Responsible Use

The Text-Em-All service is a powerful group messaging technology that gives you the ability to notify thousands of people in seconds. As such, we expect you to use it responsibly. This Responsible Use document is designed to complement—not replace—our Terms of Service by helping you understand some of our expectations for responsible and legal use of our service. Please understand that this list is not meant to be comprehensive, and you are ultimately responsible for the messages you send.

• DO NOT use Text-Em-All to send messages to phone numbers that were not given directly to you or your organization. This includes contacts that were acquired or purchased from a third-party list provider.

• DO NOT use Text-Em-All to initiate:

  • Political messages - including messages for soliciting votes or as part of an electoral campaign.

  • Fundraising messages - unless you are a nonprofit with 501(c)(3) status.

  • Carrier prohibited content - including messages categorized as S.H.A.F.T. (Sex, Hate, Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco incl. vape/marijuana/CBD), high-risk financial services such as gambling and stock alerts, multi-level marketing or deceptive “get rich quick” schemes.

  • Marketing or promotional robocalls - even if you have consent, we only allow marketing messages via text.
    
    

  • Note: Although some of the above-listed messages may be legal in certain circumstances, we respectfully decline to allow this traffic on our network.

• Identify yourself or your organization in your message.

• Pay close attention to the time you are sending messages, particularly when sending messages across multiple time zones.

• While our service allows recipients to opt-out from receiving your messages if they answer your call or receive your text, you should have a process in place to allow people to opt-out by other methods like calling or emailing you. You should then enter opt-outs via our opt-out page, or permanently remove these numbers from your calling lists—ideally both.

• When promoting a text keyword, make sure to clearly communicate the type of messages you will be sending.

• If you’d like to research laws and regulations affecting our group messaging service, here’s a good start:

  • The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) enforces the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), has regulations implementing the TCPA, and released content on July 10, 2015, further clarifying its regulations.

  • The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforces the Telemarketing Sales Rule and offers guidance on complying with it. Other useful guidance from the FTC includes rules on prohibiting unwanted prerecorded commercial calls and amendments to the Telemarketing Sales Rule regarding prerecorded calls.

  • The Federal Do-Not-Call registry rules.

  • Check the state laws where you are messaging for any additional restrictions, as states can impose more restrictive requirements than the federal laws referenced above.

Remember, you are ultimately responsible to make your own informed decisions regarding your campaigns and you remain fully liable for any use of our service in violation of any applicable law, as well as this Responsible Use policy and our Terms of Use.