iMessage API: The Complete Guide for Businesses (2026)

An iMessage API is a programming interface that allows businesses to send and receive Apple iMessage conversations programmatically — through code, a CRM integration, or a web dashboard. It works the same way a developer might use Twilio or MessageBird to send SMS, except the messages arrive as iMessages: the blue bubbles that iPhone users see when texting other Apple devices.

This matters because iMessage is not SMS. iMessages travel over Apple's encrypted servers, not through mobile carriers. They don't pass through the carrier spam filters that block an increasing percentage of business SMS. They support rich media including high-resolution images, videos, contact cards (vCards), tapbacks, and read receipts natively. And critically for businesses, recipients see iMessages as personal and trustworthy — not as marketing noise from a short code or toll-free number.

Apple does not offer a public iMessage API. There is no official Apple developer endpoint for sending iMessages from a server. This is why third-party iMessage API providers exist. Companies like Sendblue have built infrastructure that enables programmatic iMessage delivery using real Apple devices and real phone numbers — giving businesses the ability to send iMessages at scale while maintaining the native experience recipients expect.

Since Apple doesn't provide a public iMessage API, providers like Sendblue operate infrastructure built on real Apple hardware. Here's what happens when you send an iMessage through an API:

1. You make an API call. Your application, CRM, or automation platform sends an HTTP request to the iMessage API with the recipient's phone number, your message content, and any media attachments. This is typically a simple REST API call — a few lines of code in Python, JavaScript, or any language that can make HTTP requests.

2. The provider routes the message. The API provider's infrastructure determines whether the recipient has an active iMessage account (known as iMessage detection). If the recipient is on iMessage, the message is sent as a blue bubble iMessage. If they're not — for example, if they're on Android — the message falls back to RCS first, then SMS, ensuring delivery regardless of the recipient's device.

3. The message is delivered natively. The recipient sees the message in their regular Messages app, from a real 10-digit phone number. It looks identical to a message from a friend or colleague. There's no special app to download, no short code, no "powered by" branding — just a normal iMessage conversation.

4. Replies come back through webhooks. When the recipient replies, the API provider sends a webhook to your server or CRM with the response content, timestamp, and metadata. This enables real two-way conversations, not just outbound blasts.

The entire round trip typically happens in seconds. From the recipient's perspective, it's indistinguishable from texting a real person — because it is a real phone number backed by real Apple hardware. See the full API documentation for implementation details.

Business SMS has been declining in effectiveness for years, and the reasons are structural — not fixable by writing better copy or switching SMS providers.

Carrier spam filtering is aggressive and getting worse. The major U.S. carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon) run increasingly sophisticated spam filters on all SMS and MMS traffic. Messages from business numbers, toll-free numbers, and short codes are filtered at higher rates than person-to-person texts. Even fully compliant, opted-in messages get caught. The carriers have financial incentives to filter aggressively — they charge businesses for A2P (application-to-person) messaging registration and per-message fees, while also blocking messages they deem commercial. There's no reliable way to guarantee SMS delivery.

A2P 10DLC registration is complex and slow. Since 2023, all businesses sending SMS from 10-digit long codes in the U.S. must register through the A2P 10DLC system. This involves registering your brand with The Campaign Registry, submitting campaign use cases for approval, and waiting weeks or months for carrier vetting. Rejection rates are significant, especially for smaller businesses. Even after approval, throughput limits can be restrictive. Many businesses have spent months in registration limbo, unable to send texts to their own customers.

SMS response rates have dropped below 5–10% for most outbound teams. Recipients increasingly ignore or distrust messages from unknown numbers, short codes, and toll-free numbers. SMS feels like marketing. iMessage feels like a conversation.

iMessage bypasses all of these problems. iMessages don't travel through carrier networks — they go through Apple's servers. There's no A2P registration, no carrier filtering, no short code stigma. Messages arrive from a real phone number as a blue bubble in the recipient's native Messages app. Businesses using iMessage APIs consistently report 2–3x higher response rates compared to SMS, and approximately 50% improvement in demo and meeting show rates. If you're currently using Twilio or another SMS provider, Sendblue can run alongside it to route iPhone users through iMessage while keeping Android users on SMS.

An iMessage API isn't just "SMS but blue." It unlocks capabilities that SMS fundamentally can't support, and enables workflows that weren't possible before.

