# Send iMessages

Once your subscribers [opt in to receive iMessages](https://developers.mobile-text-alerts.com/tutorials/message-sending/send-an-imessage/subscriber-opt-in), you can send iMessages to them. Mobile Text Alerts will automatically capture and record inbound opt-in messages and flag your subscribers as iMessage-enabled and opted in. Remember, opt-ins are tied to a specific [Sender Identity](https://developers.mobile-text-alerts.com/tutorials/message-sending/send-an-imessage/sender-identity), so you must receive inbound consent from a subscriber on each Sender Identity you plan to use.

## Send iMessages via the API

When sending iMessages via the API, you need to specify a Sender Identity, and Mobile Text Alerts will handle routing messages intelligently based on current subscriber status. For the subscribers included in a <mark style="color:blue;">`/send`</mark> call, the system will verify whether they are iMessage-enabled and then route messages through your Sender Identity. A graceful [fallback to SMS](#sms-fallback) is also supported.

After completing the necessary configuration and setup steps, you should have a Sender Identity attached to one of your existing outbound longcodes used for SMS/MMS. This structure requires minimal changes to start using the iMessage route and provides flexibility to manage Sender Identities the same way you manage longcodes.

### Specify a Sender Identity with `senderName`

When calling the <mark style="color:blue;">`/send`</mark> endpoint, include `senderName` in the request to directly specify the sender name to use, without needing to include a `longcodeId`.

A Sender Identity must be indicated with either `senderName` or `longcodeId`.

### Specify a Sender Identity with `longcodeId`

When calling the <mark style="color:blue;">`/send`</mark> endpoint, you can also include `longcodeId` in the request. It will be used as a fallback to `senderName`. When a longcode has an associated iMessage Sender Identity, Mobile Text Alerts will use that identity for iMessage-enabled recipients.

### Create a request to the `/send` endpoint with the Sender Identity

See [Send a Message](https://developers.mobile-text-alerts.com/getting-started/send-a-message) to learn more about making a <mark style="color:blue;">`/send`</mark> call to the API.

## Webhooks

When sending messages via the iMessage route, you will receive webhooks from Mobile Text Alerts just as you would for other messaging routes (such as SMS). For messages routed via iMessage, you will receive [`delivery-status`](https://developers.mobile-text-alerts.com/getting-started/setting-up-webhooks#delivery-status-delivery-status) callbacks as the message status changes during the sending process.

For webhook calls for iMessage [`message-send`](https://developers.mobile-text-alerts.com/webhooks#message-send) or [`message-reply`](https://developers.mobile-text-alerts.com/webhooks#message-reply) events, the payloads will include the `senderName` field to identify the sender "in-scope" with sending that message when sent via iMessage. For message replies, this is the `senderName` that the inbound reply was sent to.

When inbound messages are sent to your Sender Identities, Mobile Text Alerts will deliver [`message-reply`](https://developers.mobile-text-alerts.com/getting-started/setting-up-webhooks#message-reply-message-reply) webhooks consistent with inbound SMS messages.

[Click here](https://developers.mobile-text-alerts.com/getting-started/setting-up-webhooks) for more information on configuring webhooks for your account.


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