SMS consent and compliance

Marketing texts need the customer’s permission first, and the rules are stricter than for email. Gro collects consent in a way that meets each country’s rules, keeps proof of it, and stops you texting anyone who has not opted in. This page explains how.

A customer has given SMS consent when they actively agreed to receive marketing texts from you. That means:

They did something. Ticking an unticked box, texting a keyword, or replying YES. A pre ticked box, or a phone number given at checkout for delivery updates, is not consent to marketing.
It was for texts, from you. Email consent does not cover SMS. Each channel is its own opt in.
It was not a condition of buying. You cannot make texts the price of an order or a discount.
You can prove it. When, where, how, and the wording they saw.

The rules by country

Country	Main law	What you need
United States	TCPA, plus carrier rules	Clear written consent naming your brand, recurring automated texts, that consent is not a condition of purchase, message frequency, rates, and HELP and STOP. A welcome text after signup.
Canada	CASL	Express consent naming your business, with a way to contact you and to withdraw. No pre ticked boxes.
United Kingdom	PECR and UK GDPR	A clear, specific opt in for texts. Every text names you and offers a free opt out.
European Union	GDPR and ePrivacy	As the UK. Germany in practice expects double opt in: the customer confirms by replying to a text before you market to them.
Australia, New Zealand	Spam Act, UEMA	Consent, your business named in every text, and a working unsubscribe.

Quiet hours also apply in some countries. Gro handles those for you: see Safe hours and quiet hours.

The main way is a signup form with Ask for SMS consent turned on.

The box always starts unticked. The shopper has to tick it.
The wording follows the phone number’s country. You choose who the texts come from and your terms and privacy links; the rest is fixed so it stays compliant.
- US, Canada and anywhere else not listed below: “By checking this box, you agree to receive recurring automated marketing text messages from your store at the number provided. Consent is not a condition of purchase. Msg frequency varies. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help or STOP to cancel.” with Terms and Privacy links.
- UK, EU, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand: “Yes, text me news and offers from your store. Opt out any time by replying STOP.” with a Privacy link. German numbers also see “We’ll text you once to confirm.”
US and Canadian numbers get a welcome text straight after signing up, with HELP and STOP, as carriers expect.
German numbers confirm by text. They get “Reply YES to confirm you want marketing texts”, and only count as subscribed once they reply YES. Until then their profile shows Waiting for the customer to reply YES.

Welcome and confirm texts go out only for countries where you have an active sender. If you collect consent before your sender is approved, it is saved and the customer starts receiving texts once that country is active. A German signup collected before then stays waiting for its YES.

The proof Gro keeps

For every SMS opt in Gro records:

On the signup: the exact checkbox wording shown, the country it was shown for, the time, IP address and browser.
On the profile: where consent came from (a form, set by hand, a CSV or Klaviyo import), when, and whether it was a single or confirmed (replied YES) opt in. You can see this under Consent status on the profile.
In the activity log: every consent given, confirmed or changed, and who changed it.

Shopify

With Shopify connected, SMS consent syncs both ways.

From Gro to Shopify: the phone and SMS consent are added to the customer, with the time and whether it was a single or confirmed opt in. New customers are created with it. If the Shopify customer already has a different phone number, the consent is not copied onto it, because consent belongs to the number that gave it. German signups go to Shopify once they reply YES.
From Shopify to Gro: customers who subscribe or unsubscribe in Shopify (for example at checkout) are updated in Gro.

Opting out

Every marketing text carries an opt out. Customers can reply STOP (or UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, QUIT) or use the link, and are unsubscribed straight away, in Shopify too. Replying START opts them back in. HELP gets your help message.

Sometimes you collect consent outside Gro: in store, on a paper form, or in another tool.

On a profile: set SMS to Subscribed under Consent status. Gro asks you to confirm the customer agreed in writing, and records it as set by hand, with your name and the time.
With a CSV import: map the SMS consent status column, and a Consent date column if you have one. Blank cells leave a profile’s consent as it is. Anyone who unsubscribed from one of your messages, replied STOP or is suppressed stays unsubscribed, whatever the file says. Imported consent is recorded as imported from a CSV.

Only mark people subscribed when you can show they agreed to texts from you. In the US, texting without written consent can lead to fines for every message, and carriers can block your number.

Your checklist

Register a sender for each country you text: Setting up SMS.
Collect SMS consent with an unticked box, separate from email, using Ask for SMS consent on your forms.
Keep your terms and privacy pages up to date, and mention texting in them.
Only add consent by hand or by import when you have proof of it.
Never buy or borrow phone lists.