ZipDeal Messaging Policy

THIS ZIPDEAL MESSAGING POLICY

FORMS PART OF AND IS INCORPORATED INTO

THE MASTER SUBSCRIPTION AGREEMENT

This Messaging Policy is applicable to Your use of Our Message platform in connection with Our Communications Service.

Your customers expect that the messages they want to receive will reach them, unimpeded by message filters or other blockers. You can help make that expectation reality by preventing unwanted messages. We require, therefore, that all Messages sent through Our Message platform are sent with the consent of the recipient, and that those messages comply with:

We treat all SMS messages transmitted through Our Message platform – regardless of use case or phone number type (e.g. long code, short code, or toll-free) – as Application-to-Person (A2P) messaging. All A2P messages originating from ZipDeal are subject to this Messaging Policy, which covers:

(1)        Consent / Opt-In;

(2)        Revocation of Consent / Opt-Out;

(3)        Sender Identification;

(4)        Use Restrictions / Prohibited Content;

(5)        Filter Evasion; and

(6)        Policy Violations.

  1. Consent / Opt-in

1.1       What Is Proper Consent?

Consent can’t be purchased, sold, or transferred. For example, You can’t obtain the consent of message recipients by purchasing a phone list.

Apart from the two exceptions in Section 1.3 below, You must meet each of the following Consent Requirements.

1.2       Consent Requirements

(a)        Initial Consent.  Prior to sending the first message, You must obtain permission from the intended recipients to communicate with them – this is referred to as “consent”. You must make clear to the intended recipients that they are agreeing to receive messages of the type You’re going to send. You need to keep a record of the consent, such as a copy of the document or form that the message recipient signed or a timestamp of when the customer signed-up.

(b)        Reconfirmation of Consent. If You do not send an initial message to an individual within a reasonable period after receiving consent, then You will need to reconfirm consent in the first message You send to that recipient.

(c)        No Blanket Consent. The consent applies only to You and to the specific use or campaign that the recipient has consented to. You can’t treat it as blanket consent allowing You to send messages from other dealerships You may have or additional messages about other uses or campaigns.

(d)        Proof of Consent. Proof of opt-in consent should be retained after the recipient opts out of receiving messages.

1.3       Alternative Consent Requirements: The Two Exceptions

Although consent is always required and the consent requirements noted above are generally the safest path, there are two scenarios where consent can be received differently:

  • First Exception — Contact initiated by an individual

If an individual sends a message to You, You are free to respond in an exchange with that individual. For example, if an individual texts Your phone number asking for Your hours of operation, You can respond directly to that individual, communicating Your open hours. In such a case, the individual’s inbound message to You constitutes both consent and proof of consent.

Remember that the consent is limited only to that particular conversation. Unless You obtain additional consent, do not send messages that are outside that conversation.

  • Second Exception – Informational content to an individual based a prior relationship

You may send an informational message to an individual where You have a prior relationship, provided that individual provided their phone number to You, and has taken some action to trigger the potential communication, and has not expressed a preference to not receive messages from You. Actions can include a button press, alert setup, appointments, or order placements. Examples of acceptable messages in these scenarios include appointment confirmation and reminders, receipts, one-time passwords, reservation confirmations, drivers coordinating pick up locations with riders.

The informational message must not attempt to promote a product, convince someone to buy something, or advocate for a brand.

1.4       Periodic Messages and Ongoing Consent

If You intend to send messages to a recipient on an ongoing basis, You should confirm the recipient’s consent by offering them a clear reminder of how to unsubscribe from those messages using standard opt-out language (see Section 2 below). You must also respect the message recipient’s preferences in terms of frequency of contact. You also need to proactively ask individuals to reconfirm their consent as set forth by local regulations and industry best practices.

  1. Revocation of Consent / Opt-out
  • The initial message that You send to an individual needs to include the following language: “Reply STOP to unsubscribe,” or the equivalent using another standard opt-out keyword, such as STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, and QUIT.
  • Individuals must have the ability to revoke consent at any time by replying with a standard opt-out keyword. When an individual opts out, You may deliver one final message to confirm that the opt-out has been processed, but any subsequent messages are not allowed. An individual must once again provide consent before You can send any additional messages.
  1. Identifying Yourself as the Sender

Every message You send must clearly identify You (the party that obtained the opt-in from the recipient) as the sender, except in follow-up messages of an ongoing conversation.

  1. Use Restrictions -Prohibited Content

The key to ensuring that messaging remains a great channel for communication and innovation is preventing abusive use of messaging platforms. That means We never allow some types of content on Our Message platform, even if You get consent from recipients for that content. We prohibit the sending any content that is illegal, harmful, unwanted, inappropriate, objectionable, or otherwise poses a threat to the public, even if the content is permissible by law. Other prohibited uses include:

  • anything that is illegal in the jurisdiction where the message recipient lives;
  • harassment, exploitative or abusive communications;
  • fraudulent messages;
  • malicious content, such as malware or viruses; and
  • any content that is designed to intentionally evade filters (see Section 5 below).

You need to be able to provide proof that You have in place measures to ensure compliance with these restrictions.

  1. 5. Filter Evasion Prohibited

You may not use Our Message platform to evade ZipDeal’s or a telecommunications provider’s unwanted messaging detection and prevention mechanisms. Examples of prohibited practices include:

  • Content designed to evade detection. We do not allow content which has been specifically designed to evade detection by unwanted messaging detection and prevention mechanisms. This includes intentionally misspelled words or non-standard opt-out phrases which have been specifically created with the intent to evade these mechanisms.
  • Snowshoeing. We do not permit snowshoeing, which is defined as spreading similar or identical messages across many phone numbers with the intent or effect of evading unwanted messaging detection and prevention mechanisms.
  1. How We Handle Policy Violations

When We identify a violation of this Messaging Policy, where practical, We will work with customers in good faith to get them back into compliance with this policy. However, to protect the continued ability of all Our customers to freely use messaging for legitimate purposes, We reserve the right to suspend or remove access to Our Message platform for customers that We determine are not complying with the Messaging Policy, or who are not following the law in any applicable area (including the TCPA) or applicable communications industry guidelines or standards, including the CTIA Messaging Principles and Best Practices (https://api.ctia.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/190719-CTIA-Messaging-Principles-and-Best-Practices-FINAL.pdf). In the case of serious violations of this policy, We may suspend access without notice.