1) Check you've entered the same email address as the one you used to buy the app
2) Try from different internet (eg hotspot your phone)
3) Restart the PC
4) Check for Windows updates (very common with new computers)
5) Disable antivirus scanning if you have AV on your computer. Follow these instructions
Save the PDF report to your computer
Open the PDF
Hit ctrl-f on your keyboard
You'll be able to search for keywords and themes in your message history
Our system needs to see that you have enough storage on both your iPhone and your laptop, to be able to 'index' your messages.
Your iPhone + computer need around 10GB free on each device. It could be more, depending on how big your message files are.
Our system needs space on your phone to do processing, and space on your co,puter to temporarily save your messages.
Before we start that process, the system checks to see if you have enough space.
Solutions
1. Delete some files on your computer. You can do things like empty the bin, and search for some big files that you may have downloaded that could be taking up a lot of space
2. Connect an external drive. This could be a thumb drive or a bigger one
3. Delete files on your phone (on your actual device not icloud)
Close the Dispute Buddy app and restart it.
Don't forget to restart your phone!
WhatsApp message history does show when video calls and voice calls took place and when voice notes were sent although you can't see or read any of the content
This is not true for iMessage though. You can only see text message history
Sometimes it looks like the search is stuck (e.g., on 32%).
If you haven't got any error messages, just leave it. Keep everything plugged in; it could just be an unusually large file that's taking a long time to process!
If you want to check with us that it's still running fine, ask to speak to a human.
We set limits on how many texts you can run through the behavior analysis report
The reason we do that is because too many in our AI analysis report will time out and it will return with zero findings
If that happens for you, it may not be that we can't find any evidence of bad behavior. It might just be that the AI analysis has timed out
Try a smaller date range, like a year or 6 months
Leave the app open so that you don't have to redo the indexing part
It can take up to 20 minutes to generate the behavior analysis when there's lots of texts to analyse!
We have very little information on you. We do that on purpose because one of our company values is 'good for all'. We make decisions that are good for you, good for us, good for everybody. Keeping your data is not good for anyone.
What we can see:
Your email address: so we can contact you if you need suppport, and also so that we can match you up with your subscription.
The name you enter on the fist screen in the app: this is the name that we put on your message report at the end
Date ranges: we can see the date range that you enter to do the message export. This is useful for us to give technical support
The number of texts oiur system is processing for you
Which screen you are progressing through in-app
What we can't see is:
Your contact that you search for
Any of your texts, messages, videos, images
Nothing at all from your iPhone
Basically we don't know anything personal about you apart from your name and your email address
If you keep the Dispute Buddy app open, you won't need to re-index your messages
You can keep selecting any combination of contacts and date ranges and do as many exports as you like
Just keep the app open so that you don't need to start the re-indexing again
If you close the app, that automatically triggers our system to clean up all of the temporary folders we made on your coputer, to store your messages
We did that to maintain your privacy and security
If you've been stuck on the phone connection configuration screen for longer than 10 minutes, try these steps
Check your phone for software updates
Restart your phone and computer (I know, very 90s. It does sort things out though!)
Check you are using an Apple cable
Try a different port
Don't use your phone or your computer while the app is running
I'm really sorry, we don't do discount codes!
We are planning to launch a payment scheme soon though, so that you can spread payments out.
Your Dispute Buddy account will allow you to download text messages from two separate iPhones
You can download your texts to as many computers as you want
If you want to download messages from more than two iPhones, just message us at hello@disputebuddy.co or click "Talk to a human" in the app
We'll ask you a few questions and if that goes well, we can up your limit for you.
To connect the second iPhone:
Just go to www.disputeduddy.co/download on your second (or third or fourth!) computer
Once downloaded, launch the app
Enter the email address you used to buy the app
You can download messages from up to two phones onto as many computers as you like
These are the most common solutions
Sometimes the issue is that your computer is too old and has a slow processing speed. The best solution is to borrow a friend's computer and do it on theirs. It won't get any easier, if you have an old laptop!
These are the most common solutions:
Be patient though; sometimes large files can take a while to process.
If you want to check to see if it's stuck or if it's continuing as normal, click Talk to a Human in the app and we can let you know
We chose something to make it easy to explain away to anyone.
Your bank statement will show BUDDY APP
This is a really common question and I can tell you the answer is no.
When you run Dispute Buddy on your computer, the only place that activity occurs is on your computer.
No one on your phone gets notified that you're downloading texts.
As long as you have an iPhone, Dispute Buddy works in any country.
Most of our users currently come from the USA, UK, Australia, and New Zealand
But lots of people also download their texts in other languages.
If you're downloading texts in a language that isn't English then the behavior analysis won't work, as it only understand English (at the moment!)
