Your Guide to Sending a Delayed Text Message on Android

Technology often provides us with instant access to complete tasks with ease at the touch of our fingertips. But what if it’s not instant access you need, but instead, delayed access? Say you’re at work and you remember that your husband is supposed to pick up the dry cleaning on his way home. You want to let him know now before you forget again, but he’s in a big meeting so calling him or sending a text right now just isn’t feasible.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could cue up that important text to ensure that it will be sent to him promptly at 1:15PM, when you know he’ll be out of his meeting and on his way to lunch? As it turns out, that’s not that lofty of a dream; in fact, many Android phones already possess the capability of this action. The trick is knowing how to do it. We’re here to teach you exactly that.

A few devices that run on Android actually already have built-in capabilities for sending SMS messages at a later date or time. For example, most Samsung phones — like the Samsung Galaxy S5 — have this feature. When you open up the “Messages” app on your phone, start a new message and type in your contact’s name or number and the message you wish to send to them.

You’ll notice that at the top of the message screen, there are three vertical dots. Tap on them to bring up a menu of options. In that menu, select “Schedule Message.” From here, you can type in the time and date that you wish to send this message on. Now, where the “Send” button usually is, you’ll instead see an image of a clock. This means that your message is ready to be scheduled to send at your chosen date and time. If you press and hold on to the message, you’ll also have options to send now, edit it, or cancel it, too.

Read More: How to Block Unwanted Text Messages on Android

Pretty simple, right? Well, not if your Android smartphone doesn’t have the option for this handy trick. If that’s the case, then fear not; there’s an app (well, many apps) for that! A few of the most popular and well-received apps for scheduling SMS messages include:

• Text Later. This free app sends SMS messages at any time or date you choose. It also features a “wake lock” option that ensures that all scheduled messages are sent, even if your device is in a CPU idle sleep state.
• Schedule SMS: Send it Later. This is yet another free app that schedules SMS messages, with a clean and user-friendly interface. All scheduled messages are saved in any easy-to-find place.
• SMS Scheduler. Like the others listed, this free app lets you schedule text messages in advance. It also allows you the opportunity to choose the frequency of sending messages — be it every five minutes or every hour.