SmartAlex SMS and Text Messaging Compliance Policy
1. Purpose and scope
This SMS and Text Messaging Compliance Policy (this "Policy") explains the rules that apply when the Services are used to send SMS or other text messages. It is issued by THERCSGROUP PTE. LTD., trading as SmartAlex ("SmartAlex", "we", "us", or "our"), in connection with the SmartAlex platform, websites, applications, and APIs (the "Services").
SmartAlex provides the platform. The Customer runs its own messaging. In this Policy, "Customer" means the business that holds a SmartAlex account and configures and operates the Services, "End User" means a person the Customer sends text messages to through the Services, and "Messages" means SMS and other text messages sent through the Services. As between SmartAlex and the Customer, the Customer decides who is messaged, what those Messages say, and when they are sent, and the Customer is responsible for its own messaging programme and for complying with the law that applies to it.
This Policy supplements our Acceptable Use Policy, our Outbound Calling and Telemarketing Policy, and our Privacy Policy. Where those documents govern a topic in more detail, they control on that topic. This Policy is a statement of the rules we expect Customers to follow. It is not legal advice, and it does not vary any negotiated agreement between SmartAlex and a Customer. Where there is a conflict between this Policy and such an agreement, that agreement prevails as between SmartAlex and the Customer.
2. Consent and opt-in
The Customer must obtain the consent required in each jurisdiction in which it operates before sending any marketing or other non-transactional Messages, and must keep records that demonstrate that consent. Consent standards differ by jurisdiction and by message type, and the Customer is responsible for determining what standard applies to each of its Messages.
- the Customer must have a lawful basis and, where required, the consent of the End User before a Message is sent to that End User;
- in the United States, Messages sent using an automatic telephone dialling system, or that are otherwise regulated under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act ("TCPA"), generally require prior express consent, and marketing or advertising Messages generally require prior express written consent from the End User;
- the Customer must keep records of when, how, and for what purpose each End User gave consent, and must be able to produce those records on reasonable request;
- the Customer must honour the scope of the consent it obtained, and must not use consent given for one purpose to send Messages of a different kind.
SmartAlex does not obtain consent on the Customer's behalf and does not verify the consent position of any list the Customer uploads or messages.
3. Registration and sender identity
Text messaging depends on the registration and routing rules of the mobile carriers and the wider messaging ecosystem. The Customer must complete any registration those rules require and must send only from approved, registered sending identities.
- for application-to-person messaging to United States mobile numbers over the 10-digit long code channel ("10DLC"), the Customer must complete brand registration and campaign registration through the messaging ecosystem, and must describe its use case and sample content accurately;
- the Customer must send only from sending identities, sender IDs, or numbers that are registered and approved for its use case, and must not send from an identity registered for a different purpose;
- the Customer must not engage in snowshoeing, that is, spreading similar traffic across many numbers or identities to evade filtering or volume limits, and must not use grey routes or other unauthorised routing to bypass carrier controls;
- the Customer must keep its registration details accurate and up to date, and must not misrepresent its identity, its business, or the nature of its messaging.
The providers we engage to deliver Messages act as subprocessors. The current list is published at our Subprocessor List.
4. Opt-out and help
End Users must be able to stop receiving Messages and to ask for help at any time. The Customer must support standard opt-out and help handling and must act on opt-out requests promptly.
- the Customer must recognise and honour standard opt-out keywords such as STOP, END, CANCEL, and UNSUBSCRIBE, and must recognise standard help keywords such as HELP and INFO;
- opt-out requests must be processed immediately, and the Customer must stop sending Messages to an End User who has opted out, other than any single confirmation of the opt-out where that is expected;
- the Customer must maintain suppression lists of opted-out End Users and must not message a number that appears on a suppression list unless the End User validly opts in again;
- where required, Messages must identify the sender and must include clear instructions on how to opt out.
The Customer must not remove, obscure, or interfere with opt-out or help handling, and must not penalise an End User for opting out.
5. Content and carrier rules
The Customer must comply with the carrier and industry messaging rules that apply to each channel it uses, in addition to the law. Those rules restrict certain content categories and change over time.
