Comparison

Forwardit or GawkAr? Which keeps more on your device?

GawkAr is a popular SMS forwarder with a large install base. The main privacy trade-offs are contact access and server-based forwarding for some destinations. Forwardit takes a different approach: no contact permission, no Forwardit server in the message path, and a fully localized experience including Arabic.

Get Forwardit — it's free

Direct comparison

Forwardit vs GawkAr

GawkAr

Server in the message path

None — on-device only

Yes for email/Telegram — SMS passes through their database

Server retention

Nothing stored off your device

SMS kept up to 3 days (server methods)

Reads your contacts

No — contacts never requested

Yes — contact list collected

Trackers

Zero

Firebase Analytics + crash/diagnostics

In-app languages

8, incl. Arabic right-to-left

English-only in app

Encryption in transit

Your own SMTP over TLS

Encrypted

Price

Free tier + fair Premium

Subscription — ~SAR 13.79/mo, SAR 149/yr (no lifetime)

Destinations

Email + phone (Telegram on the roadmap)

Email, phone, Telegram, PC

Security lock

Biometric/PIN on every rule change

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“Data about SMS passes through our server and is temporarily entered into the database and stored there. SMS older than 3 days are deleted permanently.”

— GawkAr SMS Forwarder — Privacy Policy (server-based methods)

Why users choose Forwardit

Messages stay off our servers

Forwardit sends email directly from your phone through your own SMTP settings, without routing SMS through a Forwardit database.

No contact access needed

Forwardit does not need your contact list to create filters or forward messages.

Arabic and RTL support

Forwardit is localized in 8 languages, including a full right-to-left Arabic experience.

The verdict

GawkAr is a polished and popular SMS forwarder, and it encrypts in transit. Forwardit is the better fit if you want forwarding without contact access, without a Forwardit server in the path, and with a full Arabic interface. If Telegram or computer forwarding is your top requirement today, GawkAr may still fit that use case.

Get Forwardit — it's free

FAQ

Does GawkAr's SMS forwarder store my messages on a server?+

By its own privacy policy, server-based forwarding (email via their server, Telegram) routes SMS through GawkAr's database, where messages are kept up to 3 days before deletion. Forwardit has no server — nothing is stored off your device.

Is there an Arabic alternative to GawkAr?+

GawkAr's app is English-only. Forwardit is available in 8 languages with full Arabic right-to-left support, forwarding on-device to your email and another phone.

Is Forwardit a free alternative to GawkAr?+

Yes — Forwardit is free to download with a working free tier, versus GawkAr's subscription (around SAR 149 per year, with no lifetime option).