# Auto-Forward Texts From One Contact on iPhone

> Forward one person’s texts to your spouse’s phone, WhatsApp or Slack on their own, with the Sender rule in iPhone Shortcuts. Setup for iOS 26 and 27.

Last updated: 2026-10-23
Canonical HTML page: https://www.fwrdsms.com/blog/forward-texts-from-one-contact-iphone
Published: 2026-10-14

Yes, an iPhone can automatically forward texts from one specific number. Save the number as a contact, make a Shortcuts Message automation whose Sender rule is that person, and end it with Fwrd’s action, which forwards each new text to any of its eight destinations: a Slack or Discord channel, another phone, or a WhatsApp chat with WhatsApp’s own action after it. Set it to run without asking.

**What you need:** the iPhone that gets this person’s texts, and the Shortcuts app, which comes with it. Fwrd needs iOS 26 or later, and there’s no account to make.

## Can an iPhone forward one person’s texts on its own?

Yes. The Message trigger in Shortcuts has a Sender rule, and [Apple’s Shortcuts guide](https://support.apple.com/guide/shortcuts/apdd711f9dff/ios) says it runs your automation when a message arrives from any of the senders you’ve added. Set to run without asking, it works with nothing to tap.

A 2022 [Apple Community thread](https://discussions.apple.com/thread/254161704) said a Message automation couldn’t run by itself. Since iOS 17, [Apple’s guide](https://support.apple.com/guide/shortcuts/apd602971e63/7.0/ios/17.0) says it can; step 5 turns the asking off.

Three setup facts matter:

- **The Sender picker only lists your Contacts,** so save their number as a contact first.
- **Banks, delivery services and sign-in codes text from short numbers** that usually aren’t in your Contacts, so the Sender picker can’t offer them. For those, use Message Contains with a word the texts share, such as the bank’s name.
- **Two rules must both match.** Add Message Contains as well as Sender, and only this person’s texts with that word are forwarded.

## How to auto-forward texts from one contact

The [automation guide](https://www.fwrdsms.com/guides/automation) walks through every step on iOS 26 and 27.

1. **Save the person in Contacts.** Add the number they text you from to a contact card, such as Mom or Landlord.

2. **Add a destination in [Fwrd](https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id6759069713?pt=128544281&ct=blog-one-contact&mt=8).** Tap + and choose where the texts should go, such as Another Phone for your spouse’s phone. For another phone, email or WhatsApp, enter the recipient under Recipient Reference; for a chat app, paste its webhook URL, or for Telegram your bot token and chat ID. Save with the tick.

3. **Create a Message automation.** On iOS 27, open Shortcuts, tap Library, then Automation, then +. If you see Describe a shortcut, tap Edit. Tap Automation, then Message. On iOS 26, open the Automation tab, tap + (or New Automation if it’s your first), and choose Message.

   ![Shortcuts on iOS 27: the automation triggers, with Message under Communication and Apple’s example “When I get a message from Mom”](https://www.fwrdsms.com/guides/steps/sc-message-trigger-ee0e41db.jpg)

4. **Choose the person.** On iOS 27 the trigger already starts with Sender, so keep it and choose the contact you saved. On iOS 26, tap Sender and choose the contact. To forward only some of their texts, add a Message Contains rule too (on iOS 27, tap Add Filter). On iOS 26, tap Next.

5. **Make it run without asking.** On iOS 27, 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.

6. **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).

7. **For another phone, email or WhatsApp, add the send step.** Below Fwrd’s action, add Apple’s Send Message, Apple’s Send Email, or WhatsApp’s own Send Message. Set its Message to Fwrd’s output, Forward Message to All Destinations, and add the recipient you saved in Fwrd. Give Send Email a subject, and turn Show Compose Sheet off on both Apple actions. The [phone guide](https://www.fwrdsms.com/guides/phone-imessage) shows it on video. For WhatsApp, if the contact has two numbers, tap › and pick one. Tap back to save (Done on iOS 26).