Send and receive iMessages from your CRM. Trigger iMessage conversations based on lead activity, deal stage changes, or custom events in your CRM. Replies come back into the CRM as logged conversations. Sendblue has native integrations with GoHighLevel, Close, HubSpot, Salesforce, Follow Up Boss, and Monday.com — plus Zapier and Make for connecting to thousands of other tools.

Detect whether a phone number uses iMessage. Before sending a message, the API can check whether a given phone number has an active iMessage account. This lets you route iPhone users through iMessage and everyone else through RCS or SMS automatically — no wasted spend, no failed deliveries.

Send rich media. iMessage supports high-resolution images, videos, PDFs, and audio natively — without the compression and file size limits of MMS. Send a product lookbook, a walkthrough video, or a signed contract directly in a text thread.

Send contact cards (vCards) via API. This is a unique capability — Sendblue is the only iMessage API provider that lets you send contact cards programmatically. When a recipient receives a vCard, they can tap to save it directly to their phone's contacts. This means your business name, phone number, email, and even a photo appear in their address book. Future messages from you then show your business name instead of a random number. This single feature dramatically increases trust, saves, and long-term engagement.

Make FaceTime Audio calls via API. Sendblue also supports programmatic FaceTime Audio calls, which show up on the recipient's phone as a regular FaceTime call from a real number. This is particularly effective for sales teams trying to get prospects on the phone — FaceTime calls have significantly higher answer rates than regular phone calls because they bypass carrier call screening and spam labels.

Build AI-powered messaging workflows. Connect the iMessage API to AI agents, chatbots, or automated sequences. Incoming messages trigger webhooks that can be processed by any backend logic — including LLMs for intelligent auto-replies, qualification, scheduling, and escalation.

Automate appointment reminders and follow-ups. Trigger iMessage reminders before appointments, send follow-ups after no-shows, and reduce cancellation rates — all from the same channel the recipient already trusts.

The iMessage API space is still relatively small compared to the SMS API market. There are only a handful of providers, and they differ significantly in scale, reliability, features, and compliance posture. Here's how the landscape breaks down.

Sendblue is the largest iMessage API provider, serving thousands of businesses including publicly traded companies like LifeMD (NASDAQ: LFMD). Sendblue offers iMessage and SMS texting, contact card delivery via API (unique to Sendblue), FaceTime Audio calling, iMessage detection, group messaging, and native CRM integrations with GoHighLevel, Close, HubSpot, Salesforce, Follow Up Boss, and Monday.com. Sendblue has been operating for over five years, is SOC 2 compliant, supports HIPAA, and runs on real Apple devices with real phone numbers. The platform supports RCS-first fallback (iMessage → RCS → SMS) for non-Apple recipients.

Linq is a smaller iMessage API provider. Linq supports basic iMessage sending and receiving but operates at roughly one-quarter of Sendblue's scale. Linq does not offer contact card delivery via API (vCards must be sent manually), does not support FaceTime Audio calling, and has a more limited integration ecosystem.

Blooio and Project Blue are newer entrants in the iMessage API space. Both are significantly smaller than Sendblue and Linq, with limited track records, fewer enterprise customers, and less mature infrastructure.

Twilio, RingCentral, and other SMS providers do not offer iMessage. These platforms are SMS and MMS only. They are subject to carrier spam filtering, require A2P 10DLC registration, and cannot deliver blue bubble iMessages. Some businesses use Sendblue alongside Twilio — routing iPhone users through iMessage via Sendblue and Android users through SMS via Twilio — to maximize deliverability across all devices.

CRM-native texting tools (built into HubSpot, Salesforce, GoHighLevel, etc.) are also SMS-only. They cannot send iMessages. Sendblue's native integrations add iMessage capability on top of these CRMs rather than replacing them.

If you're evaluating iMessage API providers, here are the factors that matter most:

Scale and reliability. How many messages does the provider handle? How long have they been operating? A provider that's been running for five-plus years on real Apple infrastructure has solved problems that newer entrants haven't encountered yet. Ask about uptime, delivery rates, and how they handle surge volume.

Fallback handling. What happens when the recipient isn't on iMessage? The best providers detect iMessage availability in real time and automatically fall back to RCS or SMS rather than failing silently. This ensures 100% deliverability regardless of the recipient's device.

CRM and automation integrations. Can you use the API from your existing tools without custom development? Native integrations save weeks of engineering time. Check whether the provider supports your specific CRM out of the box.

Unique capabilities. Not all iMessage APIs are equal. Features like contact card delivery (vCards), FaceTime Audio calling, iMessage detection, and group messaging differentiate providers. These aren't nice-to-haves — contact cards alone can transform how recipients perceive your messages by putting your business name in their address book.

Compliance and security. If you're in healthcare, financial services, or any regulated industry, you need a provider with SOC 2 compliance, HIPAA support, end-to-end encryption, and TCPA compliance baked into the platform. Ask for documentation.

Pricing transparency. Understand the per-message costs, monthly minimums, and what's included. Some providers charge separately for inbound messages, media attachments, or API calls. Look for pricing that aligns with your volume and use case.

Getting up and running with an iMessage API is faster than most businesses expect. With Sendblue, the typical path looks like this:

Sign up and get API keys immediately. Create an account at sendblue.com and you'll have API credentials within minutes. The sandbox environment is available instantly for testing — no approval process, no waiting.

Send your first iMessage. A single API call is all it takes. Here's what it looks like in practice:

Using the REST API, you send a POST request to the /send-message endpoint with the recipient's phone number and your message content. The response confirms delivery status in real time. TypeScript and Python SDKs are available if you prefer working with a client library rather than raw HTTP requests. Full documentation is available at docs.sendblue.co.

Set up webhooks for two-way conversations. Configure a webhook URL in your Sendblue dashboard. When recipients reply, Sendblue sends the response to your server as a JSON payload containing the message content, sender number, timestamp, and media attachments. This is what enables real conversations, not just one-way notifications.

Connect your CRM or automation tools. If you're using GoHighLevel, Close, HubSpot, Salesforce, Follow Up Boss, or Monday.com, enable the native integration directly from the Sendblue dashboard — no code required. For other tools, connect through Zapier or Make in minutes. For fully custom implementations, the REST API and SDKs give you complete control.

Optional: Book a guided onboarding session. Sendblue offers one-on-one onboarding sessions within one to two business days. A dedicated expert helps configure your workflows, CRM integrations, messaging strategies, and compliance setup. Request a demo to get started. This is particularly valuable for teams replacing an existing SMS workflow or launching iMessage outreach for the first time.

Most businesses send their first real iMessage on the same day they sign up. There's no hardware to provision, no carrier registration to wait for, and no approval queue.

Is using an iMessage API legal? Yes. Sendblue has been operating for over five years and serves thousands of businesses including publicly traded companies. The platform runs on real Apple devices and complies with Apple's Terms of Service. All standard business messaging regulations apply — you need proper consent (opt-in) from recipients, and you must honor opt-out requests. Sendblue is TCPA compliant and supports HIPAA for healthcare use cases.

What if the recipient doesn't have an iPhone? The API detects whether a phone number has an active iMessage account before sending. If the recipient is on Android or doesn't have iMessage enabled, the message automatically falls back to RCS first, then SMS. This ensures every message gets delivered regardless of device — you don't need to manage routing logic yourself.

Could Apple shut down iMessage APIs? Sendblue runs on real Apple hardware with real Apple IDs and real phone numbers. This is how iMessage is designed to work. Sendblue has operated for over five years without disruption and has built its infrastructure to be compliant and sustainable. The platform is not a hack, jailbreak, or exploit — it's a legitimate use of Apple's messaging infrastructure at scale.

Does it work internationally? Yes. Sendblue supports international iMessage delivery. Messages are sent from U.S. area codes and can reach any iMessage-enabled device worldwide.

What about HIPAA compliance? Sendblue supports HIPAA-compliant messaging for healthcare organizations, telemedicine providers, and health-adjacent businesses. The platform offers end-to-end encryption, SOC 2 compliance, and can execute Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) as needed.

How is pricing structured? Sendblue offers a free sandbox for development and testing. Paid plans start at approximately $100 per month for inbound-only use cases. For outbound messaging plans, contact the Sendblue sales team to discuss pricing based on your volume and use case. Enterprise and high-volume plans are available with custom pricing.

Can I keep my existing phone number? In many cases, yes. Sendblue can port existing numbers or provision new 10-digit local numbers. Your messages always come from a real phone number — never a short code or toll-free number.

How fast is delivery? iMessages sent through Sendblue typically deliver within seconds. Delivery is essentially real-time, matching the speed of sending a normal iMessage from an iPhone.