Messaging Acceptable Use Policy

Messaging Acceptable Use Policy

• This Messaging Acceptable Use Policy ("Messaging Policy") governs all SMS, MMS, RCS and voice traffic sent through the FlowUp platform ("Platform"). It forms part of the FlowUp Terms of Service and is binding on every customer, account holder and end user of the Platform ("Customer", "you"). Where this Messaging Policy conflicts with the Terms of Service on a messaging matter, this Messaging Policy controls.

• FlowUp provides messaging software. FlowUp does not originate campaign content, does not supply contact lists, and does not obtain consent on a Customer’s behalf. The Customer is the sender of all messages transmitted from its account and is solely responsible for the lawfulness of those messages.

• 1. Applicable law and industry standards

• You must comply with all laws, regulations and industry standards that apply to the messages you send, including:

• • the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and the FCC rules under it;
  • the Telemarketing Sales Rule and the federal and state Do Not Call rules;
  • state telemarketing and messaging statutes, including the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act and the Oklahoma Telephone Solicitation Act;
  • CAN-SPAM, where messages carry commercial email content;
  • HIPAA, GLBA, FCRA and any other law applicable to regulated data you transmit;
  • the CTIA Messaging Principles and Best Practices, as amended; and
  • the registration and content requirements of the carriers and aggregators that carry your traffic.

• 2. Consent

• You may send a message only to a recipient who has given you consent to receive it.

• 2.1 Marketing and promotional messages require prior express written consent from the recipient. That consent must be obtained through a disclosure that:

• • names FlowUp’s Customer as the sender, by the brand name the recipient will see;
  • states the type of messages the recipient will receive;
  • states that message frequency varies and that message and data rates may apply;
  • states that consent is not a condition of any purchase; and
  • explains how to opt out.

• 2.2 Informational, transactional and service messages require prior express consent, which must relate to the transaction, inquiry or relationship the recipient initiated.

• 2.3 Consent must be separate and affirmative. A checkbox capturing messaging consent must be unchecked by default and must not be bundled with acceptance of terms, a privacy policy, or any other consent. Consent may not be inferred from the act of submitting a form.

• 2.4 Consent is not transferable. You may not send messages using consent obtained by another business, including an affiliate, a lead vendor, a lead aggregator, a partner, or a company you acquired, unless the recipient agreed at the point of capture to receive messages from your brand by name.

• 2.5 Consent may not be bought. Purchased, rented, scraped, harvested, appended or otherwise third-party sourced phone lists may not be messaged through the Platform.

• 3. Records of consent

• You must keep, for each phone number you message, a record of:

• • the date and time consent was given;
  • the web page, form, keyword, or other method through which it was given;
  • the exact consent language displayed at that moment; and
  • the identity of the person who gave it.

• Keep these records for at least five years after consent is withdrawn or the number is last messaged. You must produce them to FlowUp within five business days of a written request, and FlowUp may pass them to a carrier, aggregator or regulator investigating your traffic.

• 4. Opt-out

• • Every campaign must honor STOP, END, CANCEL, UNSUBSCRIBE, QUIT and any equivalent request in plain language, whatever the wording, casing or spacing.
  • Opt-out must be processed immediately and automatically, and never later than ten business days after the request.
  • A single confirmation message may follow an opt-out. Nothing further may be sent to that number unless the recipient opts in again.
  • HELP must return the sender’s name and a way to reach support.
  • Opt-out requests received by any channel — a reply to a call, an email, a web form, a conversation with staff — must be applied to messaging as well.
  • You may not move an opted-out number to another campaign, another sending number, or another account to resume messaging it.

• 5. Message content

• Every message in a campaign must match the campaign registered with the carrier and the consent given by the recipient. The first message in a conversation, and messages sent after a period of inactivity, must identify the sender by name.

• The following content may not be sent through the Platform:

• • SHAFT-C: sex, hate, alcohol, firearms, tobacco, and cannabis, including CBD and hemp-derived products;
  • high-risk financial offers, including payday loans, short-term high-interest loans, debt relief, debt consolidation, credit repair and student loan forgiveness;
  • third-party lead generation traffic, affiliate marketing, multi-level marketing, work-from-home and get-rich-quick offers;
  • gambling, sweepstakes, lotteries and prize promotions, except where separately approved in writing by FlowUp and permitted by the carrier;
  • prescription drugs offered without a prescription, and unapproved or unproven health claims;
  • content that is illegal, fraudulent, deceptive, defamatory, obscene, or that infringes another party’s rights;
  • phishing, credential harvesting, malware, and messages that impersonate another person, brand or government body.

• 6. Prohibited sending practices

• • Sending before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. in the recipient’s local time zone, or outside any narrower window state law requires.
  • Spreading traffic across many numbers to evade carrier filtering or volume limits, known as snowshoeing, and cycling numbers for the same purpose.
  • Public URL shorteners, including free bit.ly and TinyURL links. Use a branded domain or a dedicated short domain you own.
  • Falsifying, masking or spoofing the originating number or sender identity.
  • Sending traffic that does not match the use case, sample messages, volume or opt-in flow you registered for the number.
  • Sharing your account, sending numbers or API credentials with a third party, or reselling Platform access, without FlowUp’s prior written approval.
  • Circumventing carrier filtering, FlowUp’s controls, or any suspension imposed under this Messaging Policy.

• 7. Campaign registration

• Traffic to United States numbers must be registered before it is sent, whether as a 10DLC campaign with The Campaign Registry or as a toll-free verified sender. The information you submit for registration — brand details, use case, opt-in description, sample messages and volumes — must be accurate and must describe traffic you actually send. You must update a registration before your sending behavior changes.

• 8. Monitoring, suspension and termination

• FlowUp may review account activity, message content, opt-out handling and consent records to confirm compliance with this Messaging Policy, and may act on reports from recipients, carriers, aggregators and regulators.

• Where FlowUp reasonably believes traffic breaches this Messaging Policy or puts the Platform or its carrier relationships at risk, FlowUp may, with or without notice: throttle or block the traffic, suspend a campaign or sending number, suspend or close the account, and report the matter to the relevant carrier, aggregator or authority. FlowUp does not refund fees or message credits for traffic stopped under this section.

• You will indemnify FlowUp against claims, fines, penalties and carrier charges arising from messages sent from your account in breach of this Messaging Policy.

• 9. Reporting abuse

• Report suspected misuse of the Platform to [ [email protected] ]. Recipients who want to stop messages should reply STOP to the message itself, which stops that sender immediately.

• 10. Changes

• FlowUp may update this Messaging Policy to reflect changes in law, carrier rules or industry standards. The effective date above shows when it last changed. Continuing to send after a change means you accept the updated version.