Texting Policies and FAQs

In this article:

• Is texting through Pharos compliant with A2P 10DLC regulations?
• How do we ensure students are consenting to be contacted via text?
• Will students be able to opt-out of receiving our text messages?
• What if a student replies 'STOP' to opt-out by mistake? Can they opt back in?
• How do you validate phone numbers?
• Do you have a preferred format for phone number?
• Are there character limits for text messages?
• What happens if a student tries to reply to a group notification or a conversation after it has been closed?
• How do I know if my text message was sent successfully?

Is texting through Pharos compliant with A2P 10DLC regulations?

Yes, all of our texting clients are registered and approved for A2P 10DLC. We do not expect any blocks or service issues due to this updated regulation — we are in compliance. Learn more about what A2P 10DLC is here. 
 

How do we ensure students are consenting to be contacted via text?

Before Pharos will enable texting on your Pharos 360 site, we will need to verify that messaging activity will be in compliance with Twilio policies. You will need to verify that your institution is collecting cell phone numbers for students and they have agreed to receive messages or state that due to your relationship with students, they have provided their phone number to you, and have not expressed a preference to not receive messages from you.

As a best practice, you should always you should clearly identify yourself and/or office plus the reason why you are reaching out. This ensures ongoing consent. Please also respect the student's preferences in terms of frequency of contact. If at any point a student would like to opt-out, you can remind them that they can reply with 'STOP'.

For more information and recommendations, please visit Twilio's Messaging Policy.

Will students be able to opt-out of receiving our text messages?

Yes. All initial messages sent to a new number will include a standard opt-out statement. This language cannot be customized per school and must be included to comply with texting policies. The default opt-out statement your students will receive is: "If you don't wish to receive notifications through texts, please respond with STOP."

If a student replies with 'STOP' during a two-way text conversation. Your conversation will be closed and the following details will be added to the conversation's log entry: "The student has opted-out. This conversation has been auto-closed."

We track opt-outs. The 'Opted Out' field on the Known Mobile Numbers table will be populated with 'Yes' and you will not be able to select this phone number for texting purposes.

What if a student replies 'STOP' to opt-out by mistake? Can they opt back in?

Yes, if a student replies 'STOP' to opt-out, they can always text 'START' to opt back in. The student will receive a message for each so they’ll know their current status.

How do you validate phone numbers?

We currently check for cell phone numbers via the Phone 2 field in the `Student_Data.csv` file that is provided by your IT team nightly. When you go to initiate text message, we will check and validate the number in the Phone 2 field, as well as any user-submitted numbers, are available for use.

Do you have a preferred format for phone number?

No. We accept a variety of formats. During our validation checks, we are simply looking at the digits. On the texting pages, we will translate and display numbers as (xxx) xxx-xxxx for readability.

Are there character limits for text messages?

There is a 160-character limit for a text message segment. For two-way conversations, we limit your input for each interaction to 320 characters. For one-way notifications, we limit your text to 480 characters.

What happens if a student tries to reply to a group notification or a conversation after it has been closed?

If a student tries to reply after a conversation has been closed, they will receive your institution's custom "Twilio Closed Conversation Auto Reply". If a student tries to reply to a one-way text notification, they will receive your institution's custom "Twilio Notification Auto Reply". You can edit your auto reply language via Site Customizations.
 

How do I know if my text message was sent successfully?

We will pull in the statuses of each message directly from Twilio and display them in the log entry. For conversations, the status is shown above each individual text bubble. For notifications, the status is displayed below the text for each student.

Here are the definitions for the various text message delivery statuses from Twilio:

• Sending - Twilio is in the process of sending the message. This status is usually very brief and may not be visible in the console or logs.

• Sent - Twilio has received confirmation from its Super Network partner that they have accepted the message. This status may remain if no further delivery information is received, especially for US/Canada long code MMS.

• Delivered - Twilio has received confirmation of message delivery from the carrier and, where available, the destination handset.

• Undelivered - Twilio has received a delivery receipt indicating that the message was not delivered. This can occur due to reasons like carrier content filtering or the unavailability of the destination handset.
  Failed: The message could not be sent. This can happen due to queue overflows, account suspensions, or media errors (in the case of MMS). An error code is usually associated with failed messages to help troubleshoot the issue.

• Delivery Unknown - This status indicates that a message has remained in the “sent” status for longer than one hour without receiving a further status update. This status is shown in Messaging Insights, while SMS records will remain in the “sent” status in the Message Log or /Messages API.

Read receipts are not currently available through Twilio. For more detailed information, you can refer to the Twilio Help Center article on message statuses.

Don't have Texting through Pharos 360? Contact us for a pricing quote.