SMS Notifications Setup Guide

SMS notifications send content change alerts as text messages to your phone via Twilio. This guide walks you through creating a Twilio account and connecting it as a notification channel.

Step 1: Create a Twilio Account

1. Go to twilio.com/try-twilio
2. Sign up for a free account
3. Verify your email address and phone number
4. You will receive $15 in free credits to get started

Step 2: Get Your Account Credentials

1. Log in to your Twilio Console at console.twilio.com
2. On the dashboard, you will find your Account SID and Auth Token
3. Copy both values – you will need them when setting up the notification channel

Step 3: Get a Phone Number

1. In the Twilio Console, go to Phone Numbers → Manage → Buy a number
2. Choose your country and search for available numbers
3. Select a number that supports SMS
4. Purchase the number (costs around $1/month)
5. Note down the phone number in E.164 format (e.g., +1234567890)

Step 4: Configure SMS Channel in Tracker

1. Go to your Notification Channels
2. Click "Add New Channel" and select "SMS"
3. Fill in the configuration:
   • Twilio Account SID: Your Account SID from Step 2
   • Twilio Auth Token: Your Auth Token from Step 2
   • From Phone Number: Your Twilio phone number from Step 3
   • To Phone Number: Your phone number where you want to receive notifications
4. Click "Test Configuration" to verify everything works
5. Save the channel

Step 5: Use the SMS Channel

Select this SMS channel when creating or editing tracking tasks. You will receive text messages whenever content changes are detected.

Advanced Options

SMS Service SID (optional)

For enhanced features like Sticky Sender and better deliverability:

1. In Twilio Console, go to Messaging → Services
2. Create a new Messaging Service
3. Add your phone number to the service
4. Copy the Service SID and add it to your channel configuration

Status callbacks (optional)

To receive delivery status updates, you can configure a status callback URL. This is useful for monitoring message delivery success.

Pricing information

Troubleshooting

Test message not received

• Check if your phone number is verified in Twilio Console (for trial accounts)
• Verify the phone number format includes country code (e.g., +1234567890)
• Check Twilio logs in Console → Monitor → Logs → Errors
• Ensure you have sufficient Twilio credits

Invalid credentials error

• Double-check your Account SID format (starts with "AC")
• Verify your Auth Token is exactly 32 characters
• Make sure you are using the Live credentials, not Test credentials
• Check if your Twilio account is active and not suspended

Messages are being cut off

SMS messages are limited to 160 characters for a single message. Longer messages will be automatically split into multiple messages or truncated. The system optimizes messages to fit within these limits while keeping the most important information.