Learning how to forward text messages on Android to someone else is easy. It is an essential skill that can help you communicate quickly and save time.
Whether you are sharing details with a colleague, keeping records of conversations, or just monitoring messages for safety, forwarding texts ensures you won’t miss out on anything important.
In this guide, we will walk you through simple steps to forward text messages on Android. In the process, helping you remain organized and efficient in all your conversations.
Can you forward text messages on an Android phone?
Yes, you actually can forward text messages on Android phones. And this is fully supported natively across pretty much all Android devices and versions. For many years, Android’s ability to forward text messages has been a standard feature present in the default messaging apps. Almost every Android phone with an Android 4.0 or newer operating system. Has a built-in forwarding functionality available within its stock messaging apps.
This feature also works seamlessly in Samsung‘s Messages app, Google Messages and similar manufacturer-specific messaging apps.
However, there are some limitations to this. The native messaging app only allows you to forward standard SMS and MMS messages.
This doesn’t apply to messages sent from third-party apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram, or Facebook Messenger, however. These apps often have their own forwarding system.
While the menu layouts will vary depending on which Android version you use, the core functionality of forwarding remains the same.
How to forward text messages on Android?
To forward text messages on Android, you simply need to follow the following easy steps on your device’s default messaging app.
In most cases, the process is almost the same for most Android phones, including phones from Google, Samsung and other manufacturers.
Step 1. Open up your Android’s default messaging app, (i.e. Google Messages or Samsung Messages).
Step 2. Go to the conversation that has the SMS or MMS you wish to forward.
Step 3. Tap and hold the specific message you want to forward, until options appear.
Step 4. In Google Messages, open the three dot menu (⋮) in the upper right and select ‘Forward’. On Samsung Messages, hold the message then tap on ‘Forward’ from its popup menu.
Step 5. Choose a contact from the list or tap ‘New message’ in order to manually enter a phone number.
Step 6. If needed you can modify the message before sending.
Step 7. To forward the text to a recipient, tap the send icon.
Using these steps can help you quickly and efficiently forward text messages on Android when passing along information to others.
However, you can only forward one message each at a time using the default app as bulk forwarding is not possible.
How to automatically forward text messages to another number?
Android’s native messaging apps don’t support automatic forwarding. If you want to forward messages to another number you’ll need to use a third party app or an IFTTT style service.
Here’s how to automatically forward text messages on Android.
Using Third-Party apps (e.g., SMS Forwarder)
There are plenty of Automatic SMS Forwarding apps on the Google Play Store. And while the forwarding steps will differ depending on which app you use… the general process is the same.
For example, here’s how you can go about setting up automatic forwarding using SMS Forwarder.
Step 1. Download and install SMS Forwarder from the Google Play Store.
Step 2. Open the app and give it access to your SMS messages.
Step 3. In the upper right corner, tap to add a new forwarding rule.
Step 4. Select which messages to forward (i.e. from who, with which keywords).
Step 5. Now enter the phone number or email address you would like for your messages to be forwarded to.
Step 6. Activate the rule and Save. Based on your settings, the app will then start automatically forwarding messages.
These apps frequently need an overwhelming amount of permissions to access your SMS, contacts and sometimes phone stats. Which often raises some privacy and security concerns.iiiiiiiiuiko
Using IFTTT (If This Then That)
IFTTT is a powerful automation platform that allows you to automate almost anything, including your SMS. It lets you make what they call ‘Applets’ or ‘Workflows’ based on conditions.
Here are the general steps for using IFTTT to forward SMS
Step 1. To get started, head on over to the IFTTT website and sign up for a free account (or use the mobile app).
Step 2. Download and install the IFTTT app on your Android. This app serves as a bridge between your phone’s services.
Step 3. On the IFTTT app search for the “Android SMS” service.
Step 4. Set up the service. To do so, you will need to grant IFTTT permission to access your Android SMS message.
|Step 5. Now go to “Create” or “My Applets” and start a new Applet there.
Step 6. Choose a trigger such as, new SMS received or a new SMS from a specific contact. Here you can define keywords or sender numbers.
Step 7. For your action service, select ‘Phone Call’ or ‘SMS’.
Step 8. Choose next and then select the “Send a text message” as your action.
Step 9. Enter the destination phone number and compose the content of your message using ingredients.
Step 10. Review your settings and turn on your Applet.
Automatically forwarding text messages on Android through 3rd party solutions is very useful. But you need to make sure that you can trust the application or service you choose.
How to forward texts from social media?
Apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram and TikTok allow you to forward messages between friends. To enable sharing of important information.
Here’s a step by step guide on how to forward text messages from these apps.
Forwarding Messages from WhatsApp
With WhatsApp, it is possible to forward text messages, media or links to other WhatsApp chats. Or even to other external platforms such as an email.
