Flash (popup) SMS messaging

What is a Flash SMS?

A flash SMS message is a class 0 type text that is displayed on the main screen of a recipients’ Smartphone or Smartphone instead of being routed to their inbox.

These types of SMS messages are unlike standard text messages in that they appear directly on the screen of the recipients’ handsets without being stored in the recipients’ inbox first and without any action from the user. The user will have to select ‘Save‘ manually to store the message.

If the first flash message hasn’t been saved by the user and is still displayed on the handset, sending a second flash message will result in the first message being discarded and only the second one being displayed.

Uses for flash messaging

This type of message is useful when sending constant live information, e.g. share prices or currency exchange rates. This message type is also useful if you need to ensure the recipient reads the SMS message immediately.

How to Send an SMS Flash Message

You can set the message type as ‘flash’ by setting the msg_type parameter to “SMS_FLASH” as shown below;