How to forward iPhone text messages to WhatsApp

How this destination works

Fwrd’s action, Forward Message to All Destinations, takes the incoming text from your Shortcuts automation and passes it to the next action. The WhatsApp action that follows in Apple Shortcuts performs delivery; Fwrd does not send it directly.

Before you begin

• WhatsApp installed and configured on the iPhone
• The contact that should get your texts
• Fwrd installed on the iPhone that receives the messages

1. 1

   Choose WhatsApp 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 WhatsApp.

2. 2

   Type the number

   Under Send To, type the WhatsApp number that should get your texts, then continue.

3. 3

   Add Fwrd to WhatsApp

   Choose which texts to forward. Tap Get Shortcut. In Shortcuts, tap Add Shortcut, then ◀ Fwrd at the top left. Fwrd to WhatsApp already holds WhatsApp’s Send Message, which sends to the contact or number you typed in Fwrd.

4. 4

   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.

   

5. 5

   Allow the first run

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

6. 6

   You’re all set

   That’s it. New matching texts now go to that WhatsApp 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.

Watch the setup

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

Watch on YouTube

1. 0:02In Fwrd, tap + and choose WhatsApp
2. 0:05Scroll down and enter the WhatsApp number
3. 0:14Tap the tick to save
4. 0:16Open Shortcuts. Tap Automation, then +
5. 0:20Tap Edit
6. 0:23Tap Automation, then Message
7. 0:26Change Sender to Message, then type a word your texts contain. Or type a space “ ” to forward any text with a space in it
8. 0:34Tap the arrow. Confirm Before Run should be off
9. 0:40Search Forward, then add Forward Message to All Destinations
10. 0:47Tap Message and choose Shortcut Input
11. 0:53Search WhatsApp, tap the WhatsApp app, then Send Message
12. 1:04Tap Message and pick Forward Message to All Destinations
13. 1:11Tap Recipients and choose the same person. More than one number? Tap › and pick one, or Shortcuts stops to ask
14. 1:19Tap back to save. The automation is on
15. 1:23That’s it

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

1. 1

   Add WhatsApp in Fwrd

   In Fwrd, tap + at the bottom of the screen and choose WhatsApp. Scroll down to Recipient Reference and enter the number or contact that should get your texts on WhatsApp. Then tap the tick to save. Fwrd shows the Shortcuts steps as a checklist on the same screen.

   

2. 2

   Create a Message automation

   Open Shortcuts and go to Library → Automation, then tap +. 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. Then tap the arrow beside the trigger and check that Confirm Before Run is off, so it runs without asking. Under ⓘ, then Privacy, check that Allow Running When Locked is on. On iOS 26 the screens differ: the automation guide covers both.

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

   

3. 3

   Add Fwrd’s action

   Search for Forward and choose Forward Message to All Destinations, so it sits right below the trigger.

   Fwrd · Forward Message to All Destinations

   

4. 4

   Hand Fwrd the incoming text

   Tap Message in Fwrd’s action, tap Select Variable, and choose Shortcut Input. Shortcuts then adds a Receive block at the top; leave it as it is. On iOS 26, set Message to Shortcut Input too.

   Message = Shortcut Input

   

5. 5

   Add WhatsApp’s Send Message

   Search for WhatsApp, tap the WhatsApp app in the results, then choose Send Message. Don’t pick Send Message via WhatsApp, the older action the search lists on its own. It goes below Fwrd’s action. This action, not Fwrd, sends the message.

   WhatsApp’s Send Message

   

6. 6

   Pass Fwrd’s output forward

   Tap Message in WhatsApp’s Send Message. In the bar above the keyboard, pick Forward Message to All Destinations: that’s the output of Fwrd’s action. Select Variable works too, if you choose the blue output under Fwrd’s action.

   Message = Forward Message to All Destinations

   

7. 7

   Set the recipient

   Tap Recipients and find the same contact or number you saved in Fwrd. If the contact has more than one WhatsApp number, tap › next to it and pick one number. Otherwise Shortcuts stops every time to ask which one, and a locked iPhone can’t answer. Then tap the tick.

   Recipients ← the contact or number saved in Fwrd

   

8. 8

   Save, and you’re all set

   Tap back to save. The automation appears under Automation, switched on. In Fwrd, tick off the destination’s checklist. That’s it: new texts with your word now go to that WhatsApp chat on their own, with the iPhone unlocked or locked.

   Automation ← On

   

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

If a message doesn’t arrive

Shortcuts asks “Which one?” about the recipient

The contact has more than one WhatsApp number. Add the recipient again, tap › next to the contact, and pick one number. Until you do, nothing is sent while the iPhone is locked.

I can’t find Show When Run

WhatsApp’s Send Message doesn’t have one, or any other confirmation switch. It sends without asking, so there’s nothing to turn off.

WhatsApp opens with the message but doesn’t send it

Check that you added Send Message, not Send Message via WhatsApp. To add the right one, search for WhatsApp, tap the WhatsApp app, then choose Send Message.

WhatsApp’s action isn’t in Shortcuts

Open WhatsApp once after installing or updating it, so its actions appear in Shortcuts. Then search for WhatsApp and tap the WhatsApp app: Send Message is listed there, not in the search results. Searching for Send Message gets you Apple’s Messages action instead.

Shortcuts says there was a problem communicating with the app

Open WhatsApp and update it, then run the automation again. WhatsApp updates have broken its Shortcuts action for a while before. If WhatsApp’s Screen Lock (Face ID) is on, try it with that off.

WhatsApp’s status in Fwrd doesn’t change

That’s normal. WhatsApp does the sending, from your own account, so your forwards show up in that WhatsApp chat rather than in Fwrd’s Activity.

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 WhatsApp overview page.

• Can I automatically forward iPhone SMS to WhatsApp?
• How do I forward text messages from my iPhone to WhatsApp?
• Does Fwrd use the WhatsApp Business API?
• Why forward iPhone texts to WhatsApp?
• Are pictures in a text forwarded to WhatsApp?
• Does forwarding to WhatsApp work when my iPhone is locked?
• Is it free to forward iPhone texts to WhatsApp?
• Does WhatsApp need to be installed on the iPhone?
• Can I choose which texts get forwarded to WhatsApp?
• Does Fwrd see or store the texts I forward to WhatsApp?

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More help

• Can WhatsApp or Telegram Receive Text Messages?