Acceptable Use Policy for Messaging

In this article we will restricted message types and campaigns so you can make sure to avoid issues when sending messages.

Telnyx Sales avatar
Written by Telnyx Sales
Updated over a week ago

Telnyx has strict guidelines on the types of messages that you may send from the Telnyx platform. Telnyx reserves the right to suspend or close your account if you violate any of the guidelines below or our Terms and Conditions. Please review both documents before you send any SMS messages.

Please note: these guidelines do not replace nor cover all prohibited activities as covered by the Telnyx General Terms & Conditions.

The following content and behaviors are not permitted using Telnyx:

Sending Unsolicited Messages

SMS recipients must have explicitly opted in to receiving messages from you. The opt in process must be clearly explained to customers in a manner in which the recipient was aware they would receive SMS messages.

The following do not qualify as valid opt ins:

  • Collecting the recipient's phone number for another purpose (such as for validating payments) but then sending messages to that recipient

  • Purchasing, borrowing, renting, or otherwise obtaining the recipient's phone number or a lead list from a third party

  • Having the customer opt in for a transactional message (such as message on delivery of a package) and then subscribing them to a recurring campaign

Telnyx reserves the right to request proof of opt in at any time.

Sending Messages Containing Inappropriate Content

The following types of content are explicitly prohibited:

  • Sexual or pornographic

  • Considered abusive or harassing

  • Firearms (including fireworks)

  • Alcohol, tobacco or illegal drugs

  • High Risk Financial

    • Loans or loan forgiveness

    • Credit repair

    • Debt collection or tax related content

    • Crypto currency related content including OTPs.

  • Gambling

  • Investment opportunities

  • Unsolicited real estate enquiries such as WeBuyHomes

  • Persistent receiving or sending of one time pass-codes from or on behalf of other service providers.

Not Adhering to Unsubscribe Requests

Recipients may choose to unsubscribe from any further messages from you by sending stop words such as STOP or UNSUBSCRIBE. These messages will be delivered to you automatically via a webhook. Upon receipt, you have up to 24 hours to remove the recipient from your list.

Sending a High Frequency of Messages to a Recipient

You may not send more than 10 messages to a recipient in any 24 hour period unless the following conditions are met:

  • The recipient has engaged in two-way communication over SMS such as for a chat feature

  • The customer has explicitly opted in to receiving frequent messages

Misrepresenting Your Identity (spoofing)

You may not represent or identify yourself as another individual or business in any way. More specifically, you may not use the message body or the phone number in a way that would lead the recipient to believe you are another individual or business.

Engaging in Fraud or Phishing For Information

Sending messages with fraudulent information or phishing to get confidential information from a recipient is explicitly prohibited. 

Additional Regulations

In addition to the restrictions above, Telnyx customers must adhere to the following laws, regulations and recommendations:

CAN-SPAM (United States)

The Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003 (“CAN-SPAM”) is a federal law regulating the transmission of commercial email messages and Internet-to-phone SMS commercial messages to addresses that reference Internet domains.
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The full text of this law can be found here: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-108publ187/pdf/PLAW-108publ187.pdf

CASL (Canada)

Canada’s CASL was enacted to promote the efficiency and adaptability of the Canadian economy by regulating certain activities that discourage reliance on electronic means of carrying out commercial activities, and to amend the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act, the Competition Act, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and the Telecommunications Act (“CASL”), is a Canadian federal law regulating the sending of “commercial electronic messages” or “CEMs”.  A CEM includes any email message, text/SMS message or other electronic message that is sent to an electronic address and that has as even one of its purposes to encourage participation in a commercial activity.  CASL applies to any CEM sent to or from a computer system located in Canada.  CASL requires prior consent to send a CEM and requires that all CEMs meet prescribed form and content requirements.  CASL is generally regarded as one of the most stringent anti-spam regimes in the world.  Its specific and prescriptive requirements should be carefully considered and must complied with when sending CEMs to or from computer systems in Canada.

The full text of this law and its accompanying regulations can be found here

CTIA Messaging Principles

CTIA’s Messaging Principles and Best Practices offers a set of recommendations developed with wireless messaging ecosystem stakeholders to support a robust and dynamic wireless messaging community.

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