Send and Receive SMS Anonymously Python

Description

This Flask application serves as an SMS relay using Twilio. It allows you to use a Twilio phone number as a proxy for sending and receiving SMS messages, effectively masking your personal phone number from the public. When the Twilio phone number associated with this application receives a message:

• If the message is from your personal number, it forwards the message to a specified recipient.
• If the message is from any other number, it relays the message to your personal number.

Table of Contents

1. Installation
2. Configuration
3. Usage
4. License

Installation

Clone this repository:

git clone https://github.com/twilio-samples/send-and-receive-sms-anonymously-python.git

cd twilio-sms-relay

Create and activate a virtual environment:

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows use `venv\Scripts\activate`

Install the required packages:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Configuration

You will need a Twilio Phone number and your Twilio Account SID and AUTH Token. Set up the following environment variables, copy the .env.example and create a new .env file:

TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID="your_account_sid"
TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN="your_auth_token"
MY_PHONE_NUMBER="your_personal_number"
TWILIO_PHONE_NUMBER="your_twilio_number"

Usage

Run the Flask application:

python app.py

The application will start on http://127.0.0.1:5000/.

Install ngrok: https://ngrok.com/download

In another terminal, start ngrok:

ngrok http 5000

Use the ngrok URL with /sms as the endpoint as your Twilio webhook URL, for example https://xxxxxx.ngrok.app/sms.

To send a message through the relay, text your Twilio number from your personal number with the format:

+1XXXXXXXXXX: Your message here

Replace +1XXXXXXXXXX with the recipient's phone number. Any messages sent to your Twilio number will be forwarded to your personal number.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.