Tips to Prevent SMS Message Blocking by Carriers

Vetspire Support uses alarms integrated with Twilio to promptly detect instances of message blocking by carriers. Neither Vetspire nor Twilio can override a carrier’s decision to block a message or mark a message as spam, but Vetspire can appeal the carrier’s decision.

By following these tips for SMS message formatting, your organization can ensure its compliance with carrier guidelines and prevent undelivered messages.

SMS Message Formatting to Prevent Carrier Blocking

Reminders should not be formatted like an email with paragraphs and spaces between sentences.
Messages are limited to 160 characters. Longer messages may appear to send in a singular message on some devices but be broken up into several, separate messages on others. Messages that require five or more separate messages to be sent in full are at higher risk of being blocked by the carrier.
Link-shortening of URLs is not supported by Twilio or US carriers. Send the full URL link in your messages, or send the full or shortened URL link via email.
Messages containing these URLs may be automatically blocked by carriers:
- bit.ly
- goo.gl
- tinyurl.com
- tiny.cc
- is.gd
- soo.gd
- s2r.co
- clicky.me
- budurl.com
- bc.vc
All reminder messages must have an opt-out option, such as “Reply STOP to unsubscribe.” If you are using macros for reminders, include the opt-out option in the macro.

How does unsubscribing from an SMS message work?

When a client replies “STOP” to a message, Twilio unsubscribes the client from the Vetspire clinic number. This will not be reflected in the client profile in Vetspire.

A client can text “START” to the Vetspire clinic number to subscribe to receiving messages from the clinic again.

Messaging Related to Cannabis, CBD, and Opioids

Because federal law prohibits the sale of cannabis and CBD products, SMS messages related to cannabis and CBD are not allowed to be sent in the US. There are no exceptions to this policy, even though some states have legalized the sale of these products.

Carriers may block messages containing opioid-related keywords, such as “tramadol.” You may use abbreviations to refer to these medications, such as “tram,” but this may cause confusion for the client.

If information on cannabis or CBD products or opioid medications must be shared with a client, we recommend communicating with the client via email.