Text message rules

Always Notify can raise an alert when a text matches one of your household's Text Message rules. Apple does not let iPhone apps read your messages, so you choose one of two ways to send texts to Always Notify. Message content is matched and never stored.

Mac appiPhone Shortcut
NeedsA Mac signed in to the same Apple ID with Messages in iCloud, kept awake and onlineThe Always Notify iPhone app, paired
CoversiMessage, and SMS through Text Message ForwardingEvery text the Shortcut trigger receives
SetupInstall the app and grant Full Disk AccessOne Shortcuts automation, about 2 minutes
Resolves an alert when you read the textYesNo
Rules that check iMessage vs SMSYesNo (the Shortcut cannot tell them apart)

Option A: the Mac app

  1. Download the Mac app and open the DMG to install it.
  2. Open the app. Grant it Full Disk Access in System Settings > Privacy & Security.
  3. Pair it with the code in Settings > Notifications > Device pairing.
  4. Turn on Messages in iCloud on your iPhone and your Mac.

Reading the text on the paired Mac owner's iPhone only stops the alert if Messages in iCloud is on — Mac: Messages → Settings → iMessage; iPhone: Settings → your name → iCloud → Show All → Messages.

Option B: an iPhone Shortcut

Text message rules without a Mac

First, install the Always Notify iPhone app and pair it with the code in Settings > Notifications > Device pairing. In the iPhone app, Settings > Text message rules without a Mac has a "Send a test message" button.

  1. Open the Shortcuts app and tap Automation, then the + button.
  2. Choose Message. Under Sender, add each person your rules watch. Leave Message Contains empty.
  3. Select Run Immediately and turn off Notify When Run. Tap Next.
  4. Tap New Blank Automation, then Add Action. Search for Always Notify and choose Forward Text to Always Notify.
  5. Tap Sender and choose Shortcut Input, then Sender. Tap Message and choose Shortcut Input, then Content. Tap Done.
  6. Quit the Mac app if it runs, then send yourself a text from another phone to confirm an alert or a no-match shows in the inbox.

Forwarded texts cannot resolve an alert when you read the message. Use the Mac app for that. While your Mac app is online, it handles your texts and the Shortcut raises no alerts.

Write your rules

Sign in, open Rules, and choose the Text Messages tab. Rules can match the sender, the sender's name, and words in the message.

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