How to save Android texts to Gmail, and why MessageMirror stopped
Short answer: Android has no setting that copies texts into Gmail. Apps that still do it log in to your mailbox over IMAP with a Gmail app password. MessageMirror used to write to Gmail too. It no longer does, and the reason is a Google rule, not a bug.
If you need your texts as email, MessageMirror is not the right fit. If you only want your texts searchable inside your Google account, MessageMirror now puts each one in Google Calendar instead.
We build MessageMirror, so read this with that in mind. Every outside claim is sourced at the bottom, checked October 2026.
How texts get into Gmail at all
Over IMAP, with an app password. An app can save texts into Gmail by logging in to your mailbox over IMAP with a password, which can be a generated application password. Each text then lands in your mailbox under a label, where Gmail search works on it.
The setup has friction. Google says an app password needs 2-Step Verification switched on, is revoked when you change your Google password, and "aren't recommended and are unnecessary in most cases". It is also a password with access to your whole mailbox, so it is only as safe as the app you give it to.
A backup file. Some apps write your texts to a file on the phone and let you upload that file to a cloud drive. That is a file you keep, not your texts filed as searchable email threads, so it answers a different need.
Android's own backup. It restores texts to a phone, and it is not an archive you can search from Gmail. Our Calendar guide covers where it stops.
Why MessageMirror stopped writing to Gmail
- To add a message to a mailbox, an app needs the Gmail permission
gmail.insert, which Google describes as "Add emails into your Gmail mailbox" and lists as a restricted scope. Only three Gmail scopes sit in the non-sensitive tier, and none of them can add a message to a mailbox. - Google's rule for restricted scopes is a security assessment by an approved assessor, repeated at least every 12 months. Its public page ties the rule to apps that can access the data "from or through a third-party server".
- MessageMirror has no server, because your texts go from your phone to your account. We said so to Google. Google replied in writing on 6 October 2026 that the requirement includes local client apps. That reply is our own correspondence, and the public page does not spell it out either way.
- A yearly paid assessment does not fit an app at $1 a month, $10 a year or $20 once. So we changed where the backup goes. Google Calendar is a sensitive scope, which Google reviews, and which has no yearly assessment.
That is the whole story. Email was never a worse home for texts, and for some people it is the better one. Our Calendar guide explains what the Calendar version does and where it falls short.
Email or Calendar, which one fits
| Texts as email in Gmail | MessageMirror, in Calendar | |
|---|---|---|
| Where texts land | Your mailbox, under a label | Private Google Calendar events |
| Setup | IMAP and a Gmail app password | Google sign in, no password to generate |
| Threads and MMS | Depends on the app | No threads, no MMS |
| Pick it if | You want your texts as email | You want texts and calls searchable in Calendar |
What none of them can back up
Google Messages RCS chats are end-to-end encrypted, and Google says that with end-to-end encryption "no one can read the content sent between you and the other person". It documents an archival route only for IT admins on fully managed Android devices. We know of no consumer backup app that can export RCS chats, ours included. Plain SMS is what backup apps can handle.
Frequently asked questions
How do I save Android text messages to Gmail?
Android has no setting that copies texts into Gmail, so you need an app that writes them there. Apps that still do it log in to your mailbox over IMAP with a Gmail app password, which Google says is not recommended in most cases. MessageMirror used to write to Gmail and no longer does.
Does MessageMirror still back up to Gmail?
No. MessageMirror now backs up texts and call logs to a Google Calendar you choose. We dropped Gmail because the Gmail permission needed to add a message to a mailbox is a restricted scope, which comes with a yearly paid security assessment that a small, low priced app cannot carry.
Is a Gmail app password a safe way to back up texts?
It works, with caveats. Google says an app password needs 2-Step Verification switched on, is revoked when you change your Google password, and is not recommended and unnecessary in most cases. It is a password that gives an app access to your mailbox, so only use it with an app you trust.
Can I back up RCS chats to Gmail?
No app can, MessageMirror included. RCS chats in Google Messages are end-to-end encrypted, and Google documents an archival route only for fully managed work devices. Plain SMS is what backup apps can handle.
Why does Google Messages keep switching between RCS and SMS?
Google Messages uses RCS for a conversation only when everyone in it has RCS turned on and a mobile data or Wi-Fi connection. Lose either, on your side or theirs, and that message goes out as SMS or MMS instead. The Send icon in the compose bar shows which one is about to be used, and the setting Automatically resend as text (SMS/MMS) decides whether the fallback happens on its own. The switch matters for a backup. SMS is what a backup app can read, and the RCS messages stay inside Google Messages.
I want my texts searchable in Google. Is Calendar a fair swap for Gmail?
For many people, yes. Each text becomes a private event with the message in the description, and you search it in the Calendar app. It is not email: there are no threads, and MMS is not backed up. If you need your texts as email, MessageMirror is not the right fit.
Try the Calendar version
We are in closed testing ahead of the public Play Store release. Ask for an invite and your backups will go to your own Google Calendar, not to us.