Connecting your channels

Each service is linked from your own account, stored only on your device, and removable in one tap. Here is what setup looks like for each one, and what to do when a connection stops working.

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Textly links to your existing WhatsApp account as a companion device, the same mechanism WhatsApp Web and WhatsApp Desktop use. Your phone stays the primary device and the WhatsApp app keeps working alongside Textly.

In Textly, open Settings → Channels → WhatsApp
On your phone, open WhatsApp → Settings → Linked devices → Link a device
Scan the code Textly displays
Your chats sync into the unified inbox

To disconnect: remove Textly under Linked devices in WhatsApp, and choose Disconnect in Textly to wipe the local cache.

[REVIEW BEFORE LAUNCH: confirm the integration path you ship and disclose any risk to the user's WhatsApp account from third-party client restrictions.]

SMS & MMS Android only

On iPhone this is not possible. Apple provides no interface for a third-party app to read or send text messages, so your texts stay in Apple's Messages app. Nothing on the App Store can change that.

On Android, SMS needs no connection; it needs the default-app role. Android allows exactly one app at a time to send and receive text messages.

Textly asks on first launch; confirming is enough
Manually: Settings → Apps → Default apps → SMS app → Textly
Your entire SMS history appears immediately, with nothing imported or copied

Switching back to another SMS app later changes nothing about your messages: they live in Android's message storage, not inside Textly.

Full platform comparison

Telegram is connected through its own login flow using your phone number and confirmation code, exactly as adding any new Telegram client works.

Settings → Channels → Telegram
Enter your number and the code Telegram sends you
If you use two-step verification, enter your Telegram password
Pick which chats appear in the unified inbox

Textly shows up in Telegram under Settings → Devices, where you can end the session at any time.

Discord

Discord is authorised through its official OAuth screen, where you approve exactly which permissions Textly gets, and Discord shows you the list before you agree.

Settings → Channels → Discord
Approve the authorisation screen Discord presents
Choose the servers and DMs worth surfacing. Most people leave large servers out

Revoke access any time under User Settings → Authorized Apps in Discord.

Slack

Slack uses OAuth per workspace. Connect as many workspaces as you belong to; each is authorised separately.

Settings → Channels → Slack
Sign in to the workspace and approve access
Repeat for further workspaces

Note: workspace admins can restrict third-party apps. If yours does, the connection will fail regardless of your own settings, and you would need an admin to approve Textly.

Not supported

iMessage has no client interface outside Apple's own devices. Signal deliberately prevents third-party access, which is precisely the point of Signal.

We would rather name these plainly than let you discover the gap after installing.

When something breaks

Troubleshooting

A channel stopped syncing

Tokens expire or get revoked. Open Settings → Channels and reconnect the affected service.
Disable battery optimisation for Textly. Aggressive background limits on Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei and OnePlus devices stop background sync.
WhatsApp: check Linked devices on your phone. If Textly is not listed, the link was removed and needs scanning again. WhatsApp also drops linked devices that stay offline for an extended period.
Slack: confirm the workspace still permits third-party apps.
Discord: check that the authorisation still exists under Authorized Apps.

Messages arrive late

Background sync is the usual cause. Exclude Textly from battery optimisation and make sure it is allowed to run in the background. Data-saver mode can also delay channel sync until you open the app.

A chat is missing

Check the channel's chat selection under Settings → Channels. Chats you excluded are hidden by design. Archived chats on the source service follow that service's state.

Disconnecting a channel

Open Settings → Channels, select the service and choose Disconnect. This deletes the stored credentials, the cached messages and the derived data for that channel from your device. It does not delete anything on the service itself. For that, use the provider's own settings, and revoke Textly in their connected-apps screen.

Five channels. One list.

Install Textly, set it as your default SMS app, and link whichever channels you use.

Get it onGoogle Play

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