Texting Best Practices

Mobile phone carriers will filter messages that they think are unwanted spam. To make sure your messages get delivered, the best thing you can do is avoid complaints.

Here's a few basic tips to avoid complaints and make sure your messages reach and engage your audience:

1) Process opt-outs immediately. Daisychain automatically processes opt-outs that use standard keywords (like "stop" and "unsubscribe") as well as a long list of other words and phrases — but the automated opt-out system doesn't catch everything. If someone has requested not to receive messages from you, you must stop messaging them immediately. From the inbox, you can opt someone out with one click. Opt-outs using

2) Make it clear how to opt-out. If it's your first time messaging someone, you must make it clear how they can stop receiving messages from you. While you can use some of the more generic options like "stop2quit", you're also welcome to use something a bit more human and conversational, like "P.S. I'm a real person and ready to chat, but you can reply 'stop' to opt out."

3) Clearly identify yourself. Especially if it's your first time messaging someone, you should introduce yourself and your organization and campaign. Something as simple as "Hi, this is Molly with Acme Progress" will do the trick.

A Note on Opt-Ins in the USA

In 2021, the Supreme Court issued a ruling in Facebook vs Duguid that clarified that text messaging systems like Daisychain are not autodialers, and thus are not subject to the strict opt-in requirements of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

Various players in the “messaging ecosystem” (including Daisychain) encourage organizations to build a list of people who have granted explicit opt-in consent to send them messages. Building a list of supporters who have opted in to receive your text messages will increase the success and deliverability of your texting campaigns.

That said, we know many organizations and campaigns have decided to send texts to people who haven't explicitly opted in. This is understandable, given that texting is a powerful way to reach key audiences about important issues like democracy and human rights. While we are not lawyers and this does not constitute legal advice, we believe that texting people who have not opted in is fully compliant with the TCPA.