SMS Consent Collection

SMS marketing is a highly regulated medium, so we’ve prepared this article to make sure that you meet all the requirements needed to collect textable phone numbers from your clients in a compliant manner. 

First steps

Before we get into the details, make sure that you:

• Are already subscribed to the Growth plan, which includes all of our text features.
• Have already registered your toll-free number and got approved.
• Will be collecting and sending messages to numbers registered in the United States and Canada (+1 country code).

How to collect textable phone numbers

At this time, the only way to collect textable phone numbers from your clients is by having a SMS sign up Convert display which can be set up through your Privy account - this feature is included in the Growth plan as well.

Start by creating a new onsite display with SMS collection in mind or by adding a phone number field + opt-in form to one of your existing displays. We have another article with a detailed tutorial on how to do that!

It’s also important to note that all customers signing up with a phone number will have to go through the double opt-in process to become textable, we'll go over the details of that process in the next section.

How does SMS double opt-in work? 

To become a textable contact on your list, your customers will go through the double opt-in process - which consists of:

1. Signing up on your display that contains a phone number + opt-in forms;
2. Replying YES to the confirmation SMS sent after the first step. Here’s what that looks like on the customers’ end:

Once they reply YES to the opt-in text, that’s it - they will be added as a textable contact to your Privy account!

Customers can  choose to unsubscribe at any time by responding STOP to any of your texts. They can become textable again by signing up once again through and SMS form. They will need to repeat the double opt-in process again as well.

FAQ

Can I send text messages to anyone that gives me their phone number?

No, you can only send text messages to contacts that go through the double opt-in process, explicitly giving you their consent to receiving text messages.

Can I send text messages to contacts that opted-in to receive emails from me? 

No, email consent is separate from SMS consent and must be collected within their respective methods for collection - email consent being collectable via displays through single/double opt-in, and SMS consent only through double opt-in.

Am I required to have an opt-in checkbox to collect SMS consent?

Yes, the checkbox is required and must be placed before or adjacent to the consent checkbox. 

Can I import textable phone numbers to my Privy account? 

No, at this time there is no way to import textable phone numbers to your Privy account. All SMS contacts must be collected through the onsite displays.