5 Best Ways to Send SMS Updates to Mobile Phones Using Python

πŸ’‘ Problem Formulation: In today’s fast-paced world, being able to send SMS updates to users is crucial for keeping them informed. Python developers often face the need to integrate SMS notification features into their applications. This article demonstrates how to send text messages in Python using various services and libraries. Imagine a system that alerts users of critical updates, where the input is the message and the phone numbers, and the desired output is the successful delivery of the SMS to those numbers.

Method 1: Using Twilio’s Programmable SMS

Twilio’s Programmable SMS is a cloud communications platform that allows developers to send and receive text messages using its powerful API. With a simple set of Python commands, you can programmatically send SMS to your users.

Here’s an example:

from twilio.rest import Client

# Your Twilio credentials.
account_sid = 'YOUR_ACCOUNT_SID'
auth_token = 'YOUR_AUTH_TOKEN'
client = Client(account_sid, auth_token)

message = client.messages.create(
    to="+1234567890", 
    from_="+10987654321",
    body="Hello, this is a test message from Twilio!"
)

print(message.sid)
    

Output: SMxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

This code snippet uses the Twilio Client to send an SMS to the specified ‘to’ number from your Twilio ‘from_’ number. The message SID output confirms the successful creation of the message.

Method 2: Using Nexmo (Vonage)

Nexmo, now known as Vonage, offers an API that’s straightforward for sending SMS messages. After setting up your Nexmo account and obtaining your API credentials, you can use their Python client library to start sending messages.

Here’s an example:

from vonage import Sms

client = Sms(key='YOUR_API_KEY', secret='YOUR_API_SECRET')

response = client.send_message({
    'from': 'PythonDemo',
    'to': '1234567890',
    'text': 'A text message sent using the Nexmo SMS API',
})

print(response)
    

Output: {‘messages’: [{‘status’: ‘0’, ‘message-id’: ‘0A0000001234567’, …}]}

This minimal code uses the Vonage client to send an SMS message. The returned response includes a status and message-id which indicates if the message was successfully queued.

Method 3: Using Amazon SNS

Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS) is a flexible, fully managed pub/sub messaging and mobile notifications service for coordinating the delivery of messages to subscribing endpoints and clients. With SNS, you can send SMS messages to a large number of recipients.

Here’s an example:

import boto3

# Create an SNS client
client = boto3.client(
    "sns",
    aws_access_key_id="YOUR_ACCESS_KEY_ID",
    aws_secret_access_key="YOUR_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY",
    region_name="YOUR_REGION"
)

# Send your sms message.
client.publish(
    PhoneNumber="1234567890",
    Message="Hello World from AWS SNS!"
)

    

The output will be a dictionary with the message ID of the SMS if it was successfully sent.

This code snippet demonstrates sending an SMS message using AWS SNS. AWS credentials and region must be configured correctly for successful delivery.

Method 4: Using Python’s “smtplib”

Bypassing traditional SMS gateways, you can send SMS via email-to-SMS gateways provided by mobile carriers. Each carrier has an SMS gateway that translates emails into SMS messages. Python’s “smtplib” can be used for sending emails and thereby SMS.

Here’s an example:

import smtplib

# Set the sender's email, recipient's phone number and gateway domain.
sender = 'your-email@gmail.com'
recipient = '1234567890@carrier-sms-gateway.com'
password = 'your-email-password'

# Setup the email server and compose your message.
server = smtplib.SMTP('smtp.gmail.com', 587)
server.starttls()
server.login(sender, password)
message = 'Hello, this is a test message sent via email to SMS gateway!'

# Send the SMS.
server.sendmail(sender, recipient, message)
server.quit()
    

The output will not be visible, but if the email is sent successfully, the SMS will be delivered to the phone.

This snippet configures an SMTP client to send an email, which is converted into an SMS by the recipient’s carrier. Note that this method requires knowledge of the recipient’s carrier and their gateway domain.

Bonus One-Liner Method 5: Using “requests” to Send SMS via an API

For developers wanting to implement SMS functionality with minimal code, we can harness the simplicity of the “requests” library to communicate with various SMS APIs in just one or two lines of code.

Here’s an example:

import requests

requests.post('https://sms.api.service/send', data={
    'phone': '1234567890',
    'message': 'This is the simplest way to send SMS in Python!'
})
    

This will execute an HTTP POST request to the specified API endpoint with the phone number and message, which results in sending an SMS.

This concise example shows how you can utilize the “requests” library to send an SMS by just issuing a simple HTTP POST to an SMS API provider.

Summary/Discussion

  • Method 1: Twilio’s Programmable SMS. Provides a reliable API service. Strengths include ease of use, detailed documentation, and global reach. Weaknesses may include cost and the requirement for account setup and verification.
  • Method 2: Nexmo (Vonage). Another robust API with a wide array of communication features. Advantages include user-friendly SDKs and high deliverability rates. The main drawback is its pricing structure, which may be costly at scale.
  • Method 3: Amazon SNS. Suited for applications requiring high volume and multifaceted messaging capabilities. Strengths include integration with other AWS services, reliability, and scalability. On the downside, it has a steeper learning curve and regional limitations.
  • Method 4: Python’s “smtplib”. A cost-free method of sending SMS without using traditional SMS services. Strengths: no additional cost if you already have an email server. Weaknesses: depends on the carrier’s email-to-SMS gateway, less reliable and could be blocked as spam.
  • Method 5: Using “requests” to send SMS via an API. The strength of this method is its simplicity and minimal lines of code. The potential downside is that it depends on the external service’s reliability and availability, and provides less control and customizability.