In many countries, the use of Text Messaging (SMS) is governed by the same regulations that apply to email with regarding to activities considered to be spamming (SPAM). There have also been examples where some governments have banned or restricted the use of Text Messaging (SMS) during times of heightened political tension.

While we cannot enforce restrictions how this software might be used, we can implement features that reduce the risk for our customers in inadvertently infringing on the opt-out provisions outlines in spam act legislation developed in different countries within reason. One of the most common requests from consumers not wishing to receive Text Messages (SMS) is the ability to opt out. This is generally done by send a Text Message (SMS) back to the sender (originator) with the word ‘STOP’ (in capital letters). The sender would then be obliged to comply and remove this number from the list of future Text Message (SMS) recipients. The simple answer might be to remove the record from the act! database, however this does not guarantee that the number might find it’s way back into the database through a list import or as a result of some database synchronization.

In order to guard against future messages going to this number the Message Suppression feature stores it’s own record of these replies as well as providing the ability to add your own numbers to this list. The feature allows you to manage you own message suppression list that will be used every time a message is sent from the software.

The purpose of the Black List is to manage a suppression list (or BLACK list) of those numbers related to SPAM text messages being received. This list will be used to block any text messages coming from a number included in the Black List.

Why is this feature important? Well many customers that purchase virtual numbers from message providers have found that they have been allocated a number that may have been used previously by text marketers. This number may have been promoted or advertised and other text marketers may have thought this number fair game for reverse marketing. As a result the new user of the number was inundated with SPAM marketing campaigns. Therefore, they needed a way to block these incoming texts as they were continually being treated as message replies to have to deal with and also recorded in their database.

The Black List feature stops all this by blocking the message when it is being received as each reply is checked against the Black List before appearing as an incoming reply for the user.