# The Best Way to Forward Texts From an iPhone in 2027

> Four ways to forward texts from an iPhone on iOS 27, compared by where texts need to go, with the best fit for each need and how to set it up.

Last updated: 2026-10-25
Canonical HTML page: https://www.fwrdsms.com/blog/best-way-to-forward-texts-iphone-2027
Published: 2026-10-25

The best way to forward texts from an iPhone going into 2027 depends on where they need to go. For your own Mac or iPad, turn on Apple’s Text Message Forwarding; for one text now and then, forward it by hand; to send selected texts to another person, an email address or a chat app automatically, use a Shortcuts Message automation with an app like Fwrd.

**What you need:** an iPhone. This guide describes iOS 27, the current release on October 25, 2026, with notes where iOS 26 differs. Nothing about later iOS versions is known yet, so it covers only what works today.

## What is the best way to forward texts from an iPhone in 2027?

It depends on the destination. Your own Apple devices: Text Message Forwarding. An occasional text to someone: forward it by hand. Texts that should reach another person, an inbox or a team chat without you doing anything: a Shortcuts Message automation, with Fwrd doing the sending. Fwrd adds eight destinations from one action, plus filters for chat apps and webhooks.

## The four ways to forward texts on iOS 27

### Forward by hand

Touch and hold a text, tap More, select the texts, tap the Share button (Forward on iOS 26), and pick who gets it. It works for anyone with a phone number or email address, and it costs nothing. It’s also manual every time. [How to forward a text message on iPhone](https://www.fwrdsms.com/blog/how-to-forward-a-text-on-iphone) has every step.

### Apple’s Text Message Forwarding

Apple’s [support article](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102545) (read October 25, 2026) says Text Message Forwarding lets the texts you send and receive on your iPhone appear on your Mac, iPad and Apple Vision Pro, each signed in with the same Apple Account. You turn it on in Settings, then Apps, then Messages, then Text Message Forwarding.

That’s its limit as well as its strength: it only reaches your own Apple devices. It can’t send texts to another person, an Android phone, an email inbox or a chat app.

### A Shortcuts Message automation on its own

Apple’s [Message trigger](https://support.apple.com/guide/shortcuts/communication-triggers-apdd711f9dff/ios) (read October 25, 2026) runs an automation when a text arrives containing a phrase you add. Followed by Apple’s Send Message or Send Email action, it can pass matching texts to one phone number or address.

Past that, you build it yourself. Sending to Slack, Discord or Telegram means writing your own web request, with the webhook address or bot token saved inside the shortcut, and there are no filters beyond the trigger’s phrase and no record of what was sent.

### A Shortcuts automation with Fwrd

Fwrd is an action you add under the same Message trigger. It sends each matching text to every destination you’ve set up: Email, another phone or iMessage, WhatsApp, Slack, Discord, Microsoft Teams, Telegram, or your own webhook for Zapier, Make or n8n. Slack, Discord, Teams, Telegram and webhooks are sent by Fwrd straight from the iPhone; email, another phone and WhatsApp go through Apple’s or WhatsApp’s own action after Fwrd’s.

There’s no account and no Fwrd server; texts go from the iPhone to the apps you choose. Webhook addresses and bot tokens stay in the iPhone’s Keychain, and Activity in the app shows what was forwarded and anything that failed.

## How do the methods compare?

By destination: only an automation reaches other people and apps on its own, and only Fwrd adds filters and chat apps without building requests yourself.

| Where texts need to go | By hand | Text Message Forwarding | Shortcuts alone | Shortcuts + Fwrd |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your own Mac or iPad | Yes, one at a time | Yes, all texts | No | No |
| Another person’s phone | Yes, one at a time | No | Yes | Yes |
| An email address | Yes, one at a time | No | Yes | Yes |
| Slack, Discord, Teams or Telegram | Copy and paste each one | No | Only if you build the request | Yes |
| Your own webhook or n8n | No | No | Only if you build the request | Yes |
| Only codes, or only certain words | You choose each time | No | The trigger’s phrase only | Yes, with filters for chats and webhooks |

## The best fit when you want…

- **Your texts on your Mac or iPad:** Text Message Forwarding. It’s built in, and it shows every text.
- **To pass on the odd text:** forward it by hand.
- **One kind of text to one person, every time:** a Shortcuts automation with Fwrd, so you can add a second place later and see each forward in Activity.
- **Codes or alerts in a team chat:** Shortcuts with Fwrd, which posts to Slack, Discord, Teams or Telegram from the iPhone itself.
- **Texts in your own tools:** Shortcuts with Fwrd’s webhook, which posts each text as JSON.

[Can an iPhone automatically forward texts?](https://www.fwrdsms.com/blog/can-iphone-automatically-forward-texts) answers the yes-or-no question, and [the best SMS forwarding apps for iPhone](https://www.fwrdsms.com/blog/best-sms-forwarding-apps-iphone) compares the apps.

## How to set up automatic forwarding on iOS 27

1. **Add a destination in [Fwrd](https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id6759069713?pt=128544281&ct=blog-best-way-2027&mt=8).** Open Fwrd, tap +, and choose where texts should go. Paste the address it asks for into the Configuration field, tap Send Test Message, then save with the tick.

2. **Create a Message automation.** Open Shortcuts, tap Library, then Automation, then +. If you see Describe a shortcut, tap Edit. Tap Automation, then Message, change Sender to Message, and type a word your texts contain, such as code. On iOS 26, open the Automation tab, tap +, choose Message, and type it under Message Contains.

3. **Make it run without asking.** Tap the arrow beside the trigger and check that Confirm Before Run is off. Under ⓘ, then Privacy, check that Allow Running When Locked is on. On iOS 26, choose Run Immediately, then tap Next and Create New Shortcut.

4. **Add Fwrd’s action.** Search for Forward and add Forward Message to All Destinations. Set its Message to Shortcut Input (on iOS 26, Shortcut Input, then Message). Tap back to save (Done on iOS 26).

5. **That’s it.** New texts with your word now go to your destinations on their own, with the iPhone unlocked or locked.

The [automation guide](https://www.fwrdsms.com/guides/automation) has a picture of each iOS 27 screen.

## Limits every method shares

- **None of them read texts that arrived earlier.** An automation starts with the next matching text.
- **None of them can catch literally every text automatically.** A single space as the keyword catches any text with a space in it; a one-word reply won’t match.
- **The iPhone has to be on.** Every method starts on the iPhone, so it must be on and online when texts arrive. After a restart, Fwrd waits until you unlock it once.
- **Pictures don’t forward automatically, and nobody can reply through a forward.**

## Questions about forwarding texts in 2027

### Is there a setting that forwards texts to another person automatically?

No. Text Message Forwarding only reaches your own Apple devices. To send texts to someone else on their own, you need a Shortcuts Message automation.

### Do these steps work on iOS 26?

Yes. The automation is the same idea on iOS 26, with an Automation tab and Run Immediately instead of Library and Confirm Before Run. Fwrd needs iOS 26 or later.

### Do forwarded texts show who sent them?

Only if you turn it on. Switch on Include Who Sent It in Fwrd’s Settings and choose Sender on Fwrd’s action, and each forward starts with a From: line.

### What does Fwrd cost?

As of October 2026, Fwrd is free for 15 forwards a month, and a text counts once however many places it goes. Fwrd Pro removes the limit for $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year in the US.

## Keep reading

- [Best SMS forwarding apps for iPhone](https://www.fwrdsms.com/blog/best-sms-forwarding-apps-iphone)
- [Can an iPhone automatically forward texts?](https://www.fwrdsms.com/blog/can-iphone-automatically-forward-texts)