Forward SMS

How to forward text message to WhatsApp

By Forward SMS Team ·
5 min read
setting up forward sms app

Table of Contents:


Forward SMS is a versatile iOS app that seamlessly forwards SMS to emails, Slack, Discord, URLs/APIs, or Telegram.


This guide will walk you through the steps required to forward text messages to WhatsApp.


Set up automation in shortcuts




The Shortcuts app in iOS is a built-in Apple application that lets users create custom automation to perform tasks on their devices more efficiently. Follow these steps to create automation to forward messages:

  1. Go to the Shortcuts app and select the Automation tab. Then select the New Automation option.
    Select the automation tab and create a new automation
  2. Select Message automation in the available options.
    Select message automation
  3. On the next screen, select the option Run Immediately. As the name mentions, this will run the automation immediately when a message is received.
    Select the run immediately option.
  4. To set up automation for all messages, enter a blank space in the Message Contains field. Alternatively, you can enter a specific keyword for which the automation should run.
    Set blank space in the message contains field to allow all senders.
  5. Next, select the New Blank Automation option
    Create new blank automation.
  6. Search for Forward SMS and tap on the Forward Message option.
    Searching for the Forward SMS action.
  7. On the next screen, fill the Message field by first tapping on it. In the toolbar that appears above the keyboard, swipe right to select the Shortcut Input option.
    Populate Message field.
  8. Now create a new action for sending message to WhatsApp. First search for WhatsApp in actions and then select the WhatsApp option.
    Populate Phone number field
  9. Select the Send Message action from available options.
    Populate Phone number field
  10. Enter the recepient where you want to forward the message. You can add multiple recipeints as well.
    Populate Phone number field
  11. Save the automation by tapping on done button. Congratulations! You’ve successfully set up the Forward SMS app to forward text messages to WhatsApp. This is how the automation should look.
    Populate Phone number field


Create a Rule in the App

After setting up the automation, follow these steps to create a rule in the Forward SMS app:

  1. Open the app and tap the Create Rule button.
    Create new rule
  2. (Optional) Change the Rule Name if needed.
    Change Rule Name
  3. Tap on Add Receivers button.
    Add Receivers
  4. Select WhatsApp from the options. No need to enter phone number here as it is already added in Step 10 of Shortcut Automation set up.
    Select Phone Number Option
  5. Save the rule.

Congratulations! You’ve successfully set up the Forward SMS app to forward text messages to a phone number.

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