SHAFT SMS compliance, in plain words.

What SHAFT means

CTIA, the wireless industry association, defines SHAFT content as "content that contains or promotes sex, hate, alcohol, firearms, or tobacco."

CTIA lists SHAFT among the content that is "either explicitly prohibited or has additional Wireless Provider requirements." For a legal business selling legal products, the second half of that sentence is the one that matters.

Legal SHAFT content needs a working age gate

CTIA says messaging content must "be age-gated appropriately for controlled substances and adult content," and that messages "should include robust age verification at opt-in (e.g., electronic confirmation of age and identity)."

Its own audit table treats SHAFT content "that is not federally illegal, but exists without a functioning age gate" as something to fix, and the fix it names is to "add a functioning age gate."

Gnymble verifies age in the text conversation: a new subscriber replies with a date of birth, and gets no marketing text until it qualifies. The minimum is set per number, 18 or 21. T-Mobile's code of conduct rules out the shortcut: "Non-acceptable age gating function includes but is not limited to Yes or No responses."

Opt-in comes first

CTIA: messages "should be sent only after the Consumer has opted-in to receive them." The confirmation a subscriber gets should include the program name or product description, customer care contact information or HELP instructions