Texting & Two-Way Text (SMS)

This article covers the texting (SMS) features available on your account, how consent and opt-in/opt-out work, and what you're responsible for as the sender when you text your customers.

Texting Capabilities Overview

Depending on your account's enabled features, you may have access to:

• Two-Way Text — a shared inbox where you and your customers can text back and forth, from your business phone number.

• Mass SMS / Broadcast Messages — sending a message to many opted-in contacts at once.

• Review Requests — an automated text asking a customer to leave a review.

• Welcome Texts — an automated text sent to new contacts.

• Live Notifications — a text letting subscribers know when your stream goes live.

• Compliance Enrollment Reminders — periodic reminders inviting a contact to opt in to texting.

Every text your account sends goes through Twilio, using a phone number assigned to your business. All messages — sent and received — are logged in your account for your records.

Two-Way Text

Two-Way Text lets you view and reply to text conversations with your customers from a single panel.

• Messages can only be sent during your configured business hours (except for automated compliance replies like HELP/STOP confirmations).

• You can attach a single image (JPEG, PNG, or GIF, up to ~0.6MB) if your account has the attachment feature enabled.

• Message templates are available to speed up common replies.

• Every outbound message automatically appends HELP=Help, STOP=Unsubscribe where required, so recipients always have a way to get help or opt out.

Consent: Opt-In, Opt-Out, and Message Categories

Texting law (see Legal Responsibility & Liability below) requires that a contact has given permission before you send them certain kinds of messages, and that they can always revoke that permission. The platform tracks this per contact, per phone number, so you don't have to track it manually:

Opt-in/opt-out keywords are handled automatically:

• Opt-in keywords (e.g. START, YES, UNSTOP, TEXT, OFFERS, PROMO) enroll the contact in the matching category and trigger an automatic confirmation reply.

• Opt-out keywords (STOP, CANCEL, END, QUIT, UNSUBSCRIBE, STOPALL, REVOKE, OPTOUT) immediately mark the contact as opted out of all categories. This cannot be overridden manually — once a contact opts out, no further messages (including Two-Way Text replies) can be sent to them until they opt back in themselves.

• HELP always triggers an automatic reply with support/compliance info, even for numbers that aren't yet saved as a contact.

Replying to a customer who texts you first. If a contact texts your business without ever sending an opt-in keyword, you can still reply to that specific conversation for a limited window (72 hours from their last incoming message) — this covers the common case of someone asking a question without formally "opting in" first. This window only applies to direct Two-Way Text replies, never to Mass SMS, review requests, or other promotional/automated messages, and it never applies once a contact has opted out. It is not a substitute for real consent if you want to message that contact on an ongoing basis — for that, they still need to complete an actual opt-in.

Legal Responsibility & Liability

You, the business sending the messages, are the "sender" under the law — not Ke-Designz/ChtrBot. The platform gives you tools to track consent and honor opt-outs automatically, but it cannot make legal decisions for you or guarantee your compliance. This section is general information, not legal advice. If texting is a meaningful part of how you reach customers, talk to an attorney familiar with telemarketing/texting law in your state.

In the United States, business texting is primarily governed by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), enforced by the FCC, plus a growing number of state-level texting laws (for example Florida, Oklahoma, and Washington all have their own rules, some stricter than federal law). Key things to know:

• Consent matters, and it's scoped. A contact texting your business first generally gives you permission to reply on that topic — it does not give you permission to send them marketing texts indefinitely. Marketing/promotional texts generally require clearer, more deliberate consent than a single inbound question does.

• Opt-outs must be honored immediately. If a contact replies STOP (or a similar keyword), you cannot text them again until they opt back in. The platform enforces this automatically and will block further sends — do not attempt to work around it.

• Penalties are real and per-message. TCPA violations can carry statutory damages per unsolicited message, and this area is heavily litigated. "I didn't know" is not a reliable defense.

• State law can be stricter than federal law. Depending on where your customers are located, you may have additional obligations beyond the TCPA.

• Content moderation is not legal review. Messages are automatically screened for policy violations before sending, but this is a content filter, not a compliance or legal check.

Best practices:

• Only send promotional/marketing texts to contacts who have clearly opted in to that category.

• Never manually re-enable texting to a contact who has opted out — let them opt back in themselves.

• Keep your business hours and sender information accurate so automated compliance messaging (HELP/STOP replies) works correctly.

• When in doubt about whether a message is "informational" or "promotional," treat it as promotional and make sure you have that consent first.

Need Help?

Submit a Ticket if you have questions about your texting setup, consent status for a specific contact, or anything else in this article.