What Web Can Do Today?

Can I rely on the Web Platform features to build my app?

An overview of the device integration HTML5 APIs

SMS/MMS

Allowing Web applications to gain full access to SMS and MMS messaging system on the device was a goal of Messaging API. It was designed to cover the functionality of the native mobile messaging applications, including browsing, creating and managing the messages. Its early version, different than the later Messaging API proposal, was implemented only on now-defunct Firefox OS and it was the only actual implementation of SMS messaging in the Web - no browser vendor expresses an interest anymore due to privacy and security reasons.

However, there exists a Web OTP API proposal focusing on the much narrower task of delivering one-time password messages using SMS as a transport – see Credentials for details.

API glimpse

Messaging API proposal (never implemented)

navigator.messaging.sms.send(number, message, serviceId)
Sends a SMS to a specified number. The sending and delivery status was to be tracked via listening to onsent, ondeliverysuccess and ondeliveryerror events.
navigator.messaging.mms.send(content)
Sends a MMS to a specified number. The sending and delivery status was to be tracked via listening to onsent, ondeliverysuccess and ondeliveryerror events.
navigator.messaging.findMessages(filter, options)
Returns the Promise resolved with the messages matching by the filter provided.

Firefox OS API (now obsolete)

navigator.mozSms.send(number, message)
Sends a SMS to a specified number. The sending and delivery status was to be tracked via listening to onsent, ondeliverysuccess and ondeliveryerror events.
navigator.mozSms.getMessages(filter)
Returns the cursor that allows iterating through the messages matching the filter provided.

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