Opt-Out and Compliance - Waveline Support

Outbound business messages should be sent only to people who agreed to receive them. Waveline supports outbound registration and carrier-recognized opt-out requests, but your business remains responsible for collecting consent, respecting customer requests, and sending content consistent with its registered use case.

Your business is responsible for consent

SMS registration confirms information about your business and messaging use case. It does not give your business permission to message a particular recipient. Collect appropriate consent before sending and honor every request to stop.

Before sending outbound messages

Complete outbound SMS registration.
Confirm that the recipient agreed to receive the type of message being sent.
Make sure the message matches the use case described during registration.
Know where your organization stores its consent records.
Train teammates to recognize requests to stop receiving messages.

Outbound SMS registration allows applicable Waveline numbers to send business messages through supported carrier networks. Consent is the permission an individual recipient gave your business to contact them.

An approved registration does not replace recipient consent. Similarly, having a customer's phone number in Contacts does not mean they agreed to receive messages.

Depending on your organization's requirements, retain information such as:

When consent was provided.
How it was collected.
The form, page, or conversation through which it was provided.
What kinds of messages the recipient agreed to receive.
The wording shown when consent was collected.
When and how the recipient later opted out.

Waveline preserves the conversation history, but your organization may need to retain the original website form, agreement, or other consent record separately.

If you collect text sign-ups through a Waveline-hosted business website, see Export website text sign-ups to download the records available there.

Identify the business and explain how to opt out

When a recipient may not recognize the sending number, clearly identify the business. Initial outreach should also explain how the recipient can stop future messages.

For example:

John Doe LLC: Your appointment is confirmed for [Date] at [Time]. Reply STOP to opt out.

Messages should remain consistent with the reason the recipient originally agreed to be contacted.

What happens when someone replies STOP

A recognized opt-out reply such as STOP prevents further messages covered by that opt-out. The recipient may receive an automatic confirmation. A later sending attempt may show Failed with an explanation that the recipient opted out.

Stop messaging the recipient across your organization. Do not retry from another Waveline number or depend on a failed-send warning to record their request. The recipient must choose to opt back in before you resume messaging them.

Honor clear requests that are not exact keywords

A customer may write "Please do not text me again," "Remove me from your list," or another clear request instead of sending only STOP.

Treat any clear request as an opt-out even if it does not trigger an automatic carrier response. Stop messaging the recipient and record the request according to your organization's compliance process.

How a recipient opts back in

The recipient can reply START from their own phone to the Waveline number used for the conversation. If messages remain blocked, contact Waveline Support rather than trying another sending number.

A teammate should not send the opt-in keyword on the recipient's behalf. Your business must still confirm and document appropriate consent before resuming messages.

What teammates may see in Waveline

The recipient's STOP or START message may appear in the conversation. An automatic confirmation may not appear as a message sent by your team.

If a recipient is opted out, a later outbound attempt may display Failed. Review the displayed failure information and do not repeatedly resend the message.

SMS opt-outs and the Do-Not-Call List are different

	SMS opt-out	Do-Not-Call List
Controls	Outbound business messages to the recipient	Incoming calls and messages from the blocked number
Started by	The recipient or another clear request to stop messaging	A teammate using mobile Settings or a supported call or conversation action
Affects calls	Not by itself	Blocks incoming calls across the organization
Affects text messages	Blocks future outbound business messages to the recipient	Blocks incoming messages from the number but does not replace recording an outbound opt-out

See Do-Not-Call List for blocking incoming calls and messages.

Keep messages consistent with the registered use case

Send only the categories of messages described during registration and expected by the recipient. Avoid purchased contact lists, deceptive content, misleading urgency, public link shorteners, and messages unrelated to the original consent.

If your business needs to change its approved texting use, contact Waveline Support. Updating your website or saved snippets does not change the approved registration. See Register for SMS.

Stop scheduled and manually sent messages to that recipient.
Record the request through your organization's compliance process.
Make sure teammates who may contact the recipient understand the restriction.
Do not switch to another Waveline number to avoid the opt-out.
Use another contact method only when it is appropriate and permitted.

Best practices

Obtain consent before the first outbound message.
Identify the business when the number may be unfamiliar.
Provide clear opt-out instructions.
Keep messages relevant to the consent that was provided.
Treat informal but clear requests as opt-outs.
Retain the records your organization needs to demonstrate consent.
Review failed messages before attempting to send again.
Consult qualified legal counsel when your business is unsure which requirements apply.

Troubleshooting

The customer replied STOP, but the conversation still exists

Opting out does not delete the conversation or its history. It prevents future outbound messaging.

A message says the recipient opted out

Stop sending. Do not retry from another Waveline number.

The customer wants to receive messages again

Ask them to reply START from their own phone. Do not perform the opt-in for them.

The customer asked to stop without using STOP

Honor the request and record it through your organization's process.

The automatic confirmation is not visible in Waveline

Automatic confirmations may not appear as messages sent by your team. Do not send another confirmation just because it is not displayed.

Messages are filtered even though the recipient did not opt out

Review the content, sending number, and registration status under Message Delivery Issues.