Draft. This policy is a working draft and is pending review by qualified legal counsel. Check back for the final version before relying on it as the current AUP.
1. Purpose and scope
FollowUp is a communications automation platform. Users are solely responsible for the content they send, the consent they have from recipients, and their own compliance with federal, state, and local laws. This Acceptable Use Policy sets the minimum standards that every account must meet to use the platform.
This policy applies to every message, call, voicemail, and automated outreach sent through the Service, regardless of channel (SMS, MMS, RVM, AI voice, email relays, or any future channel). Violating this policy is a violation of the Terms of Service and may result in suspension or termination of your account.
2. Prohibited content
Users may not use FollowUp to send content that:
Promotes illegal goods or services, including controlled substances, firearms where state or federal restrictions apply, gambling in prohibited jurisdictions, or counterfeit products
Harasses, threatens, or intimidates recipients
Contains fraudulent claims, false guarantees, or deceptive sender identification
Advances phishing, credential theft, account takeover, or other security attacks
Contains hate speech, incitement to violence, or discrimination on the basis of a protected characteristic
Contains sexually explicit content (adult content is banned platform-wide by carrier policy)
Impersonates another person, brand, or organization without authorization
Contains any material that violates the intellectual property rights of any third party
3. Prohibited use cases
Users may not use FollowUp to:
Contact numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry without a valid Established Business Relationship or express written consent
Contact numbers on any state DNC registry without a qualifying exemption
Send automated marketing messages (SMS, RVM, or AI voice) to any recipient without prior express written consent that meets TCPA standards
Spoof sender identification or Automatic Number Identification (ANI)
Commit identity fraud, account takeover, or financial crimes
Conduct unsolicited political robocall campaigns that have not been reviewed by counsel for compliance with state political-call laws
Collect debts without applicable licensing in the recipient's state
Solicit payday loans or high-interest short-term credit in states where such solicitation is prohibited
Advertise high-risk pharmaceuticals, online pharmacies, or prescription drugs without applicable licensing and carrier approval
Re-solicit recipients who have previously opted out, except through a written channel initiated by the recipient
4. Industry-specific restrictions
Specific industries are subject to additional restrictions beyond the general rules above:
4.1 Storm restoration and roofing
In Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Colorado, and Minnesota, users may not solicit new business during a declared state of emergency or storm advisory unless the solicitation complies with the state's storm-solicitation statute. See Section 6 for the current list of covered states.
4.2 Solar and energy
Users must comply with state home improvement contractor licensing and must not make performance or savings guarantees that the installer cannot document. Representing yourself as a utility, government agency, or Investment Tax Credit administrator is prohibited.
4.3 Real estate
Users may not contact For-Sale-By-Owner or Expired listing numbers without a documented consent record or a valid Established Business Relationship. A public listing is not consent. FSBO and Expired cold outreach without consent violates the TCPA in most jurisdictions.
4.4 Debt collection
Users must be licensed in the debtor's state. All communications must comply with the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and state debt collection statutes. Debt-collection use of the Service is subject to additional review and may require a dedicated 10DLC campaign.
4.5 High-risk pharmaceuticals
Marketing of online pharmacies, prescription drugs, or controlled substances is restricted. Users must hold the applicable licensing and obtain carrier pre-approval before sending any message in this category.
5. Carrier and platform compliance
Users who send SMS or RVM through a connected carrier must:
Register a valid 10DLC brand and campaign before sending SMS to US mobile numbers (see 10DLC Disclosure)
Honor all opt-out keywords (STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, QUIT, REMOVE, OPTOUT) immediately and persistently across every channel and campaign
Include identification (sender name) and an opt-out instruction in every marketing message
Respect quiet hours: no outbound automated messaging between 9 PM and 8 AM local time at the recipient's location, plus any stricter state windows
Not exceed the daily and monthly rate limits set by the carrier for the user's 10DLC campaign tier
Accurately represent the opt-in language shown to recipients in the registered campaign description
Keep brand and campaign registration information current
6. Storm solicitation states
Several states restrict or prohibit solicitation for storm restoration, roofing, solar, and related services during a declared state of emergency or active storm advisory. FollowUp maintains an automated storm-solicitation check for the following states:
Florida: contractor solicitation restrictions during declared emergencies
Users are responsible for checking the current advisory status in any state where they operate. The platform's automated checks are a safety net, not a substitute for legal compliance. When in doubt, pause sends in the affected state until counsel confirms the advisory has lifted.
7. Right to suspend
FollowUp reserves the right to suspend or terminate any account that violates this AUP. Our process:
First offense, apparently unintentional. We will notify the user by email and provide a cure period of 48 hours to correct the issue. Examples: accidental contact of DNC-listed numbers, missing opt-out footer, stale consent records.
Severe violations. We will suspend the account immediately without notice and cooperate with any resulting law enforcement investigation. Severe violations include: illegal content, harassment campaigns, identity fraud, repeated DNC violations, spoofing, and any conduct likely to cause imminent harm to recipients or the platform.
Appeal. Suspended users may submit an appeal to [email protected]. Appeals are reviewed by a human compliance reviewer. The appeal does not stay the suspension.
Record retention. Suspension and termination records, including the reasons for the action, are retained in our compliance audit log.
8. User obligation to honor opt-outs
Opt-outs must be honored immediately and persistently. An opt-out received at any phone number applies across every channel, every workflow, every campaign, and every future import associated with the account. Users may not attempt to re-solicit opt-in from a recipient who has previously opted out unless that recipient has affirmatively requested to be re-enrolled through a written channel initiated by the recipient.
FollowUp processes the standard opt-out keywords automatically on your behalf and records each opt-out in an append-only compliance audit log. You may not disable opt-out keyword processing. Attempting to circumvent opt-out handling (for example, by rephrasing STOP as a non-keyword, routing through a different number, or importing the same contact under a new record) is a severe violation of this policy.
9. Contact
Questions about this policy, reports of abuse, and opt-out disputes should be directed to [email protected]. Reports are reviewed by a human compliance reviewer during business hours.