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The BurstSMS Anti-Spam Policy

At BurstSMS, we take permission very seriously. By creating an account and agreeing to our Terms of Use, you are also agreeing to this anti-spam policy. The law isn't enough, it's permission that counts

While the CAN-SPAM laws are a step in the right direction for reducing the spam problem, we don't feel they go far enough. Our definition of spam goes beyond the laws in most countries and encompasses what we believe to be true permission mobile marketing.

Spam is any SMS you send to someone who hasn't given you their direct permission to contact them on the topic of the message.

But that's not enough. Permission is a fuzzy word open to interpretation. Let's get into some specific scenarios so it's clear what does and doesn't constitute permission. What kind of mobile numbers are OK to send to with BurstSMS?

To send SMS to anyone using BurstSMS, you must have clearly obtained their permission. This could be done through:

  • A subscribe form on your web site.
  • An opt-in checkbox on a form. This checkbox must not be checked by default, the person completing the form must willingly select the checkbox to indicate they want to hear from you.
  • If someone completes an offline form like a survey or enters a competition, you can only contact them if it was explained to them that they would be contacted by email AND they ticked a box indicating they would like to be contacted.
  • Customers who have purchased from you within the last 2 years.
  • If someone gives you their business card and you have explained to them that you will be in touch, you can contact them. If they dropped their business card in a fishbowl at a trade show, there must be a sign indicating they will be contacted by SMS.

Basically, you can only ever SMS anyone who has clearly given you permission to message them specifically about the subject you're contacting them about. What kind of mobile numbers ARE NOT OK to send to with BurstSMS?

Anything outside the examples above doesn't equal permission in our eyes, but here are some examples to make sure we're crystal clear. By using BurstSMS, you agree not to import or send to any mobile numbers which:

  • You do not have explicit, provable permission to contact in relation to the topic of the SMS you're sending.
  • You bought, loaned, rented or in any way acquired from a third party, no matter what they claim about quality or permission. You need to obtain permission yourself.
  • You haven't contacted via SMS in the last 2 years. Permission doesn't age well and these people have either changed numbers or won't remember giving their permission in the first place.
  • You scraped or copy and pasted from the web or anywhere else. Just because you have someone's number doesn't mean they want to hear from you.

Sure, some of these people might have given you their mobile numbers, but what's missing is your permission to SMS them commercial messages. Blasting promotional messages to any of these people won't be effective and will more than likely see your message marked as spam by many of your recipients.

What content MUST I include in my message?

Every SMS you send using BurstSMS must include the following:

  • An Opt-Out reply mechanism that instantly removes the subscriber from your list. Once they unsubscribe, you can never message them again.

How we'll know if you don't have permission

BurstSMS has numerous layers of approval and monitoring to ensure you comply with our anti-spam policy. Here's a few of them:

  • Our software is directly integrated into the spam reporting systems for some of the biggest global carriers. If you don't have permission and someone makes a complaint regarding your message, we'll know about it the moment that complaint is made. If you receive a complaint rate greater than 0.25% of all recipients (that's 25 complaints for every 10,000 recipients) your account will be terminated. This is a generous figure that takes into account false spam reports.
  • We monitor blacklists and our abuse accounts all day every day. We can pinpoint who is causing us delivery problems or attracting complaints very easily.

If we do discover that you're messaging people without their permission, we will terminate your account with BurstSMS immediately.

In the end, it's really common sense. Take off your marketing hat and put yourself in your recipient's shoes. If they don't recognize who you are or aren't interested in what you're sending, they'll think you're a spammer. It's that simple.

If you have any questions about our Anti-Spam Policy, or if you want to report spamming activity by one of our customers, please contact our abuse department at:

Postal Address
BurstSMS
10 Hart St
Surry Hills NSW 2010
Sydney, Australia

Email support@burstsms.com