Definitions

This Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) outlines the rules and guidelines for using Vonix Services, including SMS and MMS. By using Vonix services, you agree to comply with this policy to ensure a safe, respectful, and lawful environment for all users.

Vonix does not provide legal advice regarding use of our services. It is strongly recommended you seek your own legal advice for help understanding legal obligations for engaging in calling or messaging campaigns.

Lawful Use

You must use our services in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, including but not limited to those related to telecommunications, privacy, intellectual property, and obscenity. You are strictly prohibited from engaging in any illegal activities including, but not limited to, the transmission, distribution, or storage of any material that violates applicable laws, regulations, or statutes.

User Responsibility

You are responsible for ensuring compliance with all applicable laws and regulations governing your use or application of Vonix services.

Malicious Activity

You must not engage in any form of malicious activity, such as harassment, identity theft, spamming, phishing, or distribution of malware, or any other activity that compromises the security or integrity of Vonix’s systems or networks.

Infringing Activity

You must not engage in any activity that infringes upon the intellectual property rights of others, including copyright, trademark, patent, or trade secret infringement. Any unauthorized use, reproduction, or distribution of copyrighted materials is strictly prohibited.

No Resale

Vonix services are intended for business or organizational use and cannot be resold or redistributed without explicit written consent from Vonix.

Exploiting Minors

Vonix strictly prohibits any form of communication that involves exploiting or seeking to harm minors. You must not engage in activities such as child pornography, child exploitation, or any other form of abuse involving minors.

Misrepresentation of Origin or Identity

You must not engage in activities that involve misrepresenting your origin or identity while using Vonix services.

Excessive Use

Vonix Services are intended for Regular Business Use between individuals and not for high-volume commercial messaging or call center calling, including auto-dialing, “predictive dialing,” telemarketing, or automated use. Vonix defines “Regular Business Use” as an average of 2000 minutes per user per month. You agree not to use the services in any way that is inconsistent with typical human operation or to excessively utilize Vonix services in a manner that negatively impacts the service quality for other users. Vonix reserves the right to restrict usage in the event of negative impact to other Vonix users.

Circumvent Compliance or Security

You must not attempt to circumvent or bypass any compliance measures or security protocols implemented by Vonix. This includes any attempt to gain unauthorized access to Vonix systems, networks, or data.

Intercept Data

You must not engage in any unauthorized interception, monitoring, or surveillance of data transmitted through Vonix services. Intercepting or accessing data without proper authorization is strictly prohibited.

Prohibited Content

The following prohibited content applies to all Vonix services, including SMS/MMS content. You may not use Vonix services to transmit or store any content that is:

a) Offensive, abusive, or harassing, including content that promotes discrimination, hate speech, or violence based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or any other protected characteristic.
b) Obscene, sexually explicit, or pornographic in nature, regardless of legality.
c) Infringing upon intellectual property rights, including copyright, trademarks, or patents.
d) Fraudulent, misleading, or deceptive, including content that promotes scams, pyramid schemes, or illegal activities.
e) Harmful or malicious, including content that contains viruses, worms, or any other destructive elements.
f) Violent, threatening, or incites violence towards individuals or groups.
g) Violates any individual’s privacy rights or confidentiality agreements.
h) Contain third-party affiliate/lead generation links or links for the purpose of misleading the reader based on the message text.
i) Structured to evade this policy or the policies of carriers (e.g. misspelling, uncommon capitalization, etc.)

SMS/MMS Policy

Vonix participates in the TCR CSP with the goal to eliminate spam, phishing, and fraudulent messages. The policies contained in this AUP apply to all SMS / MMS messages sent across the Vonix platform, whether sent via Vonix applications, a third-party provider, or via the API.

SMS/MMS & Segment Definitions

– SMS (Short Message Service): refers to text messages that contain up to 160 characters of GSM Standard text and are sent over a mobile network. SMS messages do not support multimedia content such as images, audio, or video.

– MMS (Multimedia Message Service): allows the sending of messages that include multimedia content, such as images, audio, video.  MMS messages are transmitted over mobile networks and can support larger data sizes.  Mobile carriers differ in data size limits that they allow to be transmitted.  Generally, Vonix recommends limiting the total MMS size to 500KB-1 MB for best chance of delivery, although some mobile networks may have larger or smaller limits. 

– Message Segments: SMS messages have a characters limit per segment (160 characters of text (Latin, GSM7, GSM8), 70 characters if content includes emojis).  If a message exceeds this limit, it is broken into multiple segments, each of which is counted individually.  The content of the message will determine the type of encoding used across the carrier networks, and thus affect the character limit.  When you send a message longer than the character limit, Vonix will automatically split the message into segments and send multiple SMS messages to the mobile carriers.  Each segment will count toward the user’s texting limit (below).

Message Requirements

You must comply with the following guidelines when sending messages using Vonix services:

  • Register the TCP brand and inform Vonix prior to sending message campaigns.
  • Do not send to third party generated or purchased lead lists.
  • For promotional, informational, or advertising content, capture prior written consent from recipients.
  • Provide clear opt-out instructions.
  • Send no more than 50 messages per minute.
  • Comply with volume limits based on the selected Vonix package at full price rates. (Package discounts will proportionally reduce messaging segment volume.) Current limits by plan are as follows:
    • Basic Plan – 100 SMS segments per month per user
    • Pro Plan – 500 SMS segments per month per user
    • Team Plan (previously Premium Plan) – 1000 SMS segments per month per user / 100 MMS segments per month per user

SMS / MMS Opt-In

You must obtain proper consent from recipients before sending SMS/MMS messages utilizing Vonix services. Consent should be explicit, voluntary, and obtained in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Sending unsolicited messages, including spam or promotional content, is strictly prohibited.

SMS / MMS Opt-out

All SMS/MMS messages must provide recipients with a clear and easily accessible way to opt out of further messages, via text. The CTIA guidelines provide clear command keywords that must be honored for opt-out requests, including STOP and UNSUBSCRIBE.

SMS / MMS Assistance

All SMS/MMS messages must provide recipients with a clear and easily accessible way to get assistance, via text and phone. The CTIA guidelines provide clear command keywords that must be honored for assistance requests, including HELP.

Prohibited Campaigns

You must not engage in SMS/MMS campaigns that promote illegal activities, deceptive practices, or violate any laws, regulations, or industry guidelines. Prohibited campaigns include but are not limited to:

  • Scams, pyramid schemes, or any fraudulent activity
  • Financial product advertisements, including loans or mortgage offers
  • Credit repair, debt relief, or debt collection offers
  • Work from home advertisements
  • Political advertisements and messages
  • Alcohol, tobacco, or firearms advertisements
  • Pharmaceutical advertisements
  • Campaigns that may be similar to the above

Content Ownership

You retain the ownership rights to the content you send via SMS/MMS, but you grant Vonix a limited license to store, transmit, and deliver the content as part of our service.

Monitoring

Vonix may monitor our services for compliance with this AUP, including reviewing content and message transmissions. By using our services, you consent to such monitoring.

Enforcement

Violations of this AUP may result in temporary or permanent suspension of service, termination of the account, additional fees or damages, or other disciplinary actions deemed appropriate by us.

Reporting Violations

If you become aware of any violations of this AUP or suspect misuse of our services, please report it to Vonix by sending an email to compliance@www.vonix.io.

Policy Updates

Vonix may update this AUP as necessary to reflect changes in technology, regulations, or our services. Any updates will be communicated to users, and continued use of our services after the policy changes will indicate acceptance of the revised AUP.

Remember, this AUP is designed to create a safe and respectful environment for all users. We appreciate your compliance in adhering to these policies.