Zoom phone SMS adding "For help, reply HELP. To opt out, reply STOP." to texts

[momalley12]

Hi folks,

I use the Zoom phone SMS text feature, and recently it has been adding "For help, reply HELP. To opt out, reply STOP." to texts after I send them - even when I'm responding to someone who texted me first. Can we turn this feature off?

Thank you!

[momalley12]

@YaBoiB The last time I had a query, you were so helpful and quickly jumped in with an answer. Are other Zoom employees monitoring this feed? Can anyone assist with this? 

[YaBoiB]

Hello @momalley12 ,

 We have a dedicated team, but most Zoom employees (like me) do this voluntarily, let me check this out for you and see if I can find a solution. 

[YaBoiB]

Hi @momalley12, 

 I found this for you by typing "reply stop" in our search bar on our support.zoom.com page. I believe that this is federally mandated for all SMS campaigns, but I am by far not a Zoom Phone expert. I just hear a lot because my customer uses campaigns on their account as well. I believe that because of privacy laws, you have to allow users to opt in/out of your SMS campaigns. I am sure that there is a ZP Engineer in our internal chat channel. I will ask them to look at this and verify if I am correct or not. I hope this helps. 

[momalley12]

@YaBoiB Wow, thank you for volunteering your time for this! Based on the link you sent, I wonder if our IT department will be able to turn off this function using their admin privileges. I will check with them.

Thanks for your help!

[YaBoiB]

Hello @momalley12 , 

i apologize, I should have been more clear. There is no way to disable or turn off the opt-in for your SMS campaigns. The knowledge based (KB) article is not totally clear about that. We “have” to allow SMS Campaign users the ability to opt in. The phone carriers do not permit us to allow it to be disabled. If your IT team has any questions. Please ask them to reach out to our support personnel. There is a support button in the top right corner of your account page. 

[momalley12]

@YaBoiB I appreciate that clarification. I have a hard time understanding (or believing, if I'm honest) that phone carriers require that opt-in message to be added to a text when I am the one replying to someone who has texted me first.  (I attached two screenshots where this happened). How could that be construed as me reaching out to them without their consent? Is Zoom aware that this is happening?

Google Voice does not have this requirement, which is another reason I don't understand the legal requirement. Until this is changed I will be using Google Voice instead of Zoom SMS for any of my work needs, as this simply isn't feasible.

I appreciate any of this that you can pass on to the Powers That Be 🙂 I have found  a lot of other threads of folks being very annoyed by this new feature.

[Banderson]

I have to agree with @momalley12, while there is a federal mandate for marketing related test messages, if its not for marketing it can be avoided. Ideally we should be allowed to certify that it doesn't violate CAN-SPAM act rules for marketing related texts and be able to turn it off.

[YaBoiB]

Hello @momalley12 and @Banderson ,

I was incorrect. It is not a legal requirement, but it is (to my knowledge) required for us by our carriers and that is something that we cannot change. Again (to my knowledge). 

https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0059336

Please let me know if there is anything more that I can do to assist you both. 

[Ray_Harwood]

Hey @momalley12 and @Banderson.  My buddy @YaBoiB asked me to pop in here and chime in.

First, please read this compilation of where this requirement comes from:
https://www.perplexity.ai/search/what-is-the-requirement-for-th-5iyL4H3YR8qpgNcmP08vHw

It's not federal, it Big Phone Companies who don't really trust other companies that have SMS services to police their own subscribers. The 10DLC registry managed by The Campaign Registry is required to be completed by everyone "small" (Zoom being "small" compared to AT&T, T-Mobile, etc.) carrier subscribers.

Zoom can't "not do it" and continue to send your SMS traffic on other carrier networks.  And Zoom won't sell you a phone number that can only traverse the Zoom network (which would avoid the Big Phone Companies).

So yes, you will always get this appended to your first SMS text to anyone, and no, neither you nor Zoom can do anything about it:

Nobody has ever, ever asked me: "Hey, why did you put that in our message?"  Nobody.  Not one.

If you really can't take it being there, you have to change back to a Big Phone Company and leave Zoom Phone behind.  But it only goes out once per contact.  After you've texted back and forth a few dozen times, nobody will notice!

My advice is: Chill. Few people will notice it, fewer than that will mention it.  And if any of my friends or business associates get that bent out of shape about it, that's their problem.

[YaBoiB]

Hey @Ray_Harwood, 

 Above @momalley12 mentioned that google voice allows SMS without the opt in/opt out message, can you speak to that or ask your Office Hours friends to help out? I have never used or tried Google Voice for SMS, so I have no referenced materials or ideas to assist here. 

[Ray_Harwood]

Thanks @YaBoiB. I missed that comment from @momalley12.

Since I have no experience with Google Voice, I went to Perplexity.AI with an additional query on the end of a 10DLC/SMS line of questioning I previous submitted. Here's the Question and Answer copied verbatim:

Question: 

Does the prohibition of sending SMS messages without being joined to an approved Campaign also apply to Google Voice SMS? Some have cited that Zoom Phone has the requirement, but Google Voice does not.

Answer:

Based on the available information, Google Voice does not require users to join an approved 10DLC campaign for sending SMS messages, unlike Zoom Phone. However, there are important distinctions and limitations to consider:

1. Google Voice is intended for personal use and one-to-one communications. It explicitly prohibits using the service for business texting or automated messaging7.
2. Google Voice's Acceptable Use Policy forbids using any application or automation to send text messages5. This is in contrast to 10DLC, which is specifically designed for Application-to-Person (A2P) messaging.
3. While Google Voice allows sending bulk SMS messages through extensions or add-ons, these are meant for personal use and have limitations. For example, messages are typically limited to 160 characters, and there are restrictions on mass messaging to prevent spam1.
4. Zoom Phone, on the other hand, requires 10DLC compliance for business texting. Starting July 10, 2024, Zoom Phone users must add their phone numbers to an approved 10DLC campaign to continue using SMS/MMS capabilities4.

In summary, while Google Voice does not require 10DLC registration, it is not designed or permitted for business or automated texting. Users should be cautious about using Google Voice for anything other than personal, one-to-one communications to avoid potential account restrictions or violations of the service's terms of use.

My Interpretation of the Answer

This would have to be a decision of the companies that are enforcing the rules for Zoom, which is business-heavy.  I think most of us understand that Google's intended use of Google Voice isn't always complied with, but it's a viable option for the "personal user" to avoid the perceived hassles. 

The bottom line is that Zoom will not miss the revenue of the relatively few "personal Phone users" who decide to leave, so it's not worth trying to fight the Big Phone Companies. [my opinion only!]

[momalley12]

@Ray_Harwood @YaBoiB Thanks to you both for digging into this. Sounds like there isn't a workaround, but I appreciate understanding more about why it's required.

Thanks again!

[YaBoiB]

Also, thank you for helping here. I do not always have the time to dedicate to this channel, although, I try to do my best to help our wonderful customers. Thank you for your professionalism and expertise.