How to Make Fake Chat Screenshots | Complete Guide 2026

Last week, a friend asked me to help with a product launch deck. She had glowing customer feedback buried in emails and Slack threads—but pasting raw text into slides felt flat. That's when I showed her how to turn those quotes into realistic chat mockups. The difference was immediate: suddenly the testimonials felt alive.

Whether you're in a similar situation—showcasing customer feedback, building tutorials, or creating social content—this guide walks through how to make it happen.

Why Use Fake Screenshots?

You might be wondering when mockups actually make sense. Here are the scenarios where they work well:

• Marketing materials: Showcase product reviews or customer testimonials
• Content creation: Create engaging social media content
• Design mockups: Present app concepts or UI designs
• Educational content: Illustrate tutorials or documentation
• Film and video production: Create realistic props for scenes

Step 1: Choose Your Platform

Think about where your audience actually communicates. A B2B SaaS testimonial probably looks more natural in Slack than WhatsApp. A casual customer review might fit better in iMessage. Mockly supports 17+ platforms including WhatsApp, iMessage, Slack, Discord, Instagram, and more.

Here's a WhatsApp mockup showing how a simple conversation might look:

Step 2: Set Up Your Conversation

With your platform selected, it's time to set up who's talking. This is where you define the participants:

• Sender: The person sending messages (typically "you")
• Receiver(s): The other participant(s) in the conversation

For professional contexts—say, a customer success win you want to share internally—platforms like Slack fit naturally:

Step 3: Craft Your Messages

This is where many mockups fall flat. Stilted, overly formal dialogue breaks the illusion instantly. A few things to keep in mind:

1. Keep it conversational: Use contractions ("I'm" not "I am") and casual language
2. Add realistic timing: Quick exchanges happen in minutes, not hours
3. Include reactions: A thumbs up or heart reaction feels natural
4. Match the platform's style: Slack messages tend to be punchier than email; iMessage is casual

Read your dialogue out loud. If it sounds like something you'd actually text, you're on the right track.

Step 4: Customize the Appearance

Mockly lets you customize several visual elements:

• Dark/Light mode: Toggle between appearance modes
• Device status: Show battery level, time, and signal
• Device frame: Add or remove the phone frame
• Background: Use transparent backgrounds for flexible placement

Step 5: Export Your Screenshot

Once you're happy with your mockup, you can export it as:

• PNG: Best for most use cases with transparent background support
• JPEG: Smaller file size for web use
• SVG: Scalable for print materials

Social Media Mockups

Chat screenshots aren't the only option. Sometimes you need to show how a brand mention or customer shoutout looks on social. Here's an Instagram post example:

AI Chat Mockups

Creating a tutorial about prompt engineering? Building a case study around AI tools? Mockly supports ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Grok:

A Few Things That Help

These overlap with some of the steps above, but they're worth emphasizing:

1. Stay authentic: Base mockups on real scenarios or feedback you've actually received
2. Maintain consistency: If you're creating multiple mockups, stick to one theme (dark or light)
3. Consider your audience: A Discord mockup won't resonate with an audience that's never used Discord
4. Test different formats: Some audiences prefer dark mode; others find light mode cleaner

Start Creating

Ready to try it yourself? Get started with Mockly and see how your content looks in a chat format.