They've helped people stay in touch with friends and family for more than a quarter of a century, but the era of SMS messaging may be coming to an end.
Experts warn that this 'outdated' technology – developed in Europe in the 1980s – puts your messages at risk of interception by cybercriminals.
Instead, the public must use 'encrypted' apps like WhatsApp, which convert messages into a secret code that can only be deciphered by the recipient.
"SMS lacks encryption, making it more vulnerable to eavesdropping, fraud and other forms of unauthorised access," Dan Lattimer, cybersecurity expert at software company Semperis, told MailOnline.
"From a security perspective, switching from SMS to encrypted messaging apps like WhatsApp, Signal or others can be smart, especially when communicating sensitive or personal information."
John Kingston, a lecturer in cybersecurity at Nottingham Trent University, called SMS messaging 'an old technology' and 'therefore vulnerable in more ways than one'.
"SMS has many of the same vulnerabilities that emails have, such as sending fake phishing links or flooding recipients with spam," he told MailOnline.
"But SMS messages can be intercepted and redirected to another phone."
SMS, which stands for 'short message service', was invented in the 1980s, but reached its peak at the end of the last century.
It was December 1992 when the first SMS message – which simply read 'Merry Christmas' – was sent by British engineer Neil Papworth from his computer to colleague Richard Jarvis, who received it on his Orbitel cordless phone.
As most millennials will recall, SMS was an essential part of using a mobile phone, be it a Nokia 3310, BlackBerry or Motorola Razr.
SMS is typically transmitted over cellular networks – the massive infrastructure that enables wireless communication between mobile devices.
But, 25 years later, this technology has been replaced by applications like WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram, which use end-to-end encryption (E2EE).
Already considered a privacy standard, E2EE 'encrypts' messages, making them decryptable only by the recipient and no one else in between.
On the other hand, SMS messages are not end-to-end encrypted, which means they can be intercepted or read by anyone – including hackers or even your network operator itself.
"An SMS message is sent as plain text, which means there is no encryption," Lattimer added.
“This means that the content of your messages can be easily intercepted and read by unauthorized parties. Furthermore, your mobile service provider stores these messages along with data such as the sender and recipient numbers, giving them full access to your communications.”
Lattimer said SMS "could be considered obsolete," but abandoning it completely "is not entirely practical" because it "continues to play some essential roles."
For example, SMS is still useful for two-factor authentication (2FA) – which sends a code to your phone to help you log in to your online accounts.
It also remains 'universally accessible', Mr Lattimer said, in the sense that it can be used in areas where internet connectivity is unreliable.
"A balanced approach could include using secure messaging apps when possible, especially for private conversations, while saving SMS for cases where accessibility is a concern," he added.
“Like any other older technology, it can be modernized and security can be integrated in the future.”
Marc Rivero, a researcher at cybersecurity company Kaspersky, agreed that SMS "still has its place," while calling it "obsolete in terms of security."
“SMS works without internet access, on simple phones, and as an option for two-factor authentication (2FA) when alternatives don't exist,” said Mr. Rivero.
“But messaging apps for privacy and security are much more advanced because of encryption and anti-eavesdropping protections.”
Meanwhile, Luke Dash, CEO of ISMS.online, said people don't need to stop using SMS entirely, but it's "a good idea to switch to more secure messaging apps when possible."
The most popular E2EE messaging app is Meta's WhatsApp, but other options include Telegram, Signal, and even Facebook Messenger.
Android phones have a pre-installed app called Google Messages for sending and receiving messages, while iPhones use iMessage – but both also have E2EE.
The problem is, Google Messages only uses E2EE when sending a message to another Android phone, while iMessage only uses E2EE when sending to another iPhone.
So if you send messages from Google Messages to iMessage or vice versa, your device will switch to SMS.
For this reason, apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal are generally considered more secure options because they always use E2EE.
Sachin Bhatt, technical director at CyXcel, said that encrypted platforms like WhatsApp are safer for communication, but "they are not completely secure."
He highlighted 'spyware' for mobile phones – suspicious software that steals information from a device – including Pegasus, created by Israeli cybersecurity company NSO Group.
“The Pegasus scandal showed that popular end-to-end encrypted platforms like WhatsApp have also been hacked,” Bhatt said.
“Furthermore, with the advancement of quantum computers for intelligence gathering, encryption methods that are believed to be secure today may not be so in the near future. If threat actors can collect encrypted data, they can later use sophisticated techniques and methods to decrypt it.”
Danny Howett, technical director at CyXcel, also warned about SMS messages containing links to download malware.
Malware embedded in suspicious apps often asks for permission to access SMS, allowing attackers to read messages, he told MailOnline.
“Although E2EE applications are less vulnerable to eavesdropping, users should remain vigilant about device security, phishing attacks, and application settings to maximize protection.”
Over 30 years after the first text message, the world still relies on SMS
In 1992, Neil Papworth, a 22-year-old programmer from the United Kingdom, sent the first text message from a computer to his colleague Richard Jarvis.
Neil had worked as a developer and test engineer to create a Short Message Service (SMS) for his client, Vodafone. That first message, sent on December 3, 1992, simply said “Merry Christmas.”
A year later, in 1993, Nokia introduced an SMS feature with a distinct 'beep' to signal an incoming message.
Initially, text messages had a limit of 160 characters, but early adopters overcame these limitations by inventing written ways of messaging ('txt spk'), such as LOL (Laugh Out Loud) and emoticons – symbols created from keyboard characters to show emotions.
These would later inspire the creation of the first emojis (characters symbolizing emotions and ideas).
SMS is usually transmitted over cellular networks – massive devices that enable wireless communication between mobile devices.
In 1999, seven years after Neil's first SMS message, the ability to exchange messages across multiple networks made it more popular than ever.
In 2022, SMS messages still played a large role in many people's daily lives, with almost one in three sending and receiving them every day.
In 2025, SMS is considered vulnerable to eavesdropping due to its lack of encryption, although for basic text messaging needs it can still be a useful tool. /Source: Vodafone/Intego/Daily Mail/GazetaExpress/
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