What happens when a customer texts STOP, and can I text them again?

Text messaging rules require that anyone can opt out of texts at any time, and that you honor it right away. Peakify handles this automatically, you do not need to build anything for it to work.

What counts as opting out

If a contact texts any of these words, they are unsubscribed immediately: STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, QUIT, or the French ARRET (with or without the accent). The word does not have to be the whole reply. "Please stop" or "I want to cancel now" counts too, in any capitalisation and with punctuation around it, so "Stop." and "STOP!" work. From that moment on, Peakify will not send them another text, whether it is a broadcast, an AI reply, or anything else, until they opt back in.

The rules require you to honour any reasonable request to stop, and Peakify catches these opt-out words automatically. If someone asks in other words, such as "no more texts", opt them out yourself with Opt Out on your Contacts list. A word inside a longer word does not count, so "stopping by later" and "non-stop" do not unsubscribe anyone.

If someone replies HELP, they get an automatic explanatory reply. Nothing changes about whether they can still receive texts from you.

Getting them back

Only the customer can undo an opt-out they made by text, by texting START or UNSTOP back to your number. There is no button in Peakify for you to resubscribe someone on their behalf, it works purely off what they type. Once they text START, they are reachable again straight away, and are counted back into your next broadcast's audience.

Texting START only undoes an opt-out that came from a text. It does not undo an unsubscribe from the link in one of your emails, or an opt-out an admin made with Opt Out on your Contacts list, because those stop your emails as well as your texts. A contact opted out that way stays opted out even after they text START, and that is still true when they had texted STOP first.

It works the same way the other way round. Someone who unsubscribed using the link in one of your emails can press Resubscribe on that page to get your emails again, but that only undoes an email unsubscribe. If they also texted STOP, or an admin opted them out, they stay opted out and are asked to contact you.

This is per business, not platform-wide

Opting out applies only to your organization's number. If the same person has also messaged a different Peakify customer, opting out of your texts does not affect the other business, and their opting out with someone else does not affect you. Each business keeps its own record of who has opted out and when.

Quiet hours

Even for a contact who has not opted out, a text sent between 9pm and 8am in that person's own local time (worked out from their area code, not your business's time zone) is held back rather than sent overnight. If their area code cannot be matched to a time zone, a more cautious window is used instead. A broadcast held back by quiet hours is not retried automatically, you would need to send it again.

Where you see an opt-out

A contact who has opted out shows as Unsubscribed on your Contacts list, and you can filter the list to show only them. Someone who texted START and can be reached again no longer shows as Unsubscribed, in the list or in that filter. There is no toggle to switch an opt-out back off from your side, the record is kept for compliance and audit purposes. If a customer who opted out by text tells you by phone or in person that they want back on your texting list, ask them to text START to your number, that is what unblocks them whenever we hold the record showing their opt-out came from a text.

If a customer says they keep getting texts after asking to stop, or says they texted START and nothing changed, chat with us and we will look into it.