Forwarding WhatsApp Messages

PhoneLeash forwards WhatsApp content to your email inbox or to a second phone via SMS, using Android's Notification Listener permission. For a longer walk-through with examples, see the blog post: How to forward WhatsApp messages to email or to SMS.

What Works

• Forwarding direct WhatsApp messages
• Forwarding group WhatsApp messages
• Reactions (emoji reactions to your messages)
• Incoming voice and video call notifications
• Captions on images and videos, with an attachment indicator
• WhatsApp Business (uses the same notification system)
• Replying to direct messages (replies are sent as SMS)

What Doesn't Work

• The attachment files themselves (photos, videos, voice notes, documents) — only the caption text and an attachment marker are forwarded
• Outgoing messages
• Native WhatsApp replies (would require public API access)
• Messages that arrive while WhatsApp is open in the foreground — WhatsApp does not post a notification in that case, so PhoneLeash never sees them

Setup

1. In WhatsApp, go to Settings › Notifications and enable High priority notifications.
2. Choose which message types you want to forward.
3. Grant Notification Access to PhoneLeash when prompted.
4. Return to PhoneLeash and finish setup.

Forwarding From a Linked Device

WhatsApp's linked-devices feature lets one account run on several devices at once — a laptop, a tablet, or a second phone. PhoneLeash forwards WhatsApp on Android whether that Android is the phone where your account is registered or a linked (companion) device — a linked device receives every message and posts the same notifications, so PhoneLeash forwards them normally.

This is what lets someone whose main WhatsApp lives on an iPhone still get forwarding: iOS won't let any app read WhatsApp, but if the same account is also linked to an Android phone, that Android does the forwarding. On the Android side, setup is the same as above — install PhoneLeash, pick your destination, and grant Notification Access. If you haven't linked the device yet, see WhatsApp's How to link a device. A linked device runs on your existing account over Wi-Fi and doesn't need its own SIM or number.

Keep using your primary phone at least once every couple of weeks — WhatsApp disconnects linked devices if the primary phone goes unused for about 14 days.

Why the Limitations?

PhoneLeash forwards WhatsApp messages by reading the notification popups WhatsApp posts to Android. When WhatsApp is the foreground app, it doesn't post notifications — so PhoneLeash never sees those messages. Media attachments and outgoing messages don't generate readable notifications either.