Send free SMS “text” messages with Google Photos

The trick is to create your text-based image and share it via Google Photos. The app allows you to send images by SMS text messages to other cell phones, totally free.

This is a good way to create buzz, without spending your balance. You can create a nice text-based image in services like ImageChef O Behappy. Then you download it and send it by SMS using Google Photos. The other person will receive the text message with a link to the image, which they will have to discover.

How to send the «text message» by SMS

Sending an image as a text message is easy:

1. Open the Google Photos app.
2. Choose the image that you have created as indicated above, or photo. If you can’t find it, open the menu (swipe from the left edge of the screen) and tap on “Device folders.” You can send multiple images or even videos.
3. Touch the “Share” button (it is like a V lying down).
4. Enter the person’s cell phone number.
5. Select “Send”.

Just before sending you can add a comment. This will be seen when the image is opened, not within the SMS itself.

The SMS that the other person will receive will be something similar to the image above. You will need to touch the link to view the image on the internet (or in Google Photos, if you have the app installed). And yes, the name of the Google account from which you sent the image will appear in the text message.

Beware of non-Google SMS

If you receive an SMS text message like the one above, before touching the link, make sure it comes from Google. It will be a special number, like +2427 in my case. If you get a conventional cell phone number, be careful. It may be a malicious link. That is the case of the number 950050590, which users in Spain have reported as a scam.

Commonly, tapping on a bad link will invite you to install a “PhotoViewer” app or something similar to view the photo. Never install it, because it is a malware or virus. The photos shared with Google Photos in the way indicated before, you should be able to see them directly in your browser by touching the link (or it will automatically open in Google Photos, if you already have it installed). You do not have to install a special app to see them, as requested by the scammers who do this type of deception.