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.

Three 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).
• Website visitors who give a business's chat widget a mobile number, either to continue the chat by text or to confirm the number before booking - they consent on the form itself, in that business's website widget (section 3).
• Business owners who subscribe to CoveredLine - they consent in writing, in their dashboard (section 4).

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. Website visitors: forms in the business's chat widget

The chat widget on a business's website can ask a visitor for a mobile number in two places. Each has its own form and its own box, each box is unchecked until the visitor ticks it, and neither sends anything until the box is ticked and the button pressed.

Continuing a chat by text

A business can offer visitors to its website the option to continue a chat with its receptionist by text message. It is off until the business turns it on. When it is on, the chat widget on that business's site shows the form below: the visitor types their name, mobile number and first message, ticks a box that is unchecked until they tick it, and presses the button. Nothing is sent until they do both. The receptionist then replies by text, and keeps replying as the visitor does, one reply per message they send.

The form is reproduced here exactly as a visitor sees it, filled with an example business and an example number, and it is inert: nothing on this page submits anything.

The yes is recorded against that business and that number, with the wording shown, the page it was given on and the time - exactly as a spoken yes is recorded against a call. It is per business, like every other consent here, and a visitor who replies STOP is opted out the same way as anyone else (section 6).

Confirming a mobile number before booking

Before the receptionist books an appointment from a website chat, the visitor shows that a contact they typed really reaches them, by opening a link sent to it. The link can go to an email address. It can also go to a mobile number as a text, but only when text confirmation is switched on; while it is off the form asks for an email address and the box below is not shown at all. When it is on, the box appears as soon as the visitor types a mobile number. A visitor who leaves it unticked is sent no text: the link goes to their email address only, or, if they gave no email address, they are asked to tick the box or add one.

The form is reproduced here as a visitor sees it with a number typed, and it is inert like the one above.

A ticked box sends one text, the one carrying the link, each time the visitor presses the button - once, or again if they ask for the link to be re-sent. It reads:

"Cedar Dental needs to confirm this number before booking your appointment. Nothing is booked yet. Open this link to confirm: [link] Msg & data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help."

That tick covers that text and nothing else. It does not opt the visitor in to any other message from the business, and nothing further is sent to the number unless they consent separately, on the form above or on a call. Each text is recorded against that business, that conversation and that number, with the time it was sent, and a visitor who replies STOP is opted out the same way as anyone else (section 6).

4. 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.

5. 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 reply in a text conversation a visitor started from the business's website, when that is switched on.
• A link that confirms a mobile number a visitor typed while booking from the business's website, when that is switched on.
• 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. In a text conversation started from a website, one reply per message the visitor sends. For a confirmation link, one text per request. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.