---
layout: integration
title: Phone auth with Telesign
description: Deliver one-time passwords for phone authentication through Telesign
date: 2026-11-06
featured: false
isPartner: true
isNew: true
cover: /images/integrations/phone-auth-telesign/cover.avif
category: auth
product:
    vendor: Telesign
    description: "Telesign is a digital identity and communications platform that provides SMS, voice, and phone verification APIs."
platform:
    - 'Self-hosted'
---

[Telesign](https://www.telesign.com) is a digital identity and communications platform. Its APIs send SMS and voice messages and verify phone numbers, and its portal manages your customer ID, API keys, and sender numbers.

# How does the integration work?

If you self-host Appwrite, you can use Telesign to deliver the one-time passwords (OTPs) that Appwrite Auth sends by SMS. Appwrite uses the provider you configure for [phone (SMS) login](/docs/products/auth/phone-sms), phone number verification, SMS challenges for [multi-factor authentication](/docs/products/auth/mfa), and team invitations sent to a phone number.

Phone authentication lets users sign in without a password, which suits mobile apps where users already have their phone at hand.

**Phone authentication on Appwrite Cloud**

Appwrite Cloud delivers phone authentication SMS for you, so there is no SMS provider to configure. Messages are billed per message, with [rates](/docs/advanced/billing/phone-otp#rates) that vary by country.

# How to implement

To implement the Telesign provider for phone authentication, there are several steps you must complete:

## Step 1: Set up Telesign

First, sign up for a Telesign account and open the [Telesign portal](https://portal.telesign.com). Save the following information for later use:

| Field name | |
| --- | --- |
| Customer ID | Head to **Telesign portal** > **Profile** > **Customer ID**. |
| API key | Head to **Telesign portal** > **Profile** > **API Keys**. |
| Phone number | The phone number your SMS messages are sent from. You may need to purchase a number from Telesign first. |

Telesign's guide to [finding your customer ID and API key](https://support.telesign.com/s/article/Find-Customer-ID-and-API-Key) walks through the portal.

## Step 2: Add Telesign to your Appwrite instance

For this step, you must [self-host Appwrite](/docs/advanced/self-hosting) if you haven't already.

Open the `.env` file of your Appwrite installation and update the following environment variables:

```bash
_APP_SMS_PROVIDER=sms://<CUSTOMER_ID>:<API_KEY>@telesign
_APP_SMS_FROM=<TELESIGN_PHONE_NUMBER>
```

Write the phone number with a leading `+` and the country code, such as `+14155550123`. If your API key contains characters such as `/`, `+`, or `=`, URL-encode it before you add it to `_APP_SMS_PROVIDER`. Appwrite only turns on SMS delivery when both variables are set.

Then recreate your Appwrite stack and confirm the variables were applied:

```bash
docker compose up -d
docker compose exec appwrite vars
```

## Step 3: Test the provider

To test the provider, [implement phone (SMS) login](/docs/products/auth/phone-sms) in a web or mobile app. Request a code for your phone number, then create a session with the code you receive:

```js
import { Client, Account, ID } from "appwrite";

const client = new Client()
    .setEndpoint('https://<APPWRITE_DOMAIN>/v1')
    .setProject('<PROJECT_ID>');

const account = new Account(client);

const token = await account.createPhoneToken({
    userId: ID.unique(),
    phone: '+14255550123'
});

const session = await account.createSession({
    userId: token.userId,
    secret: '<SECRET>'
});
```

After you sign in, the user appears on the **Auth** page of your project with their phone number as the identifier.

# Read more about Telesign and Appwrite Auth

If you would like to learn more about phone authentication with Telesign and Appwrite Auth, we have some resources that you should visit:

- [Find your Telesign customer ID and API key](https://support.telesign.com/s/article/Find-Customer-ID-and-API-Key)
- [SMS delivery for self-hosted Appwrite](/docs/advanced/self-hosting/configuration/sms)
- [Phone (SMS) login with Appwrite Auth](/docs/products/auth/phone-sms)
- [SMS with Telesign in Appwrite Messaging](/integrations/sms-telesign)
- [Appwrite Account API reference](/docs/references/cloud/client-web/account)