Dispute Buddy can't recover deleted text messages.
The Dispute Buddy report's message history will look exactly how it looks on your phone when the message was deleted.
Apple changes how deleted messages are shown from time-to-time.
It might say t'his message was deleted' in the thread.
But Dispute Buddy can't recover the content of the deleted message.
Dispute Buddy is an app that you download onto your computer desktop.
You can still pay for it on your iphone and then go on to your computer.
On your computer, go to www.disputebuddy.co/download
Launch the app from there
This usually happens when the email you typed in the app doesn't match the email you used to buy the app.
Go back and check the email that you used to buy the app on the Dispute Buddy website and then enter that same email address when you launch the app.
There are two major steps when you use Dispute Buddy's app
First of all we need to index your messages. That takes between 30 and 90 minutes on average
During that time, leave your iPhone connected to your computer and your computer connected to the power.
After the indexing has finished, you will select contacts and date range and what type of report you'd like.
You can select message history only or a message history plus a behavior analysis
When you click export, it can take 5-20 mins to generate that report
You'll see when you save it to your computer!
1. Make sure your iPhone is connected to your PC.
2. Unlock your iPhone. You may need to enter your passcode to "Trust this Computer."
3. Open iTunes on your computer.
4. Click the iPhone device icon (it can take several minutes to appear while Windows sets up the connection).
5. Untick "Encrypt local backup."
6. Type the password you used when you first set up encryption. If you don't know the password, see steps at the bottom of this page in 'How to delete your encryption pasword'
7. Click "Don't Encrypt," then stop the backup that automatically starts.
1. Make sure your iPhone is connected to your Mac.
2. Open Finder.
3. Click your iPhone under "Locations" in the left sidebar.
4. On your iPhone, tap "Trust This Computer" (if prompted) and enter your passcode.
5. On your Mac, click "Trust" or "Continue."
6. Go to the "General" tab in the Finder window of your computer
7. Under Backups, select: "Back up all of the data on your iPhone to this Mac."
8. Make sure "Encrypt local backup" is unchecked.
9. Type the password you used when you first set up encryption
10. If you can't remember setting up that password, follow the instructions below to delete it
If you don't know this password, you’ll need to reset it.
On your iPhone, go to
Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset All Settings.
This clears the backup encryption setting.
It wont delete apps, or photos or messages. They'reall safe.
What It DOES NOT Delete
What It DOES Reset
If your computer is really old or has a very slow processing speed, it'll definitely cause problems running Dispute Buddy
If you have a Mac with a silicon chip, that's new enough!
Intel Macs will certainly struggle with the processing needed to get you a message export.
If you bought Dispute Buddy on your iPhone, then you'll need to open your computer and enter www.disputebuddy.co/download and follow the instructions to launch it
If you bought Dispute Buddy on your computer but you can't find it, just go to www.disputebuddy.co/download and you can download the app again
Whether you're on a Mac or a PC, it'll download to your downloads folder. Double click, and follow the launch instructions.
When you see an alert that says "USB Accessories Disabled. Unplug the accessory using too much power to re-enable USB devices," what's happened is your Mac has temporarily shut down that port. It feels the connected device or cable is drawing more power than the port can safely provide.
Your iPhone may still be charging if it's connected, but the Mac won't properly "see" it. And Finder won't recognise the iPhone, so Dispute Buddy can't run.
How to fix it:
1. Disconnect your iPhone cable from both the Mac and the iPhone. Wait 10 seconds, then re-connect it firmly.
2. Connect your Mac to power.
3. Use an Apple cable, not a cheap one.
4. Try a different port.
5. Remove any USB hubs, docks, adapters, or extensions. Plug the iPhone directly into a port on the Mac.
6. Disconnect other USB devices, external drives, webcams, any other phones.
7. Restart your Mac, then restart your iPhone. Temporary power glitches often clear after a reboot.
8. Inspect and clean the ports. Check the cable ends and the iPhone/Mac ports for dust, debris, or bent pins. Gently remove lint with a soft, dry brush.
9. Check your Mac and iPhone for software updates.
Most common fix: check you selected the right contact.
If results seem to stop at a certain date (for example, here's nothing after December), it's often because the WhatsApp comtacted was selected instead of the iPhone one.
This happens when the person has both a phone number and a WhatsApp contact, and the wrong one is chosen.
Or it could be the contact is saved under different names: You might have the same person saved as "John Smith" in one place and "John" in another. Re-export and include all name variations.
The conversation is in a different group chat: You exported one group, but the messages you need live in another. Check which groups the person is in and export each one separately.
iMessage switched between phone and email (iPhone users only): The other person's iMessages may have switched between their phone number and email. When selecting contacts, include both the phone number and the email address for that person.