   ![Apple’s Send Message below Fwrd’s action, sending Fwrd’s output to a number, with Show Compose Sheet off](https://www.fwrdsms.com/guides/steps/phone-compose-sheet-b86f2d7b.jpg)

8. **That’s it.** New texts from that person now go where you chose on their own, with the iPhone unlocked or locked.

## Where can one person’s texts go?

To any of Fwrd’s eight destinations, and to several at once, still counting as one forward.

| To reach | Add in Fwrd | Who sends it |
|---|---|---|
| Your spouse’s phone, or your own second phone | [Another Phone](https://www.fwrdsms.com/iphone-sms-to-another-phone) | Apple’s Send Message, after Fwrd’s action |
| A WhatsApp chat | [WhatsApp](https://www.fwrdsms.com/iphone-sms-to-whatsapp) | WhatsApp’s own Send Message, after Fwrd’s action |
| Your inbox | [Email](https://www.fwrdsms.com/iphone-sms-to-email) | Apple’s Send Email, after Fwrd’s action |
| A team or family chat, or your own tools | [Slack](https://www.fwrdsms.com/iphone-sms-to-slack), [Discord](https://www.fwrdsms.com/iphone-sms-to-discord), [Telegram](https://www.fwrdsms.com/iphone-sms-to-telegram), [Microsoft Teams](https://www.fwrdsms.com/iphone-sms-to-microsoft-teams) or [your own webhook](https://www.fwrdsms.com/iphone-sms-to-webhook) | Fwrd, straight from the iPhone |

Each destination can also keep only some texts, by words, verification codes or time of day. So a landlord’s texts can reach a family Telegram chat at any hour, but a shared Teams channel only during working hours.

## What does Fwrd add for one contact?

Three things:

- **Any of eight places from one action.** Slack, Discord, Telegram, Teams and webhooks are posted by Fwrd itself, with nothing to build.
- **Their name above each text.** A plain forward arrives from your own number. With Include Who Sent It on and Sender chosen on Fwrd’s action, each forward starts with a From: line.
- **No account, and texts are processed on the iPhone.** They never pass through a Fwrd server.

## What can’t it do?

It can’t pick a sender outside your Contacts, and it only forwards new texts on an iPhone that’s on.

- **Fwrd’s action reaches every destination you’ve switched on.** If Fwrd already posts codes to a Slack channel, give that destination a verification-code filter, or this person’s texts land there too. A second automation that catches every text would forward them twice.
- **The iPhone has to stay on and online,** over Wi-Fi or mobile data.
- **After a restart, unlock it once.** Fwrd keeps your destinations behind the iPhone’s lock until then. An iPhone that isn’t unlocked for three days restarts itself.
- **Text only, one way.** Pictures don’t forward, and you can’t reply through the forward.

## Questions about forwarding one contact’s texts

### Can I forward texts from more than one person?

Yes. Add them all to the same Sender rule, not a second rule, because every rule must match: the automation runs for a message from any of them, so one automation can cover a parent, a babysitter and a landlord. Turn on Include Who Sent It and choose Sender on Fwrd’s action to see which of them wrote each text.

### Does it forward their iMessages too?

Yes. The Message automation runs for messages that arrive in the Messages app, iMessages included.

### Will the forward say who sent it?

Only if you turn it on. Switch on Include Who Sent It in Fwrd’s Settings, then choose Sender on Fwrd’s action in Shortcuts, and each forward starts with a From: line showing their name or number. Fwrd sends that line but doesn’t store it.

### Does it cost anything?

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. Your carrier’s usual texting rates can apply to what Send Message sends.

## Keep reading

- [How iPhone Shortcuts message automations work](https://www.fwrdsms.com/blog/iphone-shortcuts-message-automation)
- [Forward iPhone texts to Slack, Discord and more at once](https://www.fwrdsms.com/blog/forward-iphone-texts-to-multiple-apps)