Bates numbering for Instagram message exhibits

Make the record from your own Instagram export

Drop the ZIP from Instagram into the free tool and preview the first 25 messages. Nothing is uploaded — it runs in your browser.

Open the free tool

Bates numbers are unique page numbers (like IG-000001, IG-000002) stamped on every page of a document production. They let everyone refer to exactly the same page.

Why it helps with messages

A long DM thread can run to hundreds of pages. Saying “see IG-000143, message 1,902” is precise; “the message from sometime in March” is not.

How to add them

In the free tool, set the Bates prefix (for example your initials and “IG-”) and the exhibit label. Every page of the PDF gets the Bates number at the bottom right, the exhibit label at the bottom left and “Page X of Y” in the center. Each message also has its own running number.

Tips

Use a different prefix for each source (IG- for Instagram, TXT- for texts) so numbers never collide.
If you produce several conversations, create them in a fixed order and keep a list of which Bates ranges belong to which.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules on evidence differ by court and country. Ask the court clerk, a legal aid office or your attorney what your case needs.