SMS Program Terms and Opt-In Guide

Version 1.0. Effective Not yet effective — draft awaiting launch date.

This guide is for businesses that use HaloSuite to text their own customers. It explains what the law and the mobile carriers expect, what HaloSuite does for you, what you must do yourself, and gives you text you can copy. Fill every field in [SQUARE BRACKETS] with your own details.

It is general guidance, not legal advice for your business. You are the sender of your texts and responsible for them (see the Terms of Service and the Acceptable Use Policy).

1. The rules in one minute

• Consent first. Text only people who agreed to receive texts from your business. Appointment and service texts need the person's consent; marketing texts need prior express written consent (for example a ticked box next to clear wording). Consent can never be a condition of buying.
• Say who you are. Every opt-in, and your HELP and STOP replies, names your business.
• Make stopping easy. Honor STOP and similar words (STOP, QUIT, END, REVOKE, OPT OUT, CANCEL, UNSUBSCRIBE, STOPALL) and any other reasonable request to stop, at once and within 10 business days at most.
• Respect the clock. No marketing texts before 8 a.m. or after 8 p.m. in the recipient's time zone.
• Register. In the US, business texting from a regular 10-digit number needs A2P 10DLC registration of your brand and campaign, which you do in your own Twilio account.
• Never share numbers. Never share, sell or rent mobile numbers or consent to anyone for their marketing, and say so in your privacy policy.

2. What HaloSuite does for you

• Refuses to send a text to a number with no recorded consent, a number that opted out, or a number that is not a valid mobile number.
• Holds non-urgent texts during quiet hours and checks consent and opt-outs again at the moment of sending, so a text approved before someone replied STOP is not sent.
• Answers STOP, HELP and START replies automatically when you connect your Twilio number's incoming-message webhook to HaloSuite (Settings shows the address to paste into Twilio).
• Records each consent with the time, the method and the exact wording the person saw.
• Waits for your approval before texts go out, under your approval settings.

3. What you must do

1. Register your brand and campaign for A2P 10DLC in your Twilio account, using your exact legal business name and tax ID (EIN). Use section 7 below.
2. Publish SMS terms (section 5) and add the SMS paragraph (section 6) to your privacy policy, both on your own website, at public addresses that are not behind a login.
3. Put the opt-in wording (section 4) next to every phone-number field where you collect text consent: booking pages, forms, checkout and paper forms. Never pre-tick the box.
4. Set your HELP reply to include your business name and a way to reach you (section 4).
5. Text only about what you registered and what people agreed to.

4. Text you can copy

Opt-in for appointment and service texts (next to the phone field, with an unticked box):

[ ] Text me about my appointments and requests. By checking this box, I agree to receive text messages from [BUSINESS NAME] at the number above about my bookings, appointments and requests. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out at any time, or HELP for help. Consent is not a condition of purchase. See our SMS Terms ([SMS TERMS URL]) and Privacy Policy ([PRIVACY POLICY URL]).

Opt-in for marketing texts (a separate, unticked box; never combined with the box above or with agreeing to other terms):

[ ] Send me offers and updates by text. By checking this box, I agree to receive recurring automated marketing text messages from [BUSINESS NAME] at the number above. Consent is not a condition of any purchase. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out at any time, or HELP for help. See our SMS Terms ([SMS TERMS URL]) and Privacy Policy ([PRIVACY POLICY URL]).

Keyword replies:

• HELP: [BUSINESS NAME]: For help, email [SUPPORT EMAIL] or call [SUPPORT PHONE]. Msg frequency varies. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out.
• STOP: [BUSINESS NAME]: You are unsubscribed and will receive no more texts from us. Reply START to resubscribe.
• START: [BUSINESS NAME]: You are subscribed to texts again. Msg frequency varies. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help, STOP to opt out.

First message after someone opts in (recommended):

[BUSINESS NAME]: Thanks for opting in to texts about your appointments. Msg frequency varies. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help, STOP to opt out.

5. SMS Terms (publish on your website)

[BUSINESS NAME] SMS Terms

Program. [BUSINESS NAME] sends text messages about [appointments, bookings and requests / offers and updates] to people who agree to receive them.

Consent. You agree to receive texts by ticking the opt-in box on our [booking page / form] or by texting [KEYWORD] to [PHONE NUMBER]. Consent is not a condition of any purchase.

Frequency and cost. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply; check with your mobile carrier.

Stopping. Reply STOP (or QUIT, END, REVOKE, OPT OUT, CANCEL or UNSUBSCRIBE) at any time to stop. We will send one message confirming you are unsubscribed. Reply START to subscribe again.

Help. Reply HELP, email [SUPPORT EMAIL] or call [SUPPORT PHONE].

Carriers. Mobile carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.

Privacy. We do not share your mobile number or text-message consent with third parties for their marketing. See our Privacy Policy at [PRIVACY POLICY URL].

6. Paragraph for your privacy policy

Text messages. If you agree to receive text messages from us, we use your mobile number and consent only to send you the messages you agreed to and to keep a record of your consent and any opt-out. No mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. We do not sell, rent or share mobile numbers or text-message opt-in data and consent with anyone for their marketing. We share them only with the service providers that deliver our messages (such as our messaging platform and our text-message provider), solely to provide the messaging service, and where the law requires.

7. 10DLC campaign registration checklist

Carriers reject campaigns whose website, opt-in or privacy policy does not match what is registered. Before you submit:

• Brand: exact legal business name as on your EIN letter, your EIN, business address, and a working website about your business (not a parked or login-only page).
• Use case: pick the one that matches what you send (for example "Customer Care" or "Account Notifications" for appointment texts, "Marketing" for offers). Register a separate campaign if you send both.
• Message flow (call to action): describe exactly how people opt in, and include links to your SMS terms and privacy policy. Example: "Customers opt in by ticking an unchecked box next to the phone field on our online booking page at [BOOKING PAGE URL]. The box reads: '[paste your opt-in wording]'. SMS Terms: [SMS TERMS URL]. Privacy Policy: [PRIVACY POLICY URL]."
• Sample messages: two or three real examples that name your business and include opt-out text, for example "[BUSINESS NAME]: Reminder, your appointment is tomorrow at 3:00 PM. Reply C to confirm. Reply STOP to opt out."
• Opt-in, opt-out and help keywords and replies: the replies from section 4.
• Privacy policy: includes the section 6 paragraph, and nothing in it says mobile numbers or consent may be shared, sold or transferred to third parties, affiliates or lead generators.
• Content: no SHAFT content (sex, hate, alcohol, firearms, tobacco, including cannabis and vaping) unless your campaign is approved for it with age checks, and no third-party lead generation.

8. Questions

Email hello@halosuite.ai. We can explain how HaloSuite's settings work; we cannot give legal advice about your business.