Remove filters and try one more time:
You have two choices when you select what kind of report you want to download
You'll get a neat, chronological report of your message history between your selected contacts, including group chats. It's timestamped, and shows thumbnails of video and image attachments. If messages have been deleted, and your phone’s screen shows ‘this message has been deleted’, that’s what you’ll see on the message history report.
Everything above, plus an analysis of negative behaviors such as emotional abuse, financial abuse, harassment, manipulation, and child welfare concerns
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The report is downloaded as a PDF and is saved in your Downloads folder
There are two major steps when you use Dispute Buddy's app:
First of all we need to index your messages. That takes between 30 and 90 minutes on average
During that time, leave your iPhone connected to your computer and your computer connected to the power.
You can spend that time scratching the dog's ears, drinking a nice hot cup of tea, smiling at the sunshine, feeling proud that yo are taking control of your situation, basically do whatever you like!
The time it takes depends on a few things, like:
The newer and more powerful your phone and your computer are and the better your cable, the quicker the indexing will be
While we're indexing your messages, you'll see an estimate of how long it'll take.
Then you'll see a screen that says "Search successful" and at that stage you can unplug your phone
No one is notified that you are doing this. No one will ever know.
No one at Dispute Buddy can see anything on your phone. We've built it like that on purpose, because your data is YOUR data.
After the indexing has finished, you will select contacts and date range and what type of report you'd like.
You can select message history only or a message history plus a behavior analysis
When you click export, it can take between five and twenty minutes to generate that report
I know we've all got used to everything being done in a flash of lightning, but this kind of analysis takes time.
We do a pretty extensive analysis and that takes time to do it properly.
You'll see when you save it to your computer!
Mac users:
Go to www.disputebuddy.co/download
• Open DisputeBuddy.dmg from the downloads folder
• Drag Dispute Buddy icon into Applications folder
• Open Applications folder
• Launch the Dispute Buddy app
Windows users:
Go to www.disputebuddy.co/download
• Open the disputebuddy.exe from the downloads folder
• Open DisputeBuddy.exe
• Follow instructions to install the Dispute Buddy app
• Open Dispute Buddy from your Windows Start menu
Whatever kind of computer you use, follow these steps to make the app run smoothly
Here's what you'll need to download your texts for court when you are downloading texts from and iPhone to Windows/PC
- Download iTunes
Go to the Microsoft Store and download iTunes.
- Connect your phone
Make sure iTunes has detected your phone. A phone icon will appear just under the menu in the top left of the screen. Unlock your phone.
- Go to www.disputebuddy.co/download
- Launch disputebuddy.exe from the downloads folder
- Follow instructions to install the Dispute Buddy app
- Open Dispute Buddy from your Windows Start menu
Here's what you'll need to download your texts for court from an iPhone to a Mac
You'll need an Apple cord to connect your iPhone to your computer. You need to use an Apple cord, cheap ones don't work.
Go to www.disputebuddy.co/download
Open DisputeBuddy.dmg from the downloads folder
Drag Dispute Buddy icon into Applications folder
Open Applications folder
Launch the Dispute Buddy app
Dispute Buddy automatically saves your report in your downloads folder
Open your downloads folder and look for the file name
message_timeline1.pdf
Open by double-clicking or right-clicking and selecting Open
It's possible that when you saved your report, you selected a different folder
If all else fails go back to the app and download another report
If you discover that you have paid for Dispute Buddy twice, or if you have an Android phone, or something else, please email us at hello@disputebuddy.co
We judge each case on its own merits and make a decision quickly
If we agree the refund, the payment should appear back in your account within a few days
It's impossible for us to say what the policies are at your work and what security settings do you have on your laptop.
But we can tell you how Dispute Buddy works and you can figure out if that's a good fit for you.
To index your messages, Dispute Buddy creates temporary files on your computer.
If you choose to do a behavior analysis of your texts, Dispute Buddy sends those messages to our secure cloud. They're deleted as soon as the analysis is done.
The behavior analysis is sent back to your computer as a PDF and goes into your downloads folder.
Once you close the app, all of the temporary files are removed from your computer
You could also then delete your PDF report that Dispute Buddy has produced.
You do not need to create an account or password to use Dispute Buddy.
We take the email address that you used when you purchased the app and register you as a subscriber with that email address.
That's why, when you launch the app you need to enter the same email address that you used to purchase the app.
If you've forgotten which email you used, just email us at hello@disputebuddy.co and we can have a look for you.
At the moment Dispute Buddy works on iPhones only
We have plans to release Dispute Buddy for Android later on in 2026
We are only a small team and we're doing the best we can to help as many people as possible
We'll get there, though!