SMS Opt-In

1. Who sends, and what

CoveredLine (https://coveredline.com) is an AI phone receptionist for small businesses. Every message goes out from one CoveredLine number and is written by the CoveredLine service in response to something that just happened on a call. There are no marketing blasts, no drip sequences and no bulk sends, and we never buy, rent, scrape or import contact lists.

Two kinds of people receive messages, and each consents in a different way:

• Callers to a business whose phone CoveredLine answers - they consent verbally, on that call (section 2).
• Business owners who subscribe to CoveredLine - they consent in writing, in their dashboard (section 3).

2. Callers: spoken consent, during a call they placed

An end user dials a business's own published number and the CoveredLine receptionist answers it. If what they ask for involves a text - an appointment confirmation, or something they asked us to send them such as directions or a booking link - the receptionist names the business, reads their number back to them, and asks this before anything is sent:

"Would you like me to text your appointment confirmation to 555-010-0123? Saying yes also lets Cedar Dental text you about your appointments and anything you ask us for in the future. Message frequency varies, message and data rates may apply, and you can reply HELP for help or STOP anytime to opt out. Our messaging terms are at coveredline.com/messaging and our privacy policy at coveredline.com/privacy. Want me to send it? Just say Yes or No."

The message is sent only if the caller says yes, and the receptionist then confirms out loud: Great, I'm sending that to you now. A caller who says no receives nothing, and is asked again only if they request a text on a later call.

The yes is recorded against that business and that phone number, with the call it was given on and the exact wording that was read. It covers that business's later transactional texts, so a caller who rings back is not asked again. Consent is per business: agreeing to texts from one business that uses CoveredLine opts you in to nothing from any other, and each one's receptionist asks you separately.

3. Business owners: a web form in the CoveredLine dashboard

A subscribing business can have CoveredLine text its own staff about their account: an alert when a caller reports an urgent matter, and a notice when a caller leaves a message. Those go only to a number the account owner types into the settings form and opts in on that same form.

The form lives at https://coveredline.com/settings, which is behind a customer login, so it is reproduced below exactly as an account owner sees it - same wording, same components, filled with an example number. It is inert here: nothing on this page submits anything.

The checkbox is unchecked until the owner ticks it, and the button stays disabled until they do. Consent is stored against that number with a timestamp; the system refuses to text any number without a matching record, so changing the number means opting in again. Owners can withdraw consent on the same form at any time, or reply STOP to a message.

4. What we send

• An appointment confirmation, or a note that an appointment moved or was cancelled.
• Something the caller asked for on the call, such as directions or the business's booking link.
• A courtesy message when every line was busy, inviting the caller to leave a voicemail.
• A reply the business writes back to someone who left a message.
• To a business's own staff: an urgent-call alert, or a notice that a caller left a message.

Message frequency. One message per booking, request, missed call or alert - typically about one per qualifying call. Rates. Message and data rates may apply. Every message to a caller ends with: Msg & data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help.

5. Opting out and getting help

Reply STOP to any message and no further messages are sent to that number; you get one confirmation. Every business using CoveredLine currently sends from one shared CoveredLine number, so a STOP stops texts from all of them, not only the business whose message you replied to. Reply START to resume. Reply HELP for support information, or email support@coveredline.com.

6. What happens to the number

Mobile phone numbers and SMS consent information are not shared with or sold to third parties or affiliates for their marketing or promotional purposes. The full detail is in our Privacy Policy; the program terms are in our Messaging & SMS Terms, which our Terms of Service incorporate.