Twilio cutting SMS url short

Question

I use twilio to send sms messages but in the message I am trying to create it is a very long url and therefore won't send in 160 characters so twilio cuts the message off and url doesn't work.

If I use the automated twilio Shorten SMS the same thing happens.

I assume there is a limit to the amount of characters Twilio will send and I believe it cannot join concatenated messages in Australia from Twilio.

Answer 1

Edit: as of August 2019 Twilio has discontinued its URL shortening service. You should consider using a 3rd party service that allows you to set a unique base URL.

Sharing a static base-URL for a link shortener can cause unexpected carrier filtering issues with U.S. 10-digit long codes (short codes are not carrier filtered). Carriers sometimes spam filter messages by content, and the base-URLs of the links being shared appear to be one way that they categorize spam.

Twilio is working on a next-generation URL shortener that provides randomized base URLs as an add-on to a messaging service. If you are interested in this functionality contact Twilio support.

Answer 2

You should check to see that URL shortening is explicitly enabled in your account before attempting to send messages.

https://www.twilio.com/console/sms/settings