Preference Centers for SMS: Why Text Opt-Ins Need Their Own Rules
A customer opted out of email and kept getting texts. The texts are a different channel, with different consent, and a different law.
Text messages need their own preference center, because the rules for SMS are different from the rules for email. TCPA requires prior express written consent for marketing texts, and the penalty is $500 to $997 per text. A preference center that treats SMS like email will get the company sued.
The channel with its own law
Text messages are not email with a shorter format. They are a different channel, governed by a different law, and the law is stricter. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, TCPA, requires prior express written consent for marketing texts, and the penalty for getting it wrong is $500 to $997 per text in statutory damages. A campaign that sends 10,000 texts without proper consent can generate millions of dollars in liability, and the liability is per text, not per campaign.
The consent has to be written, and it has to be specific to text messages. A customer who consented to email has not consented to text. A customer who consented to texts about order updates has not consented to marketing texts. A pre-checked box does not count, because the customer did not actively agree. The box has to be unchecked by default, and the customer has to check it themselves, in writing, before the first marketing text goes out.
The reason the law is strict is that a text message is more intrusive than an email. An email sits in an inbox until the recipient opens it. A text message arrives on a phone, makes a sound, and demands attention. The law treats that intrusion as a cost, and the cost is the consent requirement.
The routing rule that is not a consent rule
A2P 10DLC is the system that routes application-to-person text messages through US carriers, and registration has been mandatory for US carrier routing since 2023. A business that wants to send texts to US numbers has to register its brand and its campaign with the carriers, and the carriers will block unregistered traffic.
The trap is to confuse registration with compliance. 10DLC registration is a routing requirement. TCPA compliance is a consent requirement. A business can be registered on 10DLC and still be liable under TCPA if it does not have proper consent. Registration gets the text delivered. Consent makes the text legal. The two are different, and the business needs both.
The preference center has to reflect that distinction. It should show the customer what they consented to, when they consented, and what they can change. It should separate marketing texts from transactional texts, because the consent for one is not the consent for the other. And it should make it easy to opt out, because the opt-out is the part the law cares about most.
The opt-out that has to work
The opt-out keywords for SMS are STOP, END, CANCEL, UNSUBSCRIBE, and QUIT. If a customer replies with any of them, the business has to stop texting them, and the revocation has to be honored within 10 business days at most. The 10 days is the maximum. The best practice is to honor it immediately, because a customer who opts out and keeps getting texts is a customer who will complain, and the complaint is the evidence for a TCPA claim.
The opt-out has to work for the channel the customer is opting out of. A customer who opts out of email and keeps getting texts has not opted out of anything that matters, because the texts are a different channel. The preference center has to treat SMS as a separate channel, with its own consent, its own opt-out, and its own record.
There is also the SHAFT list, the prohibited content list for SMS, which covers sex, hate, alcohol, firearms, and tobacco. A marketing text that includes prohibited content can be blocked by the carriers, even if the consent is valid. The preference center should not offer a customer the option to receive content that cannot be sent.
Building the preference center for SMS
A preference center for SMS should start with the consent record. Show the customer what they agreed to, when they agreed, and what the agreement covers. If the consent was for order updates, the preference center should say so, and it should not offer marketing texts as if the consent covered them.
The center should separate the channels. Email, SMS, and push are three different channels with three different consent records, and the customer should be able to change one without changing the others. A customer who opts out of SMS should still get email, unless they opt out of email too. The channels are independent, and the preference center should treat them that way.
The center should also make the opt-out obvious. The STOP keyword should be in every marketing text, and the preference center should have a clear, single-click opt-out for SMS. A customer who has to hunt for the opt-out is a customer who will use the carrier's spam report instead, and the spam report is the one that gets the number blocked.
Keep reading
Related guides on this site: how channel preferences work across email, SMS, and push how re-permission campaigns work for dormant subscribers the 10DLC registration trap in SMS opt-outs More from Preference driven product discovery.
Frequently asked questions
What consent does TCPA require for marketing texts?
Prior express written consent, which means the customer agreed in writing, in advance, to receive marketing texts. A pre-checked box does not count. A verbal agreement does not count. The consent has to be written, and it has to be specific to text messages.
What is the penalty for texting without consent?
Between $500 and $997 per text, in statutory damages. A campaign that sends 10,000 texts without proper consent can generate millions of dollars in liability, which is why the consent has to be right before the first text goes out.
What is A2P 10DLC?
A2P 10DLC is the system that routes application-to-person text messages through US carriers. Registration has been mandatory for US carrier routing since 2023. It is a routing requirement, not a consent requirement, and registering does not make a text compliant with TCPA.
Which words opt a customer out of texts?
Five words: STOP, END, CANCEL, UNSUBSCRIBE, and QUIT. If a customer replies with any of them, the business has to stop texting them, and the revocation has to be honored within 10 business days at most.
Does a pre-checked box count as consent?
No. A pre-checked box does not count as prior express written consent, because the customer did not actively agree. The box has to be unchecked by default, and the customer has to check it themselves.
Does 10DLC registration mean my texts are TCPA compliant?
No. 10DLC registration is a carrier routing requirement. TCPA compliance is a consent requirement. A business can be registered on 10DLC and still be liable under TCPA if it does not have proper consent.