SMS opt-in and message flow

This page documents exactly how Connections collects consent before sending a text message, what those messages contain, how often they arrive, and how to stop them. It is published openly so that carriers and campaign reviewers can verify our message flow without needing an account.

Who sends these messages

Messages are sent by Connections, a workspace product operated at connections.icu. Every message identifies Connections by name in its body. We do not send on behalf of third parties, and we do not lend, rent, resell or share our messaging capability with any other brand.

How a number is added

Both paths are self-service, both are initiated by the account holder, and neither one makes a number reachable until the person holding the phone has proved possession of it. There is no keyword opt-in, no verbal or paper opt-in, no QR code, no point-of-sale capture, and no list we import, buy or rent. A number is never added by our staff on somebody's behalf.

1. At sign-up. Creating a Connections account asks for an email address and a mobile number, because the product sends sign-in codes and account alerts to both. The sign-up screen carries the disclosures reproduced below. A separate, optional, unticked checkbox sits beside them for promotional messages. Leaving it unticked does not affect account creation and does not limit the product in any way: the account holder still receives every transactional message, and simply receives no promotional message. Ticking it is the sole consent for the promotional program described below, and it can be withdrawn at any time by replying STOP to any message, which stops both programs immediately and permanently.
2. Or later, in account settings. A signed-in account holder can add or change their mobile number at any time. The screen states that Connections will send a verification code by text to the number they enter, and carries the same disclosures. Nothing is sent until the account holder submits that form. Changing the number clears any prior consent - an opt-in never carries across to a different handset.
3. On submit, we send a single one-time verification code to the number entered.
   Your Connections sign-in code: 481920. Expires in 5 minutes.
4. The account holder must type that code back into the app. Until that round trip completes, the number is discarded and is never stored as reachable. A number that never returns a code never receives another message.
5. Only after the code is confirmed is the number stored as a verified contact for that one account, and only then can it receive the account and support messages described below.

What we do with your number

Disclosures shown at the point of opt-in

The opt-in screen and the first message both carry these disclosures:

Message and data rates may apply.

Full Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

The opt-in screens themselves

The settings form sits inside the account holder's own signed-in area, so it cannot be linked to publicly. It is reproduced below exactly as it appears, with the same wording, so a reviewer can read the call to action and its disclosures without an account. Nothing is sent until the account holder fills in their own number and presses Send code. The sign-up screen carries the same disclosures, plus the separate optional checkbox reproduced beneath it.

Reproduction of the live screen, shown here for carrier and campaign review. The phone number is a placeholder; every other element, including the disclosure paragraph and both links, is the exact text the account holder sees before any message is sent.

The separate promotional checkbox on the sign-up screen

This one is optional and starts unticked. It is not required to create an account and it gates nothing in the product. It is the sole consent for the promotional program described below: a number that has not ticked it never receives a promotional message, and our sending system checks that consent on the account at send time rather than trusting a stored list. Consent is deliberately separate and separately given, never bundled into the terms, and changing the number on an account clears it - an opt-in never carries across to a different handset.

What we send, and how often

Connections runs two separate message programs on two separate campaigns, with two separate consents. They are described separately here because a person can be enrolled in the first and not the second, and the overwhelming majority are.

Program 1 - transactional (every account holder)

Not a marketing or promotional program. There is no recurring broadcast, no newsletter and no campaign blast on it. Every message is triggered by something the account holder just did, so an account that never signs in and never contacts support receives nothing at all.

• Sign-in and verification codes - sent only when the account holder is actively signing in or verifying a number.
• Account notifications - security relevant events on the account holder's own account.
• Customer support replies - only within a support conversation the account holder started.

Program 2 - promotional (only the account holders who ticked the box)

This program is marketing, and it is described as such deliberately. It reaches only an account holder who verified their handset AND separately ticked the promotional checkbox reproduced above; consent is re-checked against the account at the moment of sending, so withdrawing it stops the next message rather than the next list rebuild. Every message on this program carries opt-out instructions.

• Event invitations and announcements - an invitation, update or reminder for an event on Connections, sent by a host whose event the account holder chose to engage with.
• Product and feature announcements - occasional messages about Connections itself.

Frequency on the promotional program: varies, and is driven by the events and hosts the account holder has chosen to engage with. It is not a fixed-cadence broadcast and there is no minimum - a consenting account holder who engages with nothing receives nothing.

Frequency: message frequency varies and is driven entirely by the account holder's own activity. A typical account receives only occasional messages, and an account that never signs in and never contacts support receives none at all.

Sample messages

How to stop messages

Reply STOP to any message. Opt-out is immediate and permanent for that number, and it is honored regardless of which account added it. We send one final confirmation and then nothing further:

Reply START to resume. An account holder can also remove the number at any time in the same account settings screen where it was added, which stops messages without needing to text anything.

To leave the promotional program only, and keep receiving the transactional messages you asked for, turn off SMS marketing under Data & privacy at myaccount.connections.icu. That switch controls the same consent record the sending gate checks, so it takes effect on the next message rather than at the next list rebuild.

How to get help

Reply HELP to any message:

Or reach a person directly, without sending a text: email [email protected], or visit connections.icu/support. Both are monitored, and either can remove your number for you.