How to Automatically Forward Texts from Your iPhone (Step-by-Step Made Simple)

Posted on by Jason A.

Want your iPhone texts to auto-forward to your email or dashboard the moment they arrive—without installing a special app or begging Apple for permissions?

Good news — you can now set up AutoForward Text on your iPhone without downloading anything special from the App Store. Thanks to Apple’s built-in Shortcuts app, your iPhone can send a copy of each text straight to your AutoForward Text account.

No coding, no tech background needed — just follow along with these screenshots and taps.

What You’ll Need

  • An iPhone (iOS 15 or newer).
  • The Shortcuts app (comes pre-installed).
  • An AutoForward Text account (your email will be the link between your iPhone and your account).

Step 1: Open Shortcuts

  1. On your iPhone, open the Shortcuts app.
  2. Tap Automation at the bottom.
  3. Tap the + in the top corner → Create Personal Automation.
  4. Select Message

Step 2 — Choose “Message”

  1. Sender: Leave It “as is”
  2. Message contains: tap the field, press the spacebar once (it will look blank—that’s OK)
  3. Tap on Run Immediately (Important)
  4. Tap Next

Why a single space?

This makes the automation run only when a message contains at least one space (most normal sentences). It’s a simple method to ensure all messages are automatically forwarded from your iPhone.

Step 5: Send the Message to AutoForward Text

  1. Tap New Blank Automation → search for Get Contents of URL.
  2. In the URL field, type: https://forwardmytext.com
  1. Tap Disclosure Icon → under Headers, add the following one by one:
    • Message → choose the Shortcut Input variable
    • Sender → choose the Sender variable
    • Email → choose the Text action (your account email)

This section may be confusing; we recommend watching the video walkthrough for clarification.

Step 6: Save and Enable

  1. Tap Done.
  2. Swipe up to close Shortcuts.

Step 7: Test It

Send yourself a quick text from another phone.

  • If you’ve set it up right, the Shortcut runs instantly.
  • The text will appear in your AutoForward Text account/email, depending on your settings.

That’s It 🎉

From now on, your iPhone will automatically forward texts through AutoForward Text in the background.

If you run into issues:

  • Double-check your account email is correct in Step 4.
  • Make sure Ask Before Running is turned OFF.
  • Reach out anytime: support@autoforwardtext.com.