Customers · Effective
Messaging Policy
Every text sent through MapKnock follows this policy. It reflects federal and state texting law, the phone carriers’ rules and our own standards, and most of it is enforced by the product. Workspaces accept it before texting is turned on. It is part of the Terms of Service.
1. Consent comes first
You may text a person only after they opt in to texts from your business on your MapKnock opt-in page. The page shows your business name, what the texts are about, that they are recurring and may include offers, that consent isn’t a condition of purchase, that message and data rates may apply, and how to reply STOP and HELP. The person ticks an unticked box beside those words. MapKnock records the exact words, the time, the page and the device it came from, and sends one confirmation text.
Consent doesn’t come from anywhere else. In particular, these are not consent:
- a phone number from a contact lookup, a website visit, a public record or a purchased or shared list;
- a conversation at the door or on the phone, or a business card, unless the person then opts in on your page;
- consent given to another business, a lead seller or a comparison site; and
- a spreadsheet of people you believe agreed. Consent imports are not offered.
Share your opt-in page honestly: on estimates and invoices, your website, yard signs, door hangers, mail and in conversation. Don’t offer payment or prizes in exchange for opting in unless the offer and its rules are clearly stated.
2. What every text must do
- Name your business as it is registered with the carriers.
- In the first text of a conversation, say how to opt out, for example “Reply STOP to opt out”.
- Stay within the purpose the person signed up for and that your carrier registration describes.
- Use links only to your own domain. Public link shorteners are blocked.
- Keep it short: messages longer than two segments are blocked.
- Follow the content rules in the Acceptable Use and Content Policy.
3. When texts go out
- Only between 8am and 8pm in the recipient’s local time, judged by the phone number’s area code. Your workspace may set a narrower window.
- No more than three texts to the same person in 24 hours, as Oregon law requires, or fewer if your workspace sets a lower cap.
- A person on your team approves each campaign or reply before it is sent. MapKnock doesn’t send texts on a schedule or a trigger without that approval.
4. Stopping texts
A person can stop texts at any time, in any reasonable way. MapKnock treats all of these as a request to stop:
- replying STOP, END, CANCEL, UNSUBSCRIBE, QUIT, STOPALL or similar keywords;
- plain-language replies such as “please stop texting me” or “take me off your list”;
- a “do not contact” recorded by your team after a request at the door or on the phone; and
- a request on the MapKnock privacy choices page.
A stop request ends texts from your business at once and blocks the number on every MapKnock workspace. The person gets one confirmation text and nothing more. Only the person can undo it, by opting in again or replying START. A “do not contact” your team records is honored for five years; your team can undo it only within one hour, to fix a mistake, and after that only the person can lift it by opting in again on your page. Reply HELP always returns your business name and how to reach you.
5. State rules
Some states add requirements for marketing texts, such as Oregon’s hours and frequency limits, Washington’s and California’s consent rules, and Florida’s and Oklahoma’s telephone solicitation acts. Because MapKnock texts only people who gave written consent, inside an 8am to 8pm window and three-a-day cap, it is built to meet the strictest of them. Laws change; the compliance guide in your workspace lists the ones we track, and your attorney should confirm what applies to you.
6. Records and privacy
MapKnock keeps each opt-in, opt-out and message for at least five years so you can show a person agreed and that their choice was honored. You must give us records you hold about a person’s consent, and help answer a carrier or regulator, within five business days of our request.
Mobile information and text messaging opt-in data and consent are never shared with or sold to third parties or affiliates for their marketing or promotional purposes. A number collected through an opt-in page or a text conversation is never used in contact lookups or provided to any other business.
7. Carrier registration
Your business is registered with The Campaign Registry under its own legal name and tax ID, with a truthful description of its texts, sample messages and how people opt in. Keep that information accurate. Texts that don’t match your registration can lead carriers to block your number or campaign, and MapKnock may pause sending to prevent that.
8. Monitoring and enforcement
MapKnock checks messages before they send and reviews complaints, carrier reports and opt-out rates. We may block a text, pause a campaign or number, or suspend texting for a workspace to protect recipients, carriers and other customers, and we will tell you why. Repeated or serious breaches can end your use of texting or of MapKnock.