Member Avatar for emeka.l.iwuagwu

good day all,

i was having a little difficulty in trying to code an application in python to read sms

i do something like this

import inbox
import sms

but i still dont know where to go from there.

The main objective of the code is to intercept sms messages from any mobile (Android, blackberry, etc) and send to a web application. Please any ideas or source code that can help...most appreciated

Thanking you all...

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by M.S.

Dani AI

Generated

Three practical routes to read SMS with Python (short primer).

  1. Run Python on the phone (quickest for a single Android device). Install Termux + Termux:API, grant the SMS permission to the Termux:API app, then call the SMS helper from Python and POST to your web endpoint. Termux exposes commands like termux-sms-list which return JSON you can parse from a Python script or a small wrapper. This is the fastest way to prototype a forwarder, but note Play Store builds may strip SMS access for policy reasons — installing Termux/Termux:API from F‑Droid or GitHub is a practical workaround. (github.com)

Example (run inside Termux; adjust flags/limits as needed):

import json, subprocess, requests

out = subprocess.check_output(['termux-sms-list', '-l', '10'])
msgs = json.loads(out)
for m in msgs:
    payload = {'from': m.get('address') or m.get('number'), 'body': m.get('body')}
    requests.post('https://your.server/sms-hook', json=payload, timeout=5)

  1. Native Android app (recommended for production / multiple devices). A small app that registers a BroadcastReceiver for incoming SMS (and requests the proper runtime permission) can forward each message to your server. Be aware modern Android and Google Play rules restrict SMS/Call‑log permissions: apps often must be the device’s default SMS handler or qualify for an exception. If you only need automatic OTP capture, use Google’s SMS Retriever API which avoids READ_SMS altogether. If you prefer Python inside the app, embed Python with a bridge (for example Chaquopy) but still implement the receiver/permission flow in Java/Kotlin. (developer.android.com)

  2. External modem / forensic-style approaches (most robust for many devices). Attach a GSM modem or use a phone as a modem and issue AT commands (AT+CMGF=1, AT+CMGL="ALL", etc.) from Python via pySerial — works independent of Play policies and OS versions. Alternatively, on a rooted device you can pull the SMS SQLite DB (commonly mmssms.db) and parse it, but that requires root or special backup access. (digikey.jp)

Notes and cautions: as hinted, PyS60 was the Symbian-era route — that’s historical now; modern Android is the main target. Always get explicit user consent before forwarding SMS (privacy/legal), and plan for Play Store policy restrictions if you distribute via Google Play. (people.csail.mit.edu)

Recommendation: for rapid testing use Termux; for deployable, write a tiny native receiver that forwards messages (server handles Python processing); for bulk/reliable capture across many numbers, use a dedicated GSM modem.

Recommended Answers

All 2 Replies

Member Avatar for M.S.

what is your targeted devise? if sysmbian:

import inbox    
box = inbox.Inbox(inbox.EInbox)
for sms_ID in box.sms_messages():
    print box.content(sms_ID)
Member Avatar for M.S.

btw, read the pys60 documentation and API. you can find all functionalities you need.

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