Producing SMS messages

One of the most widely available communication channels is text messages. Text messages are very convenient to use to distribute information.

SMS messages can be used for marketing purposes, but also as a way of alerting or sending notifications, or, very common recently, as a way of implementing two-factor authentication systems.

We will use Twilio, a service that exposes APIs to send SMS easily. 

Getting ready

We need to create an account for Twilio at https://www.twilio.com/. Go to the page and register a new account.

You'll need to follow the instructions and set up a phone number to receive messages. You will need to input a code sent to this phone or receive a call to verify the phone line is correct.

Create a new project and check the dashboard. From there, you'll be able to create your first phone number so that you can receive and send SMS:

Figure 9.8: Setting up phone numbers using Twilio

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