Schedule Text Messages For Later With These 4 Apps

Text messaging has become such a standard practice in today’s society, most people probably don’t go a day, or even an hour, without sending one. You can probably think back to times when it would have been very useful to schedule text messages and send them later.

Taking Your Time Pays Off

The ways we spend our time, by using Spotify to stream songs whenever and wherever — or browsing through Netflix titles, then choosing one to watch with a few taps — might make you wonder why it’s worthwhile to schedule text messages. After all, people are accustomed to wait times that are as minimal as possible. If someone contacts you via text message, you probably feel compelled to get back in touch only minutes, if not seconds, later.

However, there are some rational reasons it may be better to schedule text messages instead of immediately letting your fingers fly across the touchscreen keys as you formulate a reply. For example, although the auto-correct feature is supposed to be helpful, you have probably had more than a few instances in recent memory where the autocorrect feature filled in a suggested — but wrong — word and you didn’t catch it in time.

So, after getting the text message, the person might have responded, “Huh? I think you made a typo.” And, granted, that’s in the best-case scenario. Conversely, it’s also far too easy to become embarrassed by auto-correct if you’re responding to a text about a job offer, communicating with your current boss, trying to impress a love interest and so on.

When you schedule text messages, there is time to carefully evaluate every word of the texts you send before confirming the desired delivery time. Then, if a particular word choice might result in confusion, or you’re worried you weren’t clear enough in a crucial part of the content, you have opportunities to remedy those issues instead of tapping the “Send” button and hoping for the best.

Scheduling the Delivery for Maximum Effectiveness

Beyond making sure you don’t rush and send a text message that makes you want to hide your head in shame, it’s essential to be mindful of the time of day a text message arrives.

For example, if you live on the East Coast of the United States and your business partner spends most of his time in Ireland, you could schedule text messages to take the five-hour time difference into account. That way, you won’t worry that he might be sleeping or otherwise not involved with work obligations whenever you send the correspondence.

Of course, there are fun reasons you may want to schedule text messages, too. By doing so, you could greet your best friend with birthday wishes just as soon as the clock strikes midnight, thereby nearly guaranteeing you’ll be first in line to give a gesture of good cheer.

Or, what if you send a message to your loveable but absent-minded mom because she asked you to send a text message to jog her memory about the necessity of packing her passport before she goes to explore China on a long-awaited trip?

If you distribute that message too early, it might be useless, and the same goes for if it’s not timely enough. When you schedule text messages and keep specific times in mind, you’re more likely to get the best results — much to the relief and delight of both you and your recipients.

Luckily, the ability to text later is possible with the apps below.

1. Delayd

This app lets you schedule text messages, along with emails and social media posts. It also saves time by functioning as a straightforward instant messaging app. Even if you don’t want to text later, Delayd prevents you from having to switch between several apps to do similar things.

Available for free on both the Android and iOS platforms, Delayd has a simple user interface where you just compose texts and then choose a time to send them. It’s especially handy if you want to send a text later to someone to remind him or her to do a time-sensitive task, such as “Don’t forget to pick up the dog from the groomer at 3 p.m.!”

2. Scheduler for WhatsApp

As the name suggests, this free Android app facilitates delaying messages through WhatsApp, the popular messaging app. There are also in-app purchases available if you want to send images within your texts or unlock functionality to send scheduled text messages to groups of people.

One of the most convenient things about this app is it allows you to set up text messages so they repeatedly send at scheduled intervals, such as daily or weekly. Then, you can use the app to remind yourself to take medication, never forget every Friday is a dress-down day at work and so on.

3. Schedule SMS: Send it Later

Here’s another app for the Android platform. If you often struggle with battery-life concerns while using your smartphone, this is the app for you. It allows for scheduling text messages based on Android’s built-in alarm functionality, rather than having to keep your phone connected to Wi-Fi to make the messages delivered at the proper time.

There’s also an auto-complete contacts selector feature. Instead of taking time to type people’s numbers in manually from start to finish, you can type the first few numerals in and let the rest of the number populate automatically, as long as you have your message recipient saved in your phone’s contacts.

You can send messages in multiple parts, too. That’s necessary if you’re sending texts that are greater than 160 characters, but other apps only send the first segment of the message, rather than the whole thing.

4. Scheduled

The interesting thing about this app that differs from some others is that it doesn’t allow for automatic sending of scheduled text messages.

However, Scheduled is still worthy of inclusion in discussions about how to schedule text messages because it takes a two-pronged approach you’ve probably already used with other apps that offer time-specific material.

Scheduled is an iOS app that works after you compose a text message, designate a recipient and set the time you want it delivered. At the specified time, you’ll receive a push notification that prompts you to return to the app and send it.