SMSTunnel Android App
Write on Your Computer, Send from Your Phone
Your Phone Sends the Texts You Write on Your Computer
SMSTunnel links your Android phone to your account so you can write texts on your computer and your phone sends them from your own number. Turn on "Sync received texts" and replies show up on your computer too, so you can answer from there.
How It Works
- 1 Install the app and sign in with Google, Facebook or your email. Google and Facebook sign-in work immediately; email accounts are activated after a short review.
- 2 Turn on the service. The app first explains that it will send, from this phone's SIM, the texts you write on your computer, and only then asks Android for permission to send SMS.
- 3 Link it to your computer. Open smstunnel.io on your computer and sign in with the same account — the phone appears under Devices. You can also link it with the QR code from Devices → Add Device (in the app: Connections → Link with QR code). Unlink anytime in the app (Connections), or sign out of the app.
- 4 Write a text in your web dashboard (or let your own software hand one over with your API key). Your phone sends it from your number — recipients see your number and can reply to you.
- 5 Optional: turn on "Sync received texts". Texts your phone receives from then on appear in your dashboard, where you can read them and reply from the computer.
Sync Received Texts
When you turn it on, SMSTunnel copies the texts this phone receives — the sender's number, the text and the time — to your SMSTunnel account, so you can read and answer them on your computer.
- ✓Optional and off by default; the app explains it before asking for permission.
- ✓Only texts that arrive after you turn it on are synced. Your existing inbox is never read.
- ✓Only you can see them: in your dashboard, and through API keys you explicitly allow to read received messages. Websites and apps you link with a QR code or a standard API key cannot read them.
- ✓They stay in your account until you delete them or your account.
- ✓Turn it off anytime in the app — syncing stops immediately.
Built-in Protection
Premium-rate and short numbers are refused before anything is sent.
Sending is rate-limited to protect your SIM and your plan; you can slow it down further in the app's settings.
Optionally limit the countries your phone may text, to avoid accidental international charges.
Optionally protect the app with your fingerprint or face.
Permissions, Explained
- SEND_SMS — sends, from your own number, the texts you wrote on your computer (web dashboard) or that your own software handed over with your API key. Your carrier's normal SMS rates apply.
- RECEIVE_SMS — only if you turn on "Sync received texts" (off by default): new incoming texts are copied to your own account so you can read and answer them on your computer. Texts already on the phone are never read.
- READ_PHONE_STATE — only to let you choose which SIM sends, on dual-SIM phones.
- CAMERA — only to scan the QR code that links the phone. No photos are taken or stored.
- POST_NOTIFICATIONS, FOREGROUND_SERVICE — to keep the link to your computer running and show its status in a notification, with a Stop button.
- INTERNET — to connect to your SMSTunnel account.
SMSTunnel does not request READ_SMS, your contacts or your location, it shows no ads, and it is not your default SMS app.
Requirements
- •Android 7.0 or newer
- •A SIM card that can send SMS
- •Permission to send SMS (and, optionally, to receive SMS for syncing)
- •Internet connection (Wi-Fi or mobile data)
- •An SMSTunnel account (free plan available)
FAQ
Will this drain my battery?
While the service runs, the app keeps one lightweight connection to your account so your texts go out right away. You can stop it at any time from its notification or in the app.
What if my phone loses its connection?
Texts you write in the meantime wait in your account and go out as soon as the phone is back online, within 3 days (otherwise they are marked failed).
Can I use more than one phone?
Yes. Link each of your own phones (for example work and personal) and choose which one sends; the default one is marked with a star in the dashboard.
Is my data safe?
Messages travel over encrypted connections (TLS) and are stored in your account only so you can see your history. Websites and apps you link with a QR code or a standard API key cannot read the texts your phone receives. You can delete any message, all of them, or your whole account at any time. With optional end-to-end encryption (supported integrations), we store only encrypted text that we cannot read. See the Privacy Policy.
Changelog
Version 1.0.8
- Optional "Sync received texts" (off by default, explained before you turn it on): texts that arrive afterwards appear in your web dashboard, where you can reply
- The app explains why it needs to send SMS before Android asks for the permission
- The notification shows that the phone is linked to your computer and has a Stop button
- More reliable delivery: no duplicate texts after reconnects
- Delete your account directly in the app (Settings)
- Full English and Romanian translation; unused permissions removed
Version 1.0.4
- Link your phone to more than one of your own sites or apps, each by scanning its QR code
- Secure device authorization using a hardware-backed signing key
- See your connections and remove them individually
Version 1.0.3
- Improved delivery reliability across reconnects and token refreshes
- Correct handling of long (multi-part) texts
- Faster reconnection after network changes
Version 1.0.0
- Initial release: QR code linking, Google and email sign-in, allowed countries, sending limits, blocking of expensive numbers, optional end-to-end encryption, app lock
Use It from Your Own Software Too
Your own website or tools can hand texts to your linked phone with your API key.