Here are a few best practices to keep in mind when sending compliant text messages:
1. Ensure your contacts opt in prior to messaging.
To respect others’ inboxes and prevent your text messages from being filtered by your contacts' carriers, always obtain proper consent prior to sending messages.
What is Proper Consent?
Proper consent means obtaining clear agreement from the message recipient before sending the first message. You must ensure your contacts explicitly agree to receive messages from you and understand what they are consenting to.
Additionally, you should maintain a record of consent, such as:
A copy of the signed document or form.
A timestamp from when the customer completed a sign-up process.
Consent cannot be bought, sold, or exchanged. For example, purchasing a phone list from a third party does not constitute valid consent.
Aside from two exceptions noted later in this section, you must meet all of the following consent requirements:
Timely Messaging: If you do not send an initial message to the recipient within a reasonable period after obtaining their consent, you must reconfirm consent in the first message you send.
Specific Use: Consent is limited to the specific use or campaign for which the recipient has agreed. It does not allow you to send messages about unrelated campaigns, other brands, or companies you may own.
Example: If a customer consents to receive messages about cleaning services, you cannot separately send them messages about books you are selling.
Clear Record Keeping: Maintain a record of all opt-ins to ensure compliance and to resolve potential disputes. This includes keeping proof of opt-in consent even after a contact opts out of receiving messages.
Alternate Forms of Consent
While consent is always required, and the guidelines above are the safest path, there are scenarios where consent can be obtained through alternative methods:
Contact Initiated by an Individual
If someone sends a message to you, you are free to respond.
Example: A customer texts asking for your business hours, and you respond with the requested information.
In such cases, the inbound message serves as both consent and proof of consent. However, this consent applies only to the specific conversation. Additional consent is required to send unrelated messages.
Informational Content to an Individual Based on a Prior Relationship.
If a prior relationship exists, and the individual has willingly shared their phone number, you can message them—provided they have not expressed a desire to stop communication.
Examples of Acceptable Actions: Pressing a button, setting up alerts, placing appointments, or orders.
Examples of Acceptable Messages: Appointment reminders, receipts, one-time passwords, order/shipping confirmations, drivers coordinating pick-ups, or repair technicians confirming service times.
Periodic Messages and Ongoing Consent
For ongoing communication, remind recipients how to unsubscribe using standard opt-out language. Additionally, respect their preferences for contact frequency and periodically reconfirm their consent.
2. Identify yourself in the first text and include opt-out messaging
Every message you send must clearly identify yourself (the party that obtained the opt-in from the recipient) as the sender, except in follow-up messages of an ongoing conversation.
What is opt-out and when do I need to provide it?
Opt-out is the process of allowing users to stop receiving messages from you.
The initial message that you send to an individual needs to include the following language: “Reply STOP to unsubscribe,” or an equivalent using another standard opt-out keyword, such as STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, and QUIT.
Individuals must have the ability to revoke consent at any time by replying with a standard opt-out keyword. When an individual opts out, you may send one final message to confirm that the opt-out has been processed. However, any subsequent messages are not allowed. An individual must once again provide consent before you can send any additional messages.
3. Avoid generic link shorteners
If you include a shortened URL in any message, be sure to use a dedicated, branded short domain that belongs to your business. Avoid free public link shorteners like bit.ly or tiny.url.
US carrier policies strongly discourage the use of shared public URL shorteners due to their frequent use by spammers, scammers, and other bad actors. Using these public shorteners increases the risk of your messages being filtered.
Here is an example of a properly branded short URL that meets US carrier expectations:
Hi, it’s John from Americans for Clean Air (ACA). Please contact your representatives today to let them know you care about reducing air pollution. For more info: aca.com/1234xyz - Reply STOP to unsubscribe.