Texting yourself is a simple yet versatile trick that can be used for various purposes, from creating fake text messages to sending reminders and notes to yourself.
Texting yourself is as easy as texting any other number, and it can be done on either iPhone or Android. To start, you can add your own phone number as a contact, although it’s technically possible to do this without adding your number as a contact first. However, the text may not show up as sent to you on your device.
To create a fake text message, you need to open your text messaging app and send a text to the contact you just created. You might have to exit the text conversation and tap it new message show up new message show up. If desired, you can delete the original text you sent to make it look like someone else texted you something. Otherwise, you can just leave the original text in the conversation thread.
If you want to make it look like you’re having a text conversation with someone specific, such as a friend, parent, or sibling, you should save your number as a contact with that name. That way, when you create your fake text conversation, it will look like it’s coming from that person. For a lengthy conversation, it might be helpful to write the conversation down like a script.
When creating a fake text conversation, you’ll need to delete duplicate messages so it looks convincing. For example, if you text your fake contact “Hello” and you want your fake contact to say “Hi” back, you would first send a text that says “Hello” and then a text that says “Hi.” You should have four texts in the conversation: two “Hello” messages and two “Hi” messages. To make it look like a real text conversation, you’d delete the “Hello” that your fake contact sent, leaving just your message that reads “Hello,” and you’d also delete the “Hi” that you sent, leaving just your fake contact’s message that reads “Hi.”
It’s worth noting that if you keep the text conversation on your phone and show the message to someone else, you won’t be able to send any additional messages in that text conversation without it becoming obvious that you f However, if However, if you have another number, such as a second number on your phone, a Google Voice number, or a burner phone, you can text yourself to create a fake text conversation that won’t have duplicates of your messages.
Texting yourself can also be used for more practical purposes, such as sending reminders and notes. You can text yourself things you don’t want to lose, like a link, a to-do list, or a reminder. Instead of writing the note down on a piece of paper, you can just text it to yourself so you can find it later.
One popular productivity tip is to schedule texts to yourself as a reminder. This is a good alternative to an alarm or calendar reminder, especially for reminders that aren’t events. You might want to send yourself a text as a reminder to make a doctor’s appointment, to go to the grocery store after work, or what time you need toOn Android,On Android,On Android,On Android,On Android, you can schedule texts by long-pressing the send button and selecting a delivery time. On iPhone, you’ll need to use Apple’s Shortcuts app as a workaround, or the built-in Reminders app. You can also get third-party apps that schedule texts for you on iPhone.
When setting up scheduled texts, consider using specific keywords or emojis in your messages to make them easily searchable later. For example, use “#reminder” or a clock emoji to quickly find all your self-reminders.
The ability to text yourself offers surprising versatility beyond just communication with others. It transforms your messaging app into a personal productivity tool, allowing for quick note-taking, self-reminders, and even creative expression through simulated conversations.
This simple trick helps streamline information management, ensuring important links, ideas, or to-do items are always accessible on your primary device without needing a separate note-taking app. It’s a convenient, often overlooked feature that can significantly boost your daily organization and provide a unique way to manage personal information.
