ResenderSMS forwarding apps for Android: what to look for
An SMS forwarding app takes every text the phone receives and passes it on — to email, another number or a messenger. Google Play lists more than twenty apps built for this, the largest with millions of installs, and they differ in ways a store listing rarely makes clear. Below are the questions worth asking of any of them, with Resender's answer to each.
Resender is one of these apps, so this page is not neutral. It says what Resender does and what to check elsewhere; it makes no claims about other apps, because their features change and we cannot verify them.
Where does the message travel?
This is the question that matters most. Some forwarders send each SMS to their maker's server, which then passes it on; others send it straight from the phone.
- Resender: the phone sends the email through your own mailbox, signed in with Google, Microsoft or an app password. There is no server of ours, so nobody else holds a copy.
- Check in any app: the privacy policy and the data-safety section of the listing. If messages pass through the developer's relay server, ask who can read them there and for how long they are kept.
Sign-up or not?
- Resender: no sign-up. You connect the mailbox that sends the emails, and that is the whole setup.
- Check: whether the app needs an account with its maker, and what happens to your messages and settings if that service closes.
Where can it forward to?
- Resender: email only, to any address — Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, a company domain.
- Check: whether the app can reach your target at all — another phone number, a messenger, a web hook — and whether forwarding to a number costs SMS charges on your plan.
Rules and filters
- Resender: forward everything, or rules by Sender or Message text with equals or contains. A rule can be Do not forward; the first matching rule wins; Forward the rest sends the remainder to all recipients, the selected ones or none.
- Check: whether a filter can exclude as well as include, and what happens to a message no rule matches.
Several recipients and dual SIM
- Resender: as many recipients as you need, chosen per rule; on a dual-SIM phone a rule can listen on one SIM only.
- Check: whether recipients can differ per rule, and whether the app tells the two SIMs apart.
Does it survive battery management?
Every forwarder depends on Android letting it run in the background, and many phone brands stop background apps aggressively. No app can switch that off by itself.
- Resender: an always-on service, a red line on the main screen when something blocks it, and step-by-step battery guides for Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei, OPPO, vivo, OnePlus, realme and Pixel.
- Check: whether the app explains your brand's settings, and whether it tells you when it has been stopped instead of failing silently.
What happens offline?
- Resender: if the phone loses its connection, it retries for 24 hours.
- Check: whether messages received offline are queued and resent, or simply lost.
What does the journal show?
- Resender: the Sending journal lists each SMS with its delivery status per recipient. The text stays hidden until you tap it and is erased after 7 days. Mailbox credentials are kept in the Android Keystore. An optional daily report e-mail sums up the day.
- Check: whether you can see that a message was actually delivered, and how long message texts are stored on the phone or elsewhere.
Pricing model
- Resender: no ads. Every feature is free for up to 3 forwarded SMS a day; Pro removes the daily limit, monthly or yearly through Google Play. The first 7 days are Pro at no charge. Details on the Pro page.
- Check: whether the app shows ads, which features sit behind a payment, whether the free tier has a limit, and whether payment goes through Google Play, where you can cancel it.
Permissions
- Resender: permission to receive SMS (Android's dialog names the whole group, “send and view SMS messages”, but Resender never sends SMS and does not read old ones), notifications, and on a dual-SIM phone the phone permission that reads the SIMs' carrier names.
- Check: that each permission has a reason you understand. Access to contacts, call logs or location is worth questioning in an app whose job is to pass texts on.
Who should choose what
- You want texts on another phone number or in a messenger — Resender is not for you; choose an app built for that target.
- You want texts in your email, sent through your own mailbox with no sign-up and no server in between — Resender does exactly that. The step-by-step guide shows the setup, and the use cases show common arrangements: a spare phone at home, a SIM left behind while travelling, a shared work number.
Limits
- Email only: no forwarding to another number or to messengers.
- SMS only: chat messages (RCS) and calls are not forwarded.
- Android 8.0 or newer; no iPhone version, since iOS does not let apps read SMS. The emails can be read on an iPhone.
- The phone with the SIM must be on and online, and allowed to run in the background.
- Only new SMS are forwarded, not the ones already on the phone.
Resender is available in 70 languages. Questions before installing: support@resender.me.
Questions
What is an SMS forwarding app?
An app on an Android phone that receives each incoming SMS and passes it on — to an email address, another phone number or a messenger, depending on the app. It works on the phone itself, so the phone with the SIM has to stay on and online.
Is Resender an SMS forwarder to another phone number?
No. Resender forwards SMS to email only. If you need texts on another number, choose an app built for that.
Does Resender need an account?
No sign-up. You connect the mailbox the emails are sent from, and that is all; there is no Resender account and no server of ours.
How much does Resender cost?
Every feature is free for up to 3 forwarded SMS a day. Pro removes the limit, monthly or yearly through Google Play; the first 7 days are Pro at no charge. No ads.
Is it safe to install an SMS forwarder?
It is as safe as the place the messages end up. Prefer an app that sends straight from your phone to an address you control, and never install a forwarder because a stranger asked you to.