How to forward iPhone text messages to Telegram

How this destination works

Fwrd sends each matching text over HTTPS, straight from the iPhone to this destination, whenever the destination is active in Fwrd.

Before you begin

• A Telegram account, so you can message BotFather and create the bot
• A few minutes in Telegram on any device — the bot is created there, not in Fwrd
• Fwrd installed on the iPhone that receives the messages

1. 1

   Create a bot with BotFather

   This works in Telegram on the iPhone. Search for @BotFather (it has a blue tick), open the chat, and send /newbot. BotFather asks for a name, which can be anything, then a username: 5 to 32 letters, numbers, or underscores, ending in “bot”, such as my_texts_bot. The username can’t be changed later.

2. 2

   Copy the bot token

   BotFather replies with a token: a number, a colon, then a long string. Anyone who has it controls your bot, so keep it private. Send /token to BotFather if you ever need to replace it.

   110201543:AAHdqTcvCH1vGWJxfSeofSAs0K5PALDsaw
3. 3

   Start the chat yourself

   A Telegram bot can’t message you first. Tap the t.me link BotFather sent, tap Start, then send the bot any message, such as hello, so the next step has something to read.

4. 4

   Read your chat ID

   Open the address below in a browser, with your token in place of <YOUR_TOKEN>. The word bot goes straight in front of the token, with no space. Find "chat":{"id": followed by a number, and copy that number exactly. Your own chat is a positive number. If the page shows "result":[], send the bot another message and reload: Telegram only keeps these for 24 hours.

   https://api.telegram.org/bot<YOUR_TOKEN>/getUpdates
5. 5

   Choose Telegram in Fwrd’s setup

   On the iPhone, open Fwrd and tap Set Up Forwarding at the end of the intro. When it asks where your texts should go, choose Telegram.

6. 6

   Enter the token and chat ID

   Paste the token into Bot token and the number into Chat ID, then continue. Fwrd checks the shape of both first.

   Bot token + Chat ID ← BotFather and getUpdates
7. 7

   Add the ready-made shortcut

   Choose which texts to forward. Tap Get Shortcut. In Shortcuts, tap Add Shortcut, then ◀ Fwrd at the top left.

8. 8

   Switch it on

   On iOS 27, tap Open Shortcut. In Shortcuts, tap Edit, then the small › at the end of the first line, “When I receive a message where” (not the ×), and turn on Automation, as in the picture. On iOS 26, Fwrd calls this step Make it automatic: tap Open Shortcuts, then New Automation or +, then Message. Type one space in Message Contains and tap Done. Choose Run Immediately, tap Next, and tap the shortcut you just added, under My Shortcuts.

   

9. 9

   Allow the first run

   Fwrd runs the shortcut once with a sample text. Shortcuts asks twice the first time: tap Allow, then Always Allow.

10. 10

    You’re all set

    That’s it. New matching texts now go to your Telegram chat on their own, with the iPhone unlocked or locked. After the iPhone restarts, unlock it once and forwarding carries on.

Build it yourself

Rather build the automation yourself? Follow these steps instead. If Fwrd already forwards somewhere, stop once Telegram is saved: your automation sends to every active destination.

Watch the setup

Every tap in Fwrd and Shortcuts on iOS 27, in about a minute. Pause on any step, or choose one below to jump to it.

Watch on YouTube

1. 0:02In Fwrd, tap + and choose Telegram
2. 0:06Paste your bot token, then type your chat ID
3. 0:18Tap the tick to save
4. 0:20Open Shortcuts. Tap Automation, then +
5. 0:24Tap Edit
6. 0:27Tap Automation, then Message
7. 0:30Change Sender to Message, then type a word your texts contain. Or type a space “ ” to forward any text with a space in it
8. 0:39Tap the arrow. Confirm Before Run should be off
9. 0:44Search Forward, then add Forward Message to All Destinations
10. 0:51Tap Message and choose Shortcut Input
11. 0:58Tap back to save. The automation is on
12. 1:00That’s it

Shown on iOS 27 with Fwrd 1.1. The addresses and numbers are examples.

1. 1

   Add Telegram in Fwrd

   On the iPhone, open Fwrd, tap + at the bottom of the screen, and choose Telegram. You can rename it to tell destinations apart.

2. 2

   Enter the token and chat ID

   Paste the token into Bot token and the number into Chat ID. Fwrd checks the shape of both before it lets you continue.

   Bot token + Chat ID ← BotFather and getUpdates
3. 3

   Save and keep the destination active

   Tap Send Test Message, then tap the tick at the top right to save. If iOS offers to save a password, tap Not Now: Fwrd already keeps it in the iPhone’s Keychain. Leave Destination Active switched on. An inactive route stays saved on the iPhone but is skipped when messages arrive.

   Destination Active ← On
4. 4

   Create a Message automation

   On the receiving iPhone, open Shortcuts. On iOS 27, go to Library → Automation and tap +. If you see Describe a shortcut, tap Edit. Tap Automation, then Message, and change Sender to Message. Type a word your texts contain, such as code or verification: matching on the message catches short codes and senders outside your Contacts, which Sender can’t. Then 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, tap Automation, then +, then Message, and choose Run Immediately.

   Message contains ← your word · Confirm Before Run ← Off · Allow Running When Locked ← On

   

5. 5

   Add Fwrd’s Forward Message action

   Search for Forward and add Fwrd’s Forward Message to All Destinations below the trigger. Tap Message in it, tap Select Variable, and choose Shortcut Input; Shortcuts adds a Receive block at the top, which is fine. Tap back to save. On iOS 26, tap Create New Shortcut first, then add the action, set its Message to Shortcut Input, and tap Done.

   Message = Shortcut Input

   

6. 6

   You’re all set

   That’s it. New matching texts now go to your Telegram chat on their own, with the iPhone unlocked or locked. After the iPhone restarts, unlock it once and forwarding carries on.

The Shortcuts screens differ between iOS 26 and iOS 27. The automation guide walks through both.

If a message doesn’t arrive

Send Test Message fails with “chat not found”

A bot can’t message you until you open its chat and tap Start. Do that, then read the chat ID again with getUpdates.

getUpdates shows an empty list

Send the bot a message first, then reload the page. If the bot has a webhook set elsewhere, getUpdates stays empty until you remove it.

It stopped working after I changed the token

A new token from BotFather replaces the old one straight away. Paste the new token into Fwrd.

Problems that apply to every destination, like texts that never trigger the automation, are in the troubleshooting guide.

Common questions

Each answer opens on the Telegram overview page.

• Can I automatically forward iPhone SMS to Telegram?
• How do I forward text messages from my iPhone to Telegram?
• Do I need my own Telegram bot?
• Why forward iPhone texts to Telegram?
• Can I forward texts to more than one Telegram chat?
• Does forwarding to Telegram work when my iPhone is locked?
• Is it free to forward iPhone texts to Telegram?
• Can Fwrd forward texts to a Telegram group?
• Can I choose which texts get forwarded to Telegram?
• Does Fwrd see or store the texts I forward to Telegram?

Popular ways to use Fwrd

• Small businesses with one shared work phone
• Living abroad and keeping your US number
• NRIs receiving Indian bank OTPs abroad
• Keeping your UK number abroad for bank codes
• Families sharing verification codes
• Reading iPhone texts on a Windows PC or Chromebook

More help

• How to automatically forward iPhone SMS to Telegram
• Can WhatsApp or Telegram Receive Text Messages?