The short answer is yes, it is absolutely possible to send a message to yourself. There are actually a few different ways you can go about doing this. In the following article, we’ll explore the most common methods for sending yourself a message and look at the pros and cons of each approach.
Email Yourself
One of the easiest ways to send yourself a message is simply to email yourself. Thanks to email’s ubiquitous nature and wide compatibility across devices, sending an email to yourself can be a quick and convenient way to send reminders, notes, files, or anything else you want to yourself.
To email yourself, simply compose a new email and enter your own email address in the “To” field. You can include whatever content you want in the email – text, images, attachments, links, etc. When you hit send, the email will be delivered to your inbox just like any other email.
Some of the benefits of emailing yourself include:
- Works across all devices – can access your email from phone, tablet, computer, etc.
- Easy to search for previous emails to yourself
- Can include attachments
- Syncing keeps emails available across devices
- Emails are date/time stamped
There aren’t too many downsides to emailing yourself, but some potential cons include:
- No way to send messages to yourself instantly – depends on email delivery time
- Email inbox can get cluttered if overused
- Attachment size limits
- Security vulnerabilities if email is hacked
Text Yourself
If you want to send yourself a message instantly, texting yourself can be a great option. Most smartphones and mobile carriers support sending text messages to your own phone number. The process is the same as texting anyone else – just enter your phone number as the recipient.
Texting yourself has a few advantages:
- Messages are delivered instantly
- Easy to do on any mobile phone
- No need for wifi/data connection
- Text history provides timestamped record
- Can include images, video, audio
Some limitations with texting yourself include:
- Text length limits
- No support for non-media attachments
- Texts aren’t synced across devices
- Requires a cellular plan that supports texting
Messaging Apps
Many popular messaging apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger also allow you to message yourself. The process is just like messaging a friend – create a chat with your own phone number as the recipient.
Messaging apps offer their own set of pros:
- Delivered instantly like texts
- Support longer message length
- Can include media attachments
- Synced across devices
- More feature-rich interfaces
Some limitations include:
- Requires app download/account setup
- Requires internet data connection
- Attachment limits
- Not natively supported on all devices
Notes Apps
Phones, tablets, and computers usually come pre-installed with notes apps that provide an easy way to jot down reminders and thoughts to yourself. For example, Apple devices have the Notes app, while Android uses Google Keep for note-taking.
Notes apps have benefits like:
- Synced across devices
- Support formatting options like lists, images, etc.
- Tags and organization features
- Completely private
- Searchable
- Offline access
Some drawbacks include:
- Attachment limitations
- Features vary across platforms
- Could get cluttered if disorganized
- Might require account login
Reminders Apps
Reminder and to-do list apps like Any.do and Microsoft To Do also provide a structured way to send messages to yourself. Just create a new reminder with the details you want to remember.
Reminders apps offer useful features like:
- Date/time reminders
- Recurring reminders
- List organization
- Synced across devices
- Alert notifications
But they also come with limitations like:
- Focus on short reminders, not longform messaging
- Lack of formatting options
- Must use app interface to view reminders
- Feature variation across platforms
Social Media
If you want to broadcast a message to yourself publicly, social media sites like Facebook and Twitter allow you to post updates to your own profile or feed. These platforms essentially provide a one-way messaging channel where you can share thoughts, reminders, images, and more.
Social media offers features like:
- Public timestamped record
- Allow multimedia
- Synced across devices
- Formatting options
- Analysis of engagement
But using social media for self-messaging has clear disadvantages:
- Public visibility
- No privacy
- Self-posts could be seen as odd
- Not all platforms fully support
- Dependency on internet connection
Smart Assistants
Voice-activated smart assistants like Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant provide another hands-free option for messaging yourself. You can create reminders, take notes, set alerts, and more using just your voice.
Smart assistants offer convenient features like:
- Completely hands-free
- Works through voice commands
- Integrated with other smart devices
- Fun novelty factor
But they also have significant limitations currently:
- Limited message length capabilities
- Message review/organization features lacking
- Privacy concerns over voice recordings
- Dependency on internet connection
- Only useful for short commands/reminders
Dedicated Self-Messaging Apps
There are now dedicated apps designed specifically for messaging yourself, like NoteBox, SelfMessage, and Mirror Message. These apps provide an integrated platform just for quickly sending notes, reminders, lists, and other content to yourself.
Dedicated self-messaging apps offer advantages like:
- Simple, focused user experience
- Cross-device syncing
- Organization features
- Strong security and privacy
- Qucik sending options
The limitations depend on the specific app, but may include:
- Requires app download
- Could still get cluttered
- Might lack advanced formatting options
- Smaller user base than mainstream apps
Email to SMS
A lesser known trick is that you can send an SMS text message to yourself by emailing your phone number at your carrier’s SMS gateway address. For example: [email protected] for Verizon, [email protected] for T-Mobile.
Email to SMS benefits:
- Send texts without a cellular plan
- Circumvents texting fees and limits
- Integrates email and texting
Drawbacks include:
- Only works for SMS text – no MMS media messages
- Carrier-specific addresses
- Confirmation messages may be sent to email
- Delayed delivery
- Messages not synced across devices
Comparison
Here is a comparison of some key features across the different self-messaging methods:
| Method | Instant | Synced | Attachments | Privacy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Yes | Yes | Medium | |
| Text | Yes | No | Limited | High |
| Messaging Apps | Yes | Yes | Yes | High |
| Notes Apps | Yes | Yes | Limited | High |
| Reminders Apps | Yes | Yes | No | High |
| Social Media | Yes | Yes | Yes | Low |
| Smart Assistants | Yes | Yes | No | Low |
| Dedicated Apps | Yes | Yes | Limited | High |
| Email to SMS | No | No | No | High |
Conclusion
As we’ve explored, there are certainly numerous ways to get a message to yourself using the technology tools we have available today. The “best” method depends on your specific needs and message type. But overall, options like emailing yourself, messaging apps, and dedicated self-messaging platforms provide the greatest versatility, cross-device syncing, attachment options, and privacy.
No matter which option you choose, the ability to instantly take notes, set reminders, and send content seamlessly to your own devices has amazing potential to boost productivity and organization. As technology progresses, we can expect dedicated self-messaging solutions to become even more advanced and prominent.
So go ahead – send yourself a message. Try a few different options and see which methods work best for your personal needs and habits. Take advantage of the tools at your fingertips to communicate with your past, present, and future self!