diff --git a/Whatsapp_Chat_Exporter/android_handler.py b/Whatsapp_Chat_Exporter/android_handler.py
index 30284a0..ca6e8a7 100644
--- a/Whatsapp_Chat_Exporter/android_handler.py
+++ b/Whatsapp_Chat_Exporter/android_handler.py
@@ -451,7 +451,7 @@ def media(db, data, media_folder, filter_date, filter_chat, filter_empty, separa
         Path(f"{media_folder}/thumbnails").mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
     while content is not None:
         file_path = f"{media_folder}/{content['file_path']}"
-        message = data[content["key_remote_jid"]].messages[content["message_row_id"]]
+        message = data[content["key_remote_jid"]].get_message(content["message_row_id"])
         message.media = True
         if os.path.isfile(file_path):
             message.data = file_path
@@ -547,7 +547,7 @@ def vcard(db, data, media_folder, filter_date, filter_chat, filter_empty):
         if not os.path.isfile(file_path):
             with open(file_path, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
                 f.write(row["vcard"])
-        message = data[row["key_remote_jid"]].messages[row["message_row_id"]]
+        message = data[row["key_remote_jid"]].get_message(row["message_row_id"])
         message.data = "This media include the following vCard file(s):<br>" \
             f'<a href="{htmle(file_path)}">{htmle(media_name)}</a>'
         message.mime = "text/x-vcard"
@@ -736,7 +736,7 @@ def create_txt(data, output):
             contact = jik.replace('+', '')
         output_file = os.path.join(output, f"{contact}.txt")
         with open(output_file, "w", encoding="utf8") as f:
-            for message in chat.messages.values():
+            for message in chat.get_messages():
                 date = datetime.fromtimestamp(message.timestamp).date()
                 if message.meta and message.mime != "media":
                     continue  # Skip any metadata in text format
diff --git a/Whatsapp_Chat_Exporter/data_model.py b/Whatsapp_Chat_Exporter/data_model.py
index 411de1c..20b9754 100644
--- a/Whatsapp_Chat_Exporter/data_model.py
+++ b/Whatsapp_Chat_Exporter/data_model.py
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ class ChatStore:
         if name is not None and not isinstance(name, str):
             raise TypeError("Name must be a string or None")
         self.name = name
-        self.messages: Dict[str, 'Message'] = {}
+        self._messages: Dict[str, 'Message'] = {}
         self.type = type
         if media is not None:
             from Whatsapp_Chat_Exporter.utility import Device
@@ -95,12 +95,16 @@ class ChatStore:
         """Add a message to the chat store."""
         if not isinstance(message, Message):
             raise TypeError("message must be a Message object")
-        self.messages[id] = message
+        self._messages[id] = message
+    
+    def get_message(self, id: str) -> 'Message':
+        """Get a message from the chat store."""
+        return self._messages.get(id)
 
     def delete_message(self, id: str) -> None:
         """Delete a message from the chat store."""
-        if id in self.messages:
-            del self.messages[id]
+        if id in self._messages:
+            del self._messages[id]
 
     def to_json(self) -> Dict[str, Any]:
         """Convert chat store to JSON-serializable dict."""
@@ -111,16 +115,16 @@ class ChatStore:
             'their_avatar': self.their_avatar,
             'their_avatar_thumb': self.their_avatar_thumb,
             'status': self.status,
-            'messages': {id: msg.to_json() for id, msg in self.messages.items()}
+            'messages': {id: msg.to_json() for id, msg in self._messages.items()}
         }
 
     def get_last_message(self) -> 'Message':
         """Get the most recent message in the chat."""
-        return tuple(self.messages.values())[-1]
+        return tuple(self._messages.values())[-1]
 
     def get_messages(self) -> Dict[str, 'Message']:
         """Get all messages in the chat."""
-        return self.messages.values()
+        return self._messages.values()
 
 
 class Message:
diff --git a/Whatsapp_Chat_Exporter/ios_handler.py b/Whatsapp_Chat_Exporter/ios_handler.py
index 258bc61..a164e2d 100644
--- a/Whatsapp_Chat_Exporter/ios_handler.py
+++ b/Whatsapp_Chat_Exporter/ios_handler.py
@@ -283,7 +283,7 @@ def media(db, data, media_folder, filter_date, filter_chat, filter_empty, separa
         file_path = f"{media_folder}/Message/{content['ZMEDIALOCALPATH']}"
         ZMESSAGE = content["ZMESSAGE"]
         contact = data[content["ZCONTACTJID"]]
-        message = contact.messages[ZMESSAGE]
+        message = contact.get_message(ZMESSAGE)
         message.media = True
         if contact.media_base == "":
             contact.media_base = media_folder + "/"
@@ -367,7 +367,7 @@ def vcard(db, data, media_folder, filter_date, filter_chat, filter_empty):
 
         vcard_summary = "This media include the following vCard file(s):<br>" 
         vcard_summary += " | ".join([f'<a href="{htmle(fp)}">{htmle(name)}</a>' for name, fp in zip(vcard_names, file_paths)])
-        message = data[content["ZCONTACTJID"]].messages[content["ZMESSAGE"]]
+        message = data[content["ZCONTACTJID"]].get_message(content["ZMESSAGE"])
         message.data = vcard_summary
         message.mime = "text/x-vcard"
         message.media = True