Here is how you can forward text messages on Android via WhatsApp.
Step 1. Open WhatsApp app on your android device.
Step 2. Go to the particular individual or group chat where you would like to forward message.
Step 3. Tap and hold the text, image, video or link you want to forward, until it’s highlighted. To select more than one message, just tap other messages after the first one.
Step 4. Then, press the forward option at the top of the screen.
Step 5. Select a contact, a group or “My Status” from the contact list.
Step 6. If you want to, you can add a message to give it context (e.g. “Check this out!”).
Step 7. Forward the message by tapping the send button (paper plane icon).
On WhatsApp, while a forwarded message is accompanied with a forwarded tag, the original sender is not normally shown.
Forwarding Messages from Facebook Messenger
With Facebook Messenger, you can only forward a message as text, image, video or a link within the app, by using the forward option.
The steps for forwarding messages on Messenger are as follows.
Step 1. Open the Messenger app on your Android device.
Step 2. Start the conversation with the message you wish to forward.
Step 3. Select the message (text, image, video or link) and long press to reveal a list of options.
Step 4. Choose more and then click on Forward from the menu. For media such as images or videos, the forward option may be beside the media.
step 5. You can now select one or several recipients or group, from your Messenger contacts.
Step 6. To forward the message, tap Send.
There is no native integration for forwarding messages to email or other apps. Forwarding to non-Messenger platforms either requires manual copy-paste or saving the media.
Forwarding Messages from Instagram
There is a native ‘forward’ feature available in Instagram’s Direct Messages (DMs), that you can use to share messages that you want to forward on Instagram.
For Android users, here’s how to forward messages.
Step 1. Open Instagram app on your Android device.
Step 2. To get to the DMs, click on the message icon (the paper plane) in the top right corner.
Step 3. Now, open the conversation with the message or media (text, image, video, or reel) you want to send.
Step 4. Select the message, press and hold on it for a few seconds, and then click on the forward option.
Step 5. For a link to any media, click on share to the left of the media or reel (paper plane), then select a contact from Instagram or Copy Link to share externally.
Step 6. Pick from the list of contants the recipient of the forwarded message and then send it.
Cross platform messaging (such as from Instagram to Messenger) is limited to business accounts in certain regions on Instagram. And requires having linked accounts.
Forwarding Messages from TikTok
TikTok does allow sharing of videos, messages or links via Direct Messages (DMs) within the app or outside onto other platforms.
Below are the steps to forward on TikTok for Android.
Step 1. Start the TikTok app on your Android device.
Step 2. To open a chat, tap on the persons profile icon and go to Message.
Step 3. For videos, go to the video you wish to share from your feed or your profile.
Step 4. Press and hold on the message, and then select forward, from the menu that appears.
Step 5. To send videos tap the share icon (right arrow) next to the video and choose where to share outside the app or copy link.
Step 6. If you choose Copy link, you can now visit the target app where you wanted to foward, paste the link and send it.
Some may find it annoying that TikTok’s DMs automatically show shared videos in the app’s messaging system when the recipient opens the link.
To stop this, disable Direct Message Previews and Direct Messages through the app’s settings. Go to privacy and then access the Direct Messages option.
How to know the messages your kids receive?
As a parent, keeping an eye on your child’s messages is one way to help them stay safe online. Although it is possible to manually forward text messages on Android. Automated tracking would be a lot more convenient, as it provides remote oversight. Trusted parental control apps are one of the most effective and the most secured ways to monitor or forward text messages on Android remotely without any kind of intrusion.
With these tools, you can keep track of what your child is doing on their device, who they’re texting and what messages they’re receiving. One such powerful and user-friendly parental control app, ideal for supervising and managing your child’s smartphone usage is FlashGet Kids.
FlashGet Kids is equipped with a number of useful features that help parents monitor the kind of messages kids get and make sure that they are safe. These features include.
Key features:
- Screen mirroring. It allows you to view your child’s phone screen live and see what they are doing in real time.
- Alerts. You receive instant notifications whenever your child’s messages or app activity suggests dangers like bullying, risky content or unsafe contacts.
- Daily usage. You get detailed summaries of your child’s phone usage, including text messages sent and received, apps used and how much time spent on the device.
- SMS safety. It monitors your child’s SMS messages and alerts you of any harmful or suspicious content so that you can act early.
Programs like FlashGet Kids provide just the right amount of visibility to keep children safe while simultaneously giving parents enough supervisory control.
Conclusion
Forwarding text messages on Android is a simple but useful process. Allowing you to quickly share information, organize important details and even monitor a conversation effectively. On Android, whether you need to foward texts manually, automate the process via a third party app or manage your child’s messages, there is always a text forwarding solution for you.
For parents, FlashGet Kids is an excellent solution. It not only helps forward texts but also equips you with the right tools to find out what your children are up to on their devices.
