2026

February 17, 2026
in Features, Webhooks, API
5 min read

🌟 Webhook Payload Enhancement: Clearer Semantics with `sender` and `recipient`

📣 Big News: Enhanced Webhook Payloads Are Here!

We're excited to announce a significant improvement to our webhook payload structure. Based on user feedback and real-world usage, we've added new fields to make webhook data more explicit, especially for multi-SIM devices and complex messaging scenarios.

TL;DR: Your webhooks now include sender and recipient fields for crystal-clear phone number semantics, while maintaining full backward compatibility with the existing phoneNumber field.

🎯 The Problem: Ambiguity in Multi-SIM World

Before the Enhancement

{
  "payload": {
    "messageId": "abc123",
    "phoneNumber": "+1234567890",
    "simNumber": 1,
    "message": "Hello World"
  }
}

The Confusion: What does phoneNumber represent?

For incoming SMS: Is it the sender or the receiver?
For outgoing SMS: Is it the recipient or the sender?
With multiple SIMs: Which device number is being referenced?

This ambiguity forced developers to: - Reverse-engineer semantics based on event type - Maintain separate logic for inbound vs outbound - Guess which phone number they're actually working with

Real-World Impact

Consider a dual-SIM device with numbers +1112223333 (SIM 1) and +4445556666 (SIM 2):

Scenario 1: Incoming SMS to SIM 1

{
  "phoneNumber": "+9998887777",  // Who sent it? Which SIM received it?
  "simNumber": 1
}

Scenario 2: Outgoing SMS from SIM 2

{
  "phoneNumber": "+9998887777",  // Who sent it? Who received it?
  "simNumber": 2
}

In both cases, phoneNumber means something different! 😕

✨ The Solution: Explicit Field Names

After the Enhancement

{
  "payload": {
    "messageId": "abc123",
    "sender": "+9998887777",
    "recipient": "+1112223333",
    "phoneNumber": "+9998887777",
    "simNumber": 1,
    "message": "Hello World"
  }
}

Now it's crystal clear: - sender: The phone number that sent the message - recipient: The phone number that received the message (or null if unavailable) - phoneNumber: Deprecated but kept for backward compatibility

Semantic Consistency Across All Events

Event Type	sender	recipient
`sms:received` (inbound)	External sender	Device's number
`sms:data-received` (inbound)	External sender	Device's number
`mms:received` (inbound)	External sender	Device's number
`sms:sent` (outbound)	Device's number	Recipient
`sms:delivered` (outbound)	Device's number	Recipient
`sms:failed` (outbound)	Device's number	Recipient

Key Insight: sender always originates, recipient always receives. No more guessing! 🎯

🔄 Backward Compatibility: Zero Breaking Changes

We understand that changing payload structures can be disruptive. That's why we've designed this enhancement to be 100% backward compatible.

What Stays the Same

✅ Existing phoneNumber field remains in all payloads
✅ Same data values (no semantic changes to phoneNumber)
✅ All existing webhook consumers continue to work without modification
✅ No changes to webhook registration or delivery mechanisms

What's New

⭐ sender field: Originating phone number (who sent the message)
📍 recipient field: Receiving phone number — device's number for inbound, recipient's for outbound
⚠️ phoneNumber field: Now marked as deprecated

Migration Path (Optional)

Phase 1 - Today (Backward Compatible):

{
  "sender": "+1234567890",
  "recipient": "+9876543210",
  "phoneNumber": "+1234567890"  // Still works!
}

Phase 2 - Future (After Deprecation Period):

{
  "sender": "+1234567890",
  "recipient": "+9876543210"
  // phoneNumber removed in future major version
}

Recommendation: Start using sender and recipient in your code now. They're clearer and will be supported indefinitely. The phoneNumber field will remain available for at least 12 months before removal.

📊 Multi-SIM Support: Finally Clear!

The new recipient field is especially valuable for multi-SIM devices.

Example: Dual-SIM Device

Device Configuration: - SIM 1: +1112223333 - SIM 2: +4445556666

Incoming SMS to SIM 1:

{
  "event": "sms:received",
  "payload": {
    "sender": "+9998887777",
    "recipient": "+1112223333",  // ← Now explicit!
    "simNumber": 1
  }
}

Incoming SMS to SIM 2:

{
  "event": "sms:received",
  "payload": {
    "sender": "+7776665555",
    "recipient": "+4445556666",  // ← Clear which SIM!
    "simNumber": 2
  }
}

Now you can: - Route messages to correct handlers based on recipient number - Track which SIM received each message without inference - Build accurate multi-SIM analytics and dashboards

🔧 Technical Details

Null Handling for recipient

The recipient field is nullable because:

READ_PHONE_STATE permission may not be granted
Some carriers don't expose phone numbers programmatically

When recipient is null, webhooks still fire normally with the field set to null. This ensures no loss of functionality.

Always Handle null Values

Your webhook handler should always check if recipient is null before using it. Example in JavaScript:

const { sender, recipient } = req.body.payload;
console.log(`From: ${sender}, To: ${recipient || 'unknown'}`);

🚀 Getting Started

For New Integrations

Use the new fields immediately—they're clearer and future-proof:

app.post('/webhook', (req, res) => {
  const { sender, recipient, message } = req.body.payload;

  console.log(`Message from ${sender} to ${recipient || 'unknown'}`);

  // Your business logic here

  res.sendStatus(200);
});

For Existing Integrations

No action required! Your existing code will continue to work:

// Old code still works
app.post('/webhook', (req, res) => {
  const { phoneNumber, message } = req.body.payload;

  console.log(`Message from ${phoneNumber}`);

  res.sendStatus(200);
});

But consider upgrading for better clarity:

// Enhanced code with new fields
app.post('/webhook', (req, res) => {
  const { sender, recipient, message } = req.body.payload;

  // Use sender (explicit) instead of phoneNumber (ambiguous)
  console.log(`Message from ${sender} to ${recipient || 'unknown'}`);

  res.sendStatus(200);
});

📚 Updated Documentation

All documentation has been updated to reflect the new payload structure:

Webhooks Feature Guide: Complete reference for all event types
Getting Started with Webhooks: Quick start guide with examples
MMS Support: MMS-specific webhook payload details
FAQ: Common questions including multipart message handling
Status Tracking: Delivery status webhook examples

🧪 Testing the Enhancement

Quick Test

Register a webhook for sms:received event
Send an SMS to your device
Inspect the webhook payload—you should see sender and recipient fields

Expected Payload Structure

{
  "deviceId": "device-id",
  "event": "sms:received",
  "id": "webhook-event-id",
  "payload": {
    "messageId": "abc123",
    "sender": "+9998887777",
    "recipient": "+1112223333",
    "phoneNumber": "+9998887777",
    "simNumber": 1,
    "receivedAt": "2026-02-17T12:00:00.000+07:00"
  },
  "webhookId": "webhook-id"
}

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Will this break my existing webhook integration?

A: No! The phoneNumber field remains with the same value as before. Your existing code will work without any changes.

Q: Should I update my code to use the new fields?

A: We recommend it! The sender and recipient fields are much clearer, especially for multi-SIM scenarios. The migration depends on event type: - For inbound events (sms:received, sms:data-received, mms:received): replace phoneNumber with sender. - For outbound events (sms:sent, sms:delivered, sms:failed): replace phoneNumber with recipient.

Q: When will `phoneNumber` be removed?

A: We'll keep phoneNumber for at least 12 months to give everyone time to migrate. We'll announce a deprecation timeline well in advance.

Q: What if `recipient` is null?

A: This can happen if the app lacks READ_PHONE_STATE permission or the carrier doesn't provide the device number. Your code should handle null gracefully. The webhook will still fire with all other fields populated.

Q: Does this change affect the API for sending messages?

A: No. This enhancement only affects webhook payloads. The message sending API remains unchanged.

Q: How do I know which field to use in my code?

A: - Use sender for the originating phone number (who sent the message) - Use recipient for the receiving phone number (which device received it or who was the recipient) - Avoid phoneNumber in new code (it's deprecated)

🎉 Benefits at a Glance

✅	Benefit	Impact
1	Clear Semantics	No more guessing what `phoneNumber` means
2	Multi-SIM Clarity	Explicit recipient per SIM slot
3	Zero Breaking Changes	Existing integrations keep working
4	Future-Proof	New fields will be supported indefinitely
5	Better Developer Experience	Self-documenting code with explicit field names
6	Consistent Logic	Same semantics across all event types

Webhook Documentation: Full Webhook Guide
API Reference: REST API Documentation

💬 Feedback & Support

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this enhancement!

GitHub Discussions: Share your use case and feedback
Support Email: [email protected]
Documentation Issues: Report any inconsistencies or unclear examples

🙏 Thank You

This enhancement was driven by user feedback from the community. Your real-world experiences with multi-SIM devices and complex integrations helped shape this solution.

We're committed to making SMSGate the most developer-friendly SMS gateway platform. Stay tuned for more improvements!

Happy coding! 🚀