There’s a lot of confusion about the practical differences between long codes and short codes when it comes to text messaging.

As we move further into the New Year, mobile technologies that we’ve been anticipating for quite some time are finally becoming prevalent amongst a significant amount of users, such as mobile payments. Major companies are making it easier and easier to purchase meals, clothing, and other day to day products via mobile interface, and smart companies are pragmatically streamlining their systems for familiarity and ease of accessibility.

Over the last two years there has been a proliferation of mobile messaging apps such as WhatsApp and iMessage, and social media messaging tools like Twitter. These applications allow the user to send and receive text messages for free without having to use up data from a cell phone package.

The major wireless carriers came together in 2003 to create short codes to allow marketers to easily communicate with mobile phone users. Since then SMS text messaging has exploded in popularity. However, short codes haven’t seen an equivalent growth.