I am working on an app that will require registering (or verifying?) with phone number just like WhatsApp or Telegram or many messaging apps do. Something like this:
Is it possible to do something like that with Parse.com? Or what would be the best option to implement this service?
Thank you!
Yes, it would be possible with Parse as your backend. You'd need a third party SMS service to send the txt. Parse is partnered with Twilio for sending SMS messages. See here. There are many other SMS API services available as well if you just google search it.
Related
I'm using Twilio Conversations for a chat service in my project. Currently, we have only normal 1-to-1 chat which is handled using frontend SDKs. It's working properly. My new requirement is something like WhatsApp broadcast: the sender can send messages to multiple participants, but on the receiver's side, it should be a normal chat message. Is it possible to implement using Twilio? How can I implement this?
Twilio developer evangelist here.
You can definitely do this with Twilio Conversations! Here's a way to do it using the Twilio CodeExchange.
Here's the JS version of that CodeExchange app on GitHub as well.
Edit: A Messaging PM says that Conversations is not the right product for notifications/bulk messaging. They're positioning Conversations and its features for bi-directional/conversational messaging and Messaging for transactional messaging (notifications, bulk messaging, verifications, etc.)
What they've seen people do in the past:
get list of numbers, iterate through them with Messaging API to send out bulk marketing message
set up the 'from' number (twilio sender) with Conversations autocreation, so that if someone replies it creates a Conversation
Handle the interactive dialogue with the person who wrote back using Conversations
Let me know if this helps at all!
So I need to programmatically receive text messages from a shortcode. Twilio does not support this. Anybody know a service like Twilio but that is able to receive SMS messages from a short code sender?
Just to be clear. I need to receive a text message from a shortcode to a 10 digit number, not send from a shortcode.
Most services (Twilio, call fire) that let you send from a shortcode can not receive a text message from a shortcode
This can’t be done, shortcodes are unique to each carrier network, when a short code is available across multiple carriers it is implemented on each carrier separatly.
Also shortcodes are not international so 54321 could be used in both the UK and US by totally separate services.
SMS providers like Twilio and Vonage connect to the carriers in the same way as the shortcodes do, they are both an application connection. The carriers do not permit app to app messaging through their network so a shortcode app will only ever be able to send to a real subscriber with a SIM card.
You might find some providers that offer an SMS API by using banks of hosted SIM cards but this can be very flakey and you are usually sharing the number. The other option might be to look at hosting your own SIM card in a usb single or such and recieve the SMS that way.
Actually, Twillio does support this now, although with a big disclaimer that it "cannot guarantee that every short code globally will be able to reach Twilio numbers"
https://support.twilio.com/hc/en-us/articles/223181668-Can-Twilio-numbers-receive-SMS-from-a-short-code-?_ga=2.202438166.641482548.1608644940-210958917.1588771372
I think this article might be just what you're looking for https://help.nexmo.com/hc/en-us/articles/216487658-Inbound-SMS-on-dedicated-US-short-code
You should be able to receive SMS messages on a dedicated US Shortcode.
Is there anyway to send the same text to multiple contacts not as a group text. I have been told that it would need a server to accomplish this. If that is the case I would like to be able to still send texts from my current number not a new number. I have checked out Twilio but have not gotten very far.
Twilio developer evangelist here.
You cannot send mass text messages using Twilio and your existing phone number.
One option you might have is, if you have a Mac you can control the SMS app programmatically to send lots of SMS messages. Here's a blog post with some example code to do that: https://www.twilio.com/blog/2017/06/drawing-pixel-art-text-messages-signal-video-wall.html
That might not be of much help, but while you can send lots of SMS messages with Twilio, you cannot do so using your existing number.
Yes you could send mass texts out to different numbers using twilio. No you could not use your current number.
You would have to purchase a new twilio number that has SMS messaging enabled.
Look at the Twilio documentation and their get started guide, figure out the language you want to create your server in and you will be sending texts in no time. https://www.twilio.com/docs/quickstart/node/programmable-sms You would run the webserver. Twilio does not offer a swift or ios based SMS solution.
https://www.twilio.com/docs/quickstart?filter-language=swift
I'd like to interact with my customers via texting/messaging on a phone app, but not use my personal phone number. Although this seems like a common need, haven't found a solution for that yet.
Twilio SMS services are amazing. I'd like to take advantage of those services as well as utilize a familiar iMessage like interface for interaction with in and out SMS/MMS messages.
Was wondering if I could avoid re-inventing the wheel by using a standard XMPP iOS app with a standard XMPP chat server and only build an intermediate service that would translate between Twilio SMS and XMPP.
I've got to assume that other's have already solved this problem. I'd would love to hear your input on using this approach or hearing how you've solved this.
Twilio developer evangelist here.
I am not an expert in XMPP I'm afraid. However, a bit of Googling turned up the following links:
SMS over XMPP with Twilio
Multi channel chat with Twilio and Google App Engine
Cloudpipes Twilio XMPP integration
Perhaps one of those might help?
This XMPP component connects Twilio SMS and voice to XMPP: https://wiki.soprani.ca/TwilioSetup
I posted an Android SMS app called Owl SMS, that allows you to do what you wanted, keep your personal SMS (from your mobile phone number) separate from your business SMS. At this time, it only does text, I haven't added MMS.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tigerfarmpress.owlsms&hl=en
I'm using Facebook Chat API in an iOS app. I already can send a message successfully to a Facebook friend. Now I'm wondering if a can send the same message to multiple recipients.
I don't know if it's technically possible or there's any limitation about that.
I know that I can create N messages for N users and send one by one. But depending on the number of Facebook friends that the user can select, it can take a long time until all the messages are delivered. If this is the only case, should I open one different thread for each message that is going to be sent with the XMPP stream?
I appreciate any resolution or clue for this question.
There's an XMPP extension XEP-0033: Extended Stanza Addressing which supports multicasting messages to multiple recipients. The extension has progressed to draft status, however few XMPP servers or clients support it. I doubt Facebook Chat does, and couldn't find any mention in the XMPPFramework source.
I don't think there's a better way than sending the same message to multiple recipients. Some servers may require you to pause between sending lots of identical messages, and I wouldn't be surprised if that were true of Facebook Chat.
Multi-User Chat is another way to accomplish this with XMPP, but unfortunately Facebook Chat doesn't support MUC.