the timed self-message prank

2024-02-25 · product prank twilio sms messaging

I came up with an idea to schedule a message that would be sent to yourself from a known number after a specified amount of time.

For example, let's say you're about to meet someone and you want to receive a provocative message on your CarPlay after you meet them, they would notice it and you can use that for a variety prank scenarios. It could be a message from a pre-named contact (a fixed service twilio number), like "Hey, what are you up to?" or "Thank you for leaving your number with me yesterday, I had a great time." This prank can add some excitement to your interaction and spark a funny conversation.

You should always disclose after the fact that it was a prank, and generally think if the prank is appropriate for the situation.

implementation

• Create 1-2 service accounts on twilio. One to message with commands and another to send the scheduled message to yourself. 2 if you want to keep a 'clean' number for the prank so you could also open the conversation on your phone and show the full history to the person you're pranking, otherwise the fact you scheduled the message will be visible.
• Evaluate if twilio's workflow builder is powerful to implement the whole thing. If not, I belive you can deploy a javascript script to twilio to handle the scheduling and sending of the message.
• When the 'command' number recieves a message
  • Parse it: schedule 10min "Hey, what are you up to?" and schedule the message to be sent to yourself in 1 hour. or help to get a list of commands.
  • Schedule
  • Prank responsibly!

alternatives

• Ask a friend to message you, at a specific time, rename their contact.
• https://www.reddit.com/r/androidapps/comments/vmwe50/is_there_an_app_that_let_you_send_fake_text/
  • [best, android only, 7$] https://textra.me
  • [similarly good, android only, 5$] https://home.pulsesms.app/overview/platform-ios.html
  • [dead] https://www.cnet.com/culture/set-up-fake-calls-or-texts-to-escape-boring-situations/
  • [generic tool, might be able to work] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.arlosoft.macrodroid&pli=1
  • Textra, Tasker, Pulse
  • "Google calendar will schedule a text message on any event."