- Messages must not contain unlawful, deceptive, or misleading content, and must not misrepresent the sender or the purpose of the Message;
- the Customer must observe restrictions and heightened requirements that carriers or industry bodies place on prohibited or high-risk content categories, which commonly include content relating to controlled or age-restricted goods, gambling, high-risk financial offers, and similar sensitive categories;
- Messages must not contain phishing content, links to malware, or links intended to deceive the End User, and must not be used to harvest credentials or defeat security controls;
- the Customer is responsible for the accuracy and lawfulness of all links, media, and content in its Messages.
Carrier and ecosystem rules operate independently of SmartAlex, and Messages may be filtered, throttled, or blocked by carriers regardless of any action by SmartAlex.
6. Frequency and quiet hours
The Customer must message at a reasonable frequency and must respect timing restrictions.
- the Customer must not send Messages at a frequency that is excessive or that an End User would not reasonably expect given the consent obtained;
- where quiet hours or permitted contact windows apply, whether by law, by carrier or industry rule, or by the End User's local time, the Customer must send Messages only within those windows;
- the Customer is responsible for determining the End User's applicable time zone and the quiet-hour rules that apply to it.
7. South Africa and other regions
Where the Customer sends Messages to End Users in South Africa, the Protection of Personal Information Act ("POPIA") and the Consumer Protection Act ("CPA") apply in addition to the general rules above.
- direct marketing by electronic communication, including SMS, is regulated by section 69 of POPIA, which generally requires the prior consent of the data subject to be approached for direct marketing, subject to the limited existing-customer exception in that section;
- the CPA gives consumers the right to opt out of direct marketing and contemplates a national opt-out registry operated in connection with the National Consumer Commission, and the Customer must respect a consumer's exercise of these rights;
- for the CPA position, see our South African Consumer Protection Act Notice;
- for all other regions, the Customer must comply with the local messaging, consent, and marketing laws that apply to the End Users it messages there.
SmartAlex does not determine which regional laws apply to a given messaging programme; the Customer is responsible for that assessment.
8. Prohibited use
The Customer must not use, and must not permit any person to use, the Services to send Messages that are spam, that are sent to recipients who have not given any required consent, or that are unlawful, fraudulent, deceptive, harassing, threatening, or abusive. This includes bulk unsolicited messaging, messaging that facilitates a scam, and messaging that harasses or intimidates an End User. These prohibitions are in addition to, and do not narrow, the restrictions in our Acceptable Use Policy, which continues to apply to all use of the Services.
9. Enforcement
We may investigate suspected breaches of this Policy. Where we reasonably believe that a Customer, or a person acting through a Customer's account, has breached this Policy or our Acceptable Use Policy, we may suspend, restrict, or limit access to the Services or to specific messaging features, in whole or in part, and may take further action in accordance with the applicable agreement between us. We will act proportionately and, where practicable, will give notice, but we may act without prior notice where there is a risk of harm, unlawful conduct, or continuing abuse. Carriers, the messaging ecosystem, and regulators may also take their own action, including filtering, throttling, blocking, deregistration, or penalties, independently of SmartAlex.
10. Relationship to other documents
This Policy works together with our Outbound Calling and Telemarketing Policy, which governs voice calls and telemarketing, and our Acceptable Use Policy, which governs use of the Services generally. It should be read together with those documents and with our Privacy Policy. This Policy does not replace any of them. Nothing in this Policy limits or excludes any right that cannot be limited or excluded under the law that applies to you.
11. Updates and contact
We may update this Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the Services, in the messaging ecosystem and carrier rules, or in applicable law. When we make a material change, we will update the version and effective date below.
For questions about the Services or about configuring your messaging, contact support@getsmartalex.com. For questions about this Policy, contact legal@getsmartalex.com.
This Policy is issued by THERCSGROUP PTE. LTD. (UEN 202543608D), 160 Robinson Road, #14-04 Singapore Business Federation Center, Singapore 068914, and is governed by the laws of the Republic of Singapore.
12. Version and effective date
This SMS and Text Messaging Compliance Policy is version 1.0 and is effective from 8 July 2026.