Twilio Integration

Overview

Twilio is used for sending SMS messages — OTPs, viewing notifications, friend invitations, and agent alerts.

Configuration

Twilio credentials are hardcoded/stored as globals:


// Account SID
$sid = "ACb82f79aecb94132848c1c7b40cfc3d36";
 
// Auth token (from configdb.php)
$ttoken = "4ea7d07a2987e497774d559c1ba60432";

The auth token ($ttoken) is set in api/include/configdb.php and available globally.

Sending SMS

Via notificationUtils.php


function sendText(array $numbers, string $text)
{
    $client = new Twilio\Rest\Client($sid, $ttoken);
 
    foreach ($numbers as $number) {
        $client->messages->create(
            normaliseNumber($number),
            [
                'from' => $USA ? '+14027611623' : 'Housr',
                'body' => $text
            ]
        );
    }
}

Via sendSMS.php (standalone)


function sendSMS(array $numbers, string $text)

Identical logic to sendText(), implemented in a separate file for inclusion by endpoints that don’t use the notification utils.

Via otpUtils.php (OTP-specific)


function sendText($token, $phoneNumber, $otp)

Slightly different signature (single number, not array). Used specifically for OTP delivery.

Regional Differences

Aspect	UK	US
Sender	`Housr` (alphanumeric sender ID)	`+14027611623` (phone number)
OTP message	`OTP: 123456\n\nThanks,\n\nHousr Team`	`OTP: 123456\n\nThanks,\n\nmyhousr Team`
Agent SMS	Links to `housrportal.co.uk`	Links to `portal.myhousr.com`

Phone Number Normalisation

File: api/utils/normaliseNumber.php

All phone numbers are normalised before sending via the normaliseNumber() function. This handles various input formats and converts them to E.164 format required by Twilio.

Usage Contexts

Context	Trigger
OTP	`send_otp.php` - Password reset/verification
Viewing Request	`requestViewing.php` - SMS to agent (if opted in via `landlord_preferences.contact_through_sms`)
Friend Invitation	`sendInviteSMS.php` - Invite someone to join Housr
Scheduled Notifications	`addScheduledViewingText.php` - Pre/post viewing reminders

Dependencies


"twilio/sdk": "^7.0"