Virtual SMS
What is Virtual SMS?
Virtual SMS is sending and receiving text messages over the internet using a virtual phone number — a cloud-based number not tied to a physical handset or SIM card — instead of a mobile device on a carrier network. Applications use it to run two-way SMS programmatically from software: provisioning a number, sending outbound texts, and receiving inbound replies as structured framework events rather than on a phone.
More detail
Virtual SMS covers the same channels a regular mobile plan would, minus the device: 10-digit long codes in North America, short codes, and alphanumeric sender IDs can all carry SMS without a physical handset anywhere in the path. Inbound replies arrive at the application through the provider's webhooks rather than on a phone's screen.
Because the number is a cloud record rather than a subscriber SIM, one account can carry numbers across many countries and area codes, and messages route to whatever webhook endpoint or integrated app the account owner configures — sometimes a shared inbox where a team answers replies, sometimes an automated bot or journey.
Frequently asked
- How is virtual SMS different from texting with a mobile phone?
- The message is identical from the recipient's point of view — the difference is that the sending or receiving number lives as a cloud record routed over the internet, provisioned and managed through an API, with inbound replies delivered to a webhook endpoint or shared team inbox instead of a handset.
- What number types can carry virtual SMS?
- Typically long codes (10-digit numbers in North America), short codes for high-volume programs, and alphanumeric sender IDs in countries that allow them. Which type fits depends on volume, region, and the carrier rules that apply to business messaging (such as A2P registration).
See also
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