SMS Action to be deprecated(!)

[GGL]

I got this email yesterday. It seems that the SMS Action is being removed. For us it has been one of the best/most useful features of Appsheet so this is a bit concerning. 

I've had a quick look at Twilio and I'm still not sure whether it allows us to do the same thing as the SMS action or if it just uses those 1-way notification texts which are lot of business use. We communicate 2-way with our customers so the current SMS action has always been a perfect solution.

It would be nice to know why this is happening too but in the end that doesn't matter.

How might one now replicate the current SMS Action?

[Mebick83]

Yeah, this sucks.  I really like this feature.  I’m testing TextMeBot with WhatsApp, which works like intended but I’m not 100% sold on it yet.  I hope they change their minds and decide to keep this feature.  

[AMMAR_ALASBAHI]

Hi @Mebick83 . I am trying to create bulk whatsapp messages using TextMeBot with appsheet. For one whatsapp message, I can make the automation do it . can you please advise me how to make automation to send bulk messages in one click.

[Mauricio_Bick]

@AMMAR_ALASBAHI  is your TextMeBot account free or a paid account?  

[AMMAR_ALASBAHI]

it is paid. I figured out how to do it with the help of the following video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZA5ZltP6Ps

[Mauricio_Bick]

Cool.

You can’t go wrong with @MultiTech videos. He’s awesome at breaking down and explaining complex processes.

[MultiTech]

🙏 Thank you!

[AleksiAlkio · Accepted solution]

As far as I have understood, this should not change the SMS action and its functionality. It should only affect when using Automation Bot for sending SMS messages. Are you seeing something else with the action functionality?

[Mauricio_Bick]

Correct, It sucks that AppSheet’s default channel will no longer be available. Everyone will need to set up their own paid Twilio account, which adds an extra step and can be a bit annoying. People generally prefer out-of-the-box solutions, which AppSheet claims to be. Setting up and registering a Twilio number is somewhat complicated. I started the process yesterday, but I’m not sure if I did it correctly. Now, I’m waiting for the registration to be approved. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[zito]

I'm also disappointed that we can no longer support default SMS sending, but it's something that is essentially out of our control.  Telecom providers have become increasingly stringent about the rules around delivering SMS messages on behalf of third-parties - as AppSheet usage has grown dramatically over the past few years, we're under a lot more scrutiny about who can send SMS messages, the content in those messages, and who they're sent to.  We did what we could to work with the telecommunications providers, but the only feasible option was to start requiring users to generate their own Twilio account if they wanted to send SMS messages.  Obviously we still support push notifications, emails, etc. so there are notification methods that don't require a Twilio account.  

[Mauricio_Bick]

@zito Thank you for the explanation.  I really appreciate you chiming in.  

[Mauricio_Bick]

@zito I'm not sure if you can help with this, but I've been experiencing an issue since December 2024. The formula, below, that used to open the app directly now redirects to the web browser on iOS devices instead. I have already contacted support, but it has been about two months without a resolution.  Any advice?

[zito]

Can you PM/DM me a case number?  You can also email if it's easier I'm just zito @ google.com. 

[Mauricio_Bick]

Done.

I really appreciate your help with this matter.

[GGL]

Thank you very much for the explanation. It helps a lot to know the reasons behind changes like this. 👍

[GGL]

Agh, I think I get it now. I'm sufficiently low in Appsheet knowledge that I assumed it meant that the "External: start a text message" was being deprecated, which seemed strange since it only opens my the default SMS app and doesn't actually send SMS. From what I understand from your comment, there should be no change with that, which is a huge relief if so. Thank you for your input! And crossing fingers that correct. 🙂

[AleksiAlkio]

No need to be worried about it.

[zito]

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@GGL wrote:

It would be nice to know why this is happening too but in the end that doesn't matter.

---

I replied deeper into the thread, but probably should have replied here - I'm unhappy about this as well, I agree that setting up Twilio is additional friction and not aligned with the spirit of AppSheet.  We spent a lot of time trying to find an alternate option but it boiled down to - telecommunications providers do not want products like AppSheet to be able to send SMS messages to arbitrary phone numbers with user-generated content.  If we wanted to support that, we would essentially have to become Twilio/our own telecommunications provider and that is still adding a lot of friction for users and would also be an infeasible amount of work for us to take on (and would almost certainly come with untenable limitations, like only supporting SMS messages to north american phone numbers).  

Obviously I can't know for sure, but off the top of my head, all of the no-code platforms that I keep an eye on have already heavily restricted their SMS features or required external registration with Twilio.  It's just the direction the industry as a whole is moving - fundamentally none of the carriers/service providers like SMS, because it's unauthenticated and the way telco networks are structured, it can be very difficult to track back abusive users.  Long-term, I suspect they would prefer everyone move to something like imessage, or RCS, or even a completely different messaging service like WhatsApp, where there is some amount of end-to-end auditing/authorization.  But in the meantime, they're putting a lot of rules in place for everyone, and it just happens to affect a platform like AppSheet in this way.  

[Steve]

Thank you, @zito, for your participation in this topic!

[Mauricio_Bick]

Yes, @zito  did an awesome job! My issue will be fixed in a couple of days.

Thank you again, @zito !!