General Policies/Requirements. We all expect that the messages and communications we want to send and receive will reach the intended recipient(s), unhindered by filtering or other blockers. An important step you can take to make that expectation a reality is to prevent unwanted communications by only sending messages and communications that comply with applicable laws and communications-industry guidelines/standards. To that end, all communications originating from your use of the Services (including but not limited to SMS, MMS, webchat, voice, and similar messaging channels available through the Services) are subject to, and must comply with this Policy, which sets out certain rules and/or prohibitions regarding: Consent (“opt-in”); Revocation of Consent (“opt-out”); Sender identification; Messaging Usage; Prohibited Content; Filtering Evasion; and Enforcement.

• Consent Requirements
  
  • Standard Consent Requirements. Prior to sending the first message to an individual, you must obtain agreement from the message recipient to communicate with them — this is referred to as “consent.” You must make clear to the individual they are agreeing to receive messages of the type you’re going to send.
    
    • You need to keep a record of the consent, such as a copy of the document or form that the message recipient signed, or a timestamp of when the customer completed a sign-up flow or otherwise provided consent. This record of consent must be retained as set forth by local regulations or best practices after the end user opts out of receiving messages.
    • If you do not send an initial message to that individual within a reasonable period after receiving consent (or as set forth by local regulations or best practices), then you will need to reconfirm consent in the first message you send to that recipient.
    • The consent applies only to you, and to the specific use that the recipient has consented to. Consent can’t be bought, sold, or exchanged. For example, you can’t obtain the consent of message recipients by purchasing a phone list from another party. You also can’t treat it as blanket consent allowing you to send messages from other brands or companies you may have, or additional messages about other uses for which you haven’t received consent.
  • Alternative Consent Requirements. While consent is always required and the consent requirements noted above are generally the safest path, there are two scenarios where consent can be received differently.
    
    • Contact initiated by an individual
      
      • If an individual sends a message to you, you may respond in an exchange with that individual. For example, if an individual texts your phone number asking for your hours of operation, you can respond directly to that individual, relaying your open hours. In such a case, the individual’s inbound message to you constitutes both consent and proof of consent. Remember that the consent is limited only to that particular conversation. Unless you obtain additional consent, don’t send messages that are outside that conversation.
    • Informational content to an individual based on a prior relationship
      
      • You may send a message to an individual where you have a prior relationship, provided that individual provided their phone number to you, and has taken some action to trigger the potential communication, and has not opted out or otherwise expressed a preference to not receive messages from you.
      • Actions can include a button press, alert setup, appointments, or order placements. Examples of acceptable messages in these scenarios include appointment reminders, receipts, one-time passwords, order/shipping/reservation confirmations, drivers coordinating pick-up locations with riders, and repair persons confirming service call times. The message can’t attempt to promote a product, convince someone to buy something, or advocate for a social cause.
  • Periodic Messages and Ongoing Consent.
    
    • If you intend to send messages to a recipient on an ongoing basis, you should confirm the recipient’s consent by offering them a clear reminder of how to unsubscribe from those messages using standard opt-out language (defined below). You must also respect the message recipient’s preferences in terms of frequency of contact. You also need to proactively ask individuals to reconfirm their consent as set forth by local regulations and best practices.
• Identifying Yourself as the Sender
  
  • Every message you send must clearly identify you (the party that obtained the opt-in from the recipient) as the sender, except in follow-up messages of an ongoing conversation.
• Opt-out
  
  • The initial message that you send to an individual needs to include the following language: “Reply STOP to unsubscribe,” or the equivalent using another standard opt-out keyword, such as STOP, STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, and QUIT.
  • Individuals must have the ability to revoke consent at any time by replying with a standard opt-out keyword. When an individual opts out, you may deliver one final message to confirm that the opt-out has been processed, but any subsequent messages are not allowed. An individual must once again provide consent before you can send any additional messages.