Detecting Outgoing SMS (Google Messages, Pixel 8 Pro) — Any Reliable Method?

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Mark Willingham

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Mar 19, 2026, 10:47:01 AM (12 days ago) Mar 19

to Tasker

Hi all,

I’m trying to determine whether there is a reliable way to detect and capture outgoing SMS messages on a Pixel 8 Pro using Tasker.

Goal:
When I send an SMS from Google Messages, I want to trigger a Tasker action that captures:

recipient phone number
message body
timestamp

…and sends that data to a webhook (n8n / CRM logging).

What I’ve already tried:

Event → Phone → Received Text (works for inbound only)
Notification-based triggers (no consistent event for sent messages)
Logcat / READ_LOGS via ADB (no usable or reliable trigger for sent SMS)
Third-party SMS forwarding apps (test works, real outbound does not trigger)

Environment:

Device: Pixel 8 Pro
Android version: Latest
SMS app: Google Messages
RCS (Chat Features): currently enabled, but I can disable if relevant
Tasker has all standard permissions + ADB permissions granted

Key question:
Is there any reliable method in Tasker to detect outgoing SMS from Google Messages without:

rooting the device
replacing Google Messages as the default SMS app

Additional context:
I’m aware that RCS and Google Messages’ handling of sent messages may affect detection.
Has anyone successfully implemented this either with RCS disabled or via another approach?

I’m trying to confirm whether this is truly blocked on modern Android, or if there’s a working method I may have missed.

Appreciate any guidance, even confirmation that it’s not possible would be helpful.

Thanks in advance.

Greg

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Mar 20, 2026, 10:57:32 AM (11 days ago) Mar 20

to tas...@googlegroups.com, Mark Willingham

I too was trying to figure this out this week. It is possible, as IFTTT was doing it before everything became paid for my account.
Is there a way to reverse engineer IFTTT?