A long requested feature of Google Voice was a simple one: forward inbound text messages to email. Google Voice users get voicemails auto-transcribed and emailed to them, but text messages were not. Users can read and respond to them online in addition to their phones in the normal way, but email forwarding wasn’t an option.
Tonight that changed. Google Voice users now have the ability to forward inbound text messages to email. And even better, you can reply from email as well.
There are third party services (example) that have offered this, but they require users to give these services your Google Voice credentials, which is never a good idea. It’s great that Google launched this feature directly.
Since they seem to be taking requests, here’s my next one: launch an API. I can’t wait to see what developers come up with, and I’d love to use those non-Google services in a secure way without giving them my Google Voice credentials.
inbounc
wow that was quick
Now Google Voice sounds good. The next evolution of the web has started through Google. This is quite interesting fact is now the Google Voice users have the ability to forward inbound text messages to email and even better, reply from email is also possible.
Google always keeps its promises. Google Voice now became more powerful. Only text images and formats explain whether Google will fulfill the user’s request to introduce API?
this is what we dont like. we dont want even our sms become searchable and permanent. searchable means the content is super-public.
Maybe they send monthly call log to email.. and gone is our privacy.
I’m getting seriously bored by the inevitable flood of outraged “they’re taking our privacy” messages that follow every story about Google.
If there are legitimate concerns about the amount of data Google stores about us – and I do think that there are – then complaining about every single new feature they introduce isn’t going to help anyone. Can we not be a little bit level-headed and objective about this? Can you at least tell us about any disreputable things that Google have done with your data that are worthy of our suspicion?
“Searchable means the content is super-public”? What?! What does that even mean?
“Maybe they send monthly call log to email” etc… Maybe they will. Maybe they won’t. Maybe you should wait to see what actually happens first?
Sorry, but this is getting very very tired.
I’m with Christopher. Shut up already about what Google CAN (or might) do. If you don’t like where Google is headed, stop using their FREE services.
Google is all about ad revenue. The one thing that will kill their profits is a breach in customer trust. So I am comfortable with using their services until I see that they have violated my trust. Until then, I don’t do anything with Google services that I would not want anyone to know about.
im not concerned about what google does. consider i leave my laptop and go out, my roommate can search all my sms.. and my spouse will ask for all my call logs, or will take time get used not to ask.
searching is indeed super public. nobody would scroll 1000 sms, but they can easily search. like a website is public, and goog indexed webpage is super public.
1) If you leave your laptop on and go out then firstly it’s your fault. And how is this any different from the current situation with email?
2) If your spouse asks for all your call logs then he/she is paranoid. Tell them to get over it.
3) There have been a huge number of times in my own experience when being able to search my SMS would have been useful. Google would never be stupid enough to index your private text messages and make them available to the public… can you imagine the scale of the lawsuit if they were found doing that? And why would they even bother in the first place?
I’m waiting for Google Voice to include Google Apps domains!
I’m waiting for Google Voice to be available in Australia
same here. I am in Singapore…
i don’t use googel voice they should make sure to incorporate that gmail lab feature that allows sms messages to be sent from their web gtalk interface
they do have it
Good Move… That is a sign of times to come. I see every transaction with sites happening from the convenience of an email or an SMS.
They are the most widely used apps so instead of going to the sites, all the websites will come to these platforms. So if I have to read a blog from techcrunch, it is emailed to me. I can reply and it gets added as comments and so on and so forth. I see that would be the next evolution for the web. A lot of big companies are already doing it but very soon I see everyone will be doing it.
Sweet! I have wanted SMS to mail also. The API is fantastic idea, it might help engineer the road to the iPhone platform in the process.
Its lovely but if you have the GV App on the phone now I get 2 notifications for the same text. The email and the SMS from the GV App. Does anyone know how to make the GV App stop sending texts?
“…here’s my next one: launch an API”
+1
If you truly want API (and it’s silly to assume this won’t happen eventually) you might have some sway in propping up this feature request in the hierarchy
http://www.goog...ct_type=suggest
Mine so far have been RESPORG (bring your own Toll Free) and LNP related.
i’m waiting for this too
SMS to e-mail….nice. This could mean Google will soon offer a universal push e-mail solution (even rolling it out to GV users first)….would be even nicer.
I just hope these e-mails are specially formatted to preserve the threaded-messaging style of texting.
Thanks for the post! My request would be support for uploading MP3’s or recording via PC mic for outbound messages.
Awesome………………..
Google always do unique thing to serve people and this service is one of its part. I am thinking to use this service in near future.
Suggestion: Canada!!!!
Were so lonely up here, please , please help us, I’ll vote for Eric Shmidt for Prime Minister!
Great article .. check this
Suggestion: Canada!!!!
Were so lonely up here, please , please help us, I’ll vote for Eric Shmidt for Prime Minister!
Damn I can’t wait for my Google Voice invite! You’re killing me Google… GIMME!
Will Google kill everyone in the digital economy
@Roger
We shouldn’t allow Google to do this
@David Majer, if you’re lonely then all I can say about us is that we’re lost hehe, Ill vote + pay tax’s :=P
Wish this service was available in the UK
I have a invite to join Voice but waiting for Google Voice to be launched in India.
pls launch it fast.
The Impatient One
API!!! + 1,000,000!
That made Google Voice start with a strong beginning.
Thank you thank you thank you!!
hehe, is not available in Pakistan yet, waiting Google.
Awesome, I’ve been waiting for this feature!
It’s nice, but the real marriage to gmail would be using the same contacts. Right now after the initial import of your contact list, the two are not related at all.
GVoice is unaware of changes made in Contact Manager or Gmail, and vice versa. It gets pretty maddening to work with a disintegrating contact database:-(
The only thing we need now is MMS support. Please, Google?
Wow!! This is great. This totally makes switching to GV w/o a native app much more practical. Pretty stoked!
I,m glad we are finally beginning to see what GV is capable of. I wrote a long blog about “New Ways To Hack Google Voice” http://bit.ly/Du71C
Sweeeet!
Does anyone know whether international incoming calls on a Google Voice number get charged to my ATT plan? It would be awesome to save some money here – while draining ATT, muuuhahahaha.
Surely, everybody likes free lunch stuff but the situation when one BIG company is willing to feed millions for free scares me a lot.
I’m trying to figure out the benefit to this? Why would I want my texts as email?
Can someone explain?
My google voice holy grails:
PORT!
FAX!
DELETE ALL!
DND & Outbound Voicemail messages scheduling!
Right Steve, I can see that. In my case, I’m just telling all my friends to send texts only to my GV number. You could probably even block SMS on your actual cell number. In my case, I would just use my GV number for everything… Except my GV number doesn’t work for calling… ie “we’re sorry, the call cannot be comleted as dialed.” This happens when calling my GV number from any phone. So I guess maybe I got a bad number? Too bad it costs $10 to change it… It does work for SMS, so that’s nice. But it shows that GV is still too inchoate to be relied on as a main phone number replacement. Or at least, it’s hit or miss. I guess it keeps me from being too disappointed that the iPhone app got blocked…
Oh, and Noah Fingway: you have the option to receive incoming SMS as SMS on your cell, email, or both. So you’re not forced into anything.
I like this.
Seems that the sms to Email forwarding sends a COPY to email IN ADDITION to the original sms; equates to more noise.
Any idea if Google has plans/intentions to make it an either/or (which would make more sense)?
You have the option to receive incoming SMS as SMS on your cell, email, or both. So you’re not forced into anything. Note though that you can only have your incoming SMS forwarded to the main email account tied to your GV account.
SMS to email means free txt msg plus with apps like GPush for the iPhone, you get notification of every txt msg. I don’t know about anyone else but I love having unlimited txt msg for free. I’m calling att tomorrow to cut my txt msg plan.
Ah, I see. Doesnt save me money until google gets up and lets me port. I’m not using the given google number. When it becomes my number then it makes sense for me.
forwarding to instant messenger would make more sense to me than email