FAQ — Hiras SMS docs

What is Hiras?

An Android app that turns a phone into a self-hosted, LAN-only SMS gateway. Tap Start, and any device on your network can send and receive SMS through the phone’s SIM over a small REST API — no cloud, no accounts, no per-message commissions.

Who is it for?

Solo developers, students, freelancers, and indie hackers who need to send or receive SMS for local development, testing, or a low-volume integration. It is deliberately not a bulk-messaging, marketing, campaign, or CRM platform.

How much does it cost, and is it a subscription?

Hiras is a one-time purchase — no subscription, no per-message fees. It uses your own SIM and your own mobile load, so there are no SMS credits to buy from anyone. (The price and purchase go live with the public release.)

Is it available now?

Not yet. Hiras is in pre-release and isn’t on Google Play at this stage. The listing and purchase open with the public release. See the Changelog.

Is there an iPhone version?

No, and there can’t be — iOS does not let a third-party app send SMS silently. Hiras is Android-only by platform limitation, not by choice.

Does it work over the internet?

Only through a VPN you run yourself. By default the gateway is reachable only on your local network; the local-network guard rejects public addresses. If you already run Tailscale, WireGuard, or ZeroTier, Hiras will surface the VPN address so a remote device can reach it — see VPN access. There is no cloud relay and the gateway is never exposed to the open internet.

Can it receive messages, not just send?

Yes. Enable webhooks and inbound texts are POSTed to your backend, signed with HMAC-SHA256. It’s forward-and-forget — Hiras keeps no inbox and stores no inbound message.

Will you know if a message was actually delivered?

No. Hiras reports queued → sent / failed based on what Android tells it. There are no carrier delivery receipts, and it can’t detect things like “insufficient balance” — a carrier rejection simply shows as a failed send.

Can I test without spending real texts?

Yes — that’s what Dry Run and Failure Simulation are for. Neither sends a real SMS or spends load.

What does it collect about me?

Nothing. No analytics, no telemetry, no crash reporting. Your API key and send history live only on the phone — history is capped at the newest 1,000 messages and is never uploaded. See Security.

Is it open source?

No. Hiras is proprietary software.

Which Android versions are supported?

Android 8.0 (API 26) or newer, on a phone with a working SIM. See Installation.

Will the API change?

The REST API is stable within a version. Breaking changes would come with a new version, not slipped into an existing one.

Getting started — set it up.
Troubleshooting — when something’s off.