iPhone SMS to email
Forward iPhone text messages to email
Forward iPhone text messages to email or Gmail automatically. Fwrd hands each matching text to Apple’s Send Email action, which sends it from your iPhone.
iPhone · iOS 26.2 or later. Your receiving iPhone stays on and online. No Fwrd account or new phone number needed.
The route
Set up once. Send a real test text.
Fwrd can’t send to email itself. Your shortcut runs Fwrd’s action first, then Apple’s Send Email action, which sends each matching text from the Mail app on your iPhone. Build it like this:
Add Email in Fwrd
On the iPhone, open Destinations, tap Add Destination, and choose Email Address. Add each address that should get your texts, then save. Fwrd lists the shortcut steps as a checklist, so you can tick them off as you build it.
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. On iOS 26, tap Automation, then +, then Message, and choose Run Immediately with Notify When Run off.
Message contains ← your word · Confirm Before Run ← Off
Add Fwrd’s action first
Add Fwrd’s Forward Message to All Destinations right after the trigger. Set its Message to Shortcut Input → Message on iOS 26, or Shortcut Input on iOS 27.
iOS 26: Shortcut Input → Message · iOS 27: Shortcut Input
Add Send Email after it
Add Apple’s Send Email action directly after Fwrd’s. Tap Message → Select Variable and choose the blue output under Fwrd’s action. Choose your recipient, and turn off Show Compose Sheet so it sends without waiting for you. Save the automation.
Message = Fwrd action output
Check a real incoming SMS
Send a harmless SMS with your keyword from a different phone and check it reaches the recipient. Repeat with the receiving iPhone locked. Mail does the sending, so Fwrd can’t see whether it arrived: this check is the only proof.
Before you rely on forwarding
- You create and control the Message automation in Shortcuts.
- The iPhone must receive the SMS, stay powered on, and have internet access. Unlock it once after a restart.
- Turn Show Compose Sheet off in Send Email. With it on, Mail opens a draft and waits for you, which can’t happen while the iPhone is locked.
- We haven’t tested forwarding to email on a physical iPhone ourselves yet. Send a harmless test text, unlocked and then locked, before you rely on it.
If your text does not arrive
Check that Send Email comes right after Fwrd’s action, that its Message uses the blue output under Fwrd’s action, and that you’ve turned off Show Compose Sheet. If the shortcut doesn’t run at all, check your Message Contains keyword, Fwrd’s Message input, and that the automation runs without asking.
Mail does the sending, so Fwrd can’t see whether it arrived: the destination shows Not Tested in Fwrd, and the send doesn’t appear in Fwrd’s Activity log. Check with the recipient. If you restarted the phone, unlock it once, then try a new test text.
See every Email fix in the guideData and control
Fwrd hands the message text back to your shortcut on the iPhone, and Apple’s Send Email action sends it from the Mail app on your iPhone. No Fwrd server, relay, or account is involved. Your email provider keeps its copy under its own policy. Fwrd never requests or records the sender, and because Mail does the sending, the forward doesn’t appear in Fwrd’s Activity log.
Start with 15 free forwards each month
No paid subscription required. The allowance resets each calendar month. Pro removes Fwrd’s monthly limit.
US prices: $3.99/month or $29.99/year. The annual plan includes a 7-day free trial for eligible customers, then renews at $29.99/year until canceled.
See all pricingForwarding iPhone texts to email: FAQ
Can I automatically forward iPhone text messages to email?
Yes. Fwrd and Apple Shortcuts can forward selected incoming iPhone texts to any email address automatically. Your shortcut runs Fwrd’s action first, then Apple’s Send Email action, which sends each matching text from the Mail app on your iPhone. Fwrd doesn’t send the email itself and can’t see whether it arrived, so send a harmless test text before you rely on it.
How do I forward text messages to email from my iPhone?
Add Email in Fwrd with the address that should get your texts, then build the shortcut. In Apple Shortcuts, create a Message automation with a Message Contains keyword. On iOS 26, choose Run Immediately and turn Notify When Run off; on iOS 27, set it to run without asking. Add Fwrd’s Forward Message to All Destinations after the trigger. Set its Message to Shortcut Input → Message on iOS 26, or Shortcut Input on iOS 27. Add Apple’s Send Email below Fwrd, tap Message → Select Variable, and choose the blue output under Fwrd’s action. Set your recipient and turn Show Compose Sheet off. Send a real test text from another phone and check your inbox.
Can I forward text messages to Gmail from my iPhone?
Yes. Put your Gmail address in the Recipients field of Apple’s Send Email action, and each matching text is emailed there from the Mail app on your iPhone. Any address works the same way, and the account that sends it can be a Gmail account you’ve added to Mail. Fwrd can’t see whether the email arrived, so send a harmless test text and check your inbox.
Can an iPhone forward texts to email by itself?
No. iOS has no setting that forwards texts to an email address, and Apple’s Text Message Forwarding only shows your texts on your own Mac or iPad. A Shortcuts automation with Fwrd and Apple’s Send Email action does it, and you set it up once.
Why are my forwarded texts going to spam?
Your email provider may not recognise the messages yet. Mark one as not spam, add the sending address to your contacts, or create a filter for it. Typing a fixed subject, such as Forwarded text, into Send Email makes a filter easy to set up.
Does forwarding to email work when my iPhone is locked?
It’s designed to, as long as Show Compose Sheet is off in Apple’s Send Email action, so Mail sends without waiting for you. We haven’t tested forwarding to email on a locked iPhone ourselves yet, so lock the phone and send a harmless test text before you rely on it. The iPhone has to stay on and online, and after a restart you need to unlock it once before forwarding works again.
Is it free to forward iPhone texts to email?
It’s free for up to 15 forwards per calendar month, with no Fwrd account and no subscription. Fwrd Pro removes that limit for $3.99/month or $29.99/year, and the annual plan includes a 7-day free trial for eligible customers. Eligible waitlist members can get their first year for $19.99, renewing at $29.99/year. Your email provider may apply its own sending limits.
Which email account sends the forwarded texts?
The Mail account on your iPhone. Apple’s Send Email action sends through the Mail app, so you need an account set up in Mail that can send, such as iCloud, Gmail, or Outlook. Fwrd has no email server or shared address, so nothing comes from a Fwrd account.
Can I choose which texts get forwarded to email?
Yes. Only texts that match your Shortcuts Message automation reach Fwrd, so set Message Contains to a word that appears in the texts you want, such as code, verification, or delivery. Match on Message Contains rather than Sender, because the Sender picker only offers your Contacts and misses short codes. Each matching text goes to every active destination you’ve set up in Fwrd.
Does Fwrd see or store the texts I forward to email?
Fwrd handles the text only on your iPhone, to hand it to the next action in your shortcut: no Fwrd server, relay, or account is involved. Because Mail does the sending, the forward doesn’t appear in Fwrd’s Activity log. Fwrd never requests or records who sent the text. Your email provider keeps its copy under its own policy.