sms2email - Forward SMS to Email

Features

bolt

SMS messages are forwarded to your email within seconds of arriving on your phone.

battery_charging_full

Optimized to run in the background without draining your battery.

security

Direct SMTP connection to Gmail. Your messages never pass through our servers.

sim_card

Works with both SIM slots. Know which number received each message.

history

View recent messages and their forwarding status right in the app.

autorenew

Failed forwards are automatically retried when connection is restored.

Download from Google Play and grant the required permissions when prompted. The app needs:

SMS Permissions (Receive & Read SMS) — Required to detect incoming text messages and read their content for forwarding. Without this, the app cannot access your messages.
Contacts Permission — Optional but recommended. Allows the app to show sender names (e.g., "Mom") instead of just phone numbers in forwarded emails.
Notification Permission — Required to show a persistent notification indicating the app is monitoring for SMS. This also keeps the app running reliably in the background.

Enter your Gmail address and an App Password. This is the email account that will send the forwarded messages.

Why Gmail? — The app connects directly to Gmail's SMTP servers to send emails. This means your messages go straight from your phone to Gmail—no third-party servers involved.
Why an App Password? — Google requires App Passwords for apps that use SMTP. Your regular Gmail password won't work. This is a security feature that lets you revoke access to this app without changing your main password.
How to create an App Password: Go to Google Account → Security → App Passwords, create one named "sms2email", and paste the 16-character code into the app.

Enter the email address where you want to receive your forwarded SMS messages.

Can be any email — The destination doesn't have to be Gmail. It can be any email address: work email, Outlook, Yahoo, or even the same Gmail you used as sender.
Tip: Use a dedicated folder or label in your email to organize forwarded SMS messages.

Tap "Start" and you're done! The app runs in the background and forwards new SMS messages automatically.

Persistent notification — You'll see a notification showing the app is active. This is required by Android for background services.
Auto-retry — If forwarding fails (e.g., no internet), the app saves the message and retries automatically when connectivity is restored.
Survives reboots — The app automatically restarts after your phone reboots, so you never miss a message.

Note: This app only forwards traditional SMS text messages. RCS (chat features) and iMessages cannot be forwarded due to Android limitations.