When creating a mobile message, you can select between creating an SMS messages or MMS message. An SMS message is a standard text message, whereas an MMS message will allow you to add multimedia. If you create an MMS message, you will also need to create a Fallback SMS message. You can learn more about these message types below.
SMS stands for Short Message Service and is a standard text message. Standard SMS messages are limited to 160 characters per message. If it exceeds this limit, the message is broken into multiple message segments no longer than 160 characters each. This is a popular option in the US because of carriers offering unlimited texting plans.
Note that while SMS Messages traditionally allow for a maximum of 160 characters, when a non-standard (Unicode) character is entered, the character limit drops to 70. You can learn more about these non-standard characters in the article here.
SMS messages cannot include multimedia content, such as images or videos.
MMS stands for Multimedia Messaging Service. This allows SMS users to send multimedia content, such as images or videos. We implement a 1600 character limit for MMS messages. The maximum size of this message depends on the carrier and device that receives the message. 300kb is often the largest.
Some users may not be able to view an MMS message on their devices. Because of this, if you send an MMS message, we require you to include a fallback SMS message with it.
A Fallback SMS message is an SMS message that will be sent to a user in place of the original MMS message in the event that the user cannot receive MMS messages. By sending a fallback SMS along with your original MMS message, you’ll increase the chances of all users being able to view your message.