a much tougher public test.
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That raises the bigger question: will these cute campus robots be just as welcome when they start sharing crowded city sidewalks with you?
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Starship is winding down U.S. campus robot operations as it expands grocery delivery in the U.S. and Europe. (Starship)
Why Starship is pulling robots from college campuses
Starship says the decision comes down to focus. The company says its grocery delivery operations are on a 10x growth trajectory over the next two years, driven by demand from major retailers in the United States and Europe.
In Finland, Starship says its robots already complete roughly one in five grocery deliveries. That gives the company a real-world model it wants to repeat elsewhere. To support that expansion, more than 1,200 robots from U.S. campus fleets will be moved into grocery delivery. For Starship, that is a major pivot. Campuses helped the company build its brand in the U.S. They also gave the robots a place to learn.
Why college campuses were the perfect robot testing ground
Starship made a big U.S. splash at George Mason University in 2019, when the school became the first U.S. university to offer autonomous robot deliveries from Starship. From there, the robots spread to dozens of campuses. That made sense. College students are often hungry at odd hours. Many live without a full kitchen. They also tend to be open to new tech, especially when it brings food to the dorm without small talk.
During the pandemic, contactless delivery became even more appealing. A robot that could roll up with lunch while limiting person-to-person contact suddenly felt useful in a very different way.
The campus pullback will not happen overnight
Starship says it has worked with its university campuses and industry partners to keep service running through the 2026–2027 back-to-school season, with transition plans in place to reduce disruption. So, this does not appear to be an instant shutdown where every campus robot disappears at once. Instead, the company is moving away from the university model while preparing its fleet for a bigger push into grocery and restaurant delivery.
For students who loved the bots, it may still feel like the end of an era. For Starship, though, it is a move toward the market where the company believes the economics are stronger. Starship CEO and co-founder Ahti Heinla says the company’s robots can deliver groceries at a cost $3-$4 lower per delivery than traditional courier fulfillment. That is the kind of claim that gets the attention of retailers trying to make last-mile delivery less expensive.
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Why city sidewalks could be a tougher test
The next phase could get messy. Delivery robots have to share sidewalks with people who are walking, pushing strollers, using wheelchairs, carrying groceries or trying to catch a bus. That means every design choice matters. A robot that blocks a curb ramp can create a real problem. A robot that pauses in the wrong spot can turn from cute to irritating fast. If one reverses unexpectedly or gets stuck near a crosswalk, the novelty wears off even faster.
There have already been warning signs. Reports have described delivery robots bumping into people, getting stuck in odd places and raising accessibility concerns. Chicago has also seen local pushback and safety concerns around sidewalk delivery robots, which shows Starship still has work to do if it wants city residents to embrace them. That is the challenge Starship now faces. The same robot that felt charming on a campus may feel like clutter on a narrow sidewalk.
Starship Technologies is shifting more than 1,200 campus delivery robots to grocery and restaurant deliveries in cities. (Starship)
What grocery delivery changes
Grocery delivery is a different business from campus food delivery. A college order might be a sandwich, a soda or a late-night snack. A grocery run can involve heavier items, more frequent routes and customers who expect reliability every time. If Starship can make that work, the payoff could be huge. Grocery stores want cheaper local delivery. Customers want speed without sky-high fees. Cities want fewer cars clogging short delivery routes.
Starship says the global food delivery market is now worth $650 billion and needs delivery systems with higher autonomy levels. The company also says it has completed more than 10 million deliveries, which gives it a sizable head start in the sidewalk robot category.
However, the public will need convincing. People may welcome a robot bringing milk and eggs on a rainy night. They may also get annoyed if that same robot blocks a sidewalk during the morning rush. That will all decide whether sidewalk robots become normal or face more local limits.
Why Estonia still matters to Starship
Starship was founded in Tallinn, Estonia, in 2014 by Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis. Estonia remains home to the company’s core engineering and AI development team. That is important because this shift is not only about where the robots operate.
The big question for robot delivery
Starship’s move shows where the delivery robot business is headed. College campuses helped make the robots likable. Grocery delivery may determine whether they become profitable. Still, the sidewalks belong to the public. That means companies need more than clever machines. They need trust, clear rules and designs that respect people who move through cities in different ways.
A delivery robot should never make a sidewalk harder to use for someone with a cane, stroller or wheelchair. It should not turn public space into an obstacle course. If companies want these robots to feel normal, they need to prove they can operate without making daily life more frustrating.
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Starship says grocery delivery demand is pushing its robot fleet from college campuses into urban neighborhoods. (Starship)
What this means to you
You may start seeing more delivery robots near grocery stores, restaurants and apartment-heavy neighborhoods. If that happens, pay attention to how they behave in your area. Look for whether they yield to pedestrians, avoid curb ramps and handle crowded sidewalks well. Also, check whether your city has rules for personal delivery devices. Some places allow pilot programs, while others limit where these robots can operate.
If a robot causes a problem, document it safely. Take a photo or video, note the location and report it to your city or the delivery company. That is important because local officials need real examples, not vague frustration, when they decide what rules should apply. There is also a privacy angle. These robots use sensors and cameras to navigate. Companies may say the data supports safe operation, but you still deserve clear answers about what gets collected, how long it is kept and whether law enforcement can request it.
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Kurt’s key takeaways
Starship’s campus exit feels like the end of a quirky era, especially for students who got used to seeing the little robots rolling around campus. But this shift also tells us something bigger about where autonomous delivery is going. The next battle will happen on city sidewalks, not college campuses. If these robots save money and reduce short car trips, they could become very useful. But if they crowd walkways or create safety headaches, people will push back hard. To me, the real test is pretty clear. Robot delivery needs to work for everyone on the sidewalk, including people who never ordered anything.
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Would you be ok with a delivery robot on your block, or would you rather keep your sidewalks robot-free? Let us know by writing to us at CyberGuy.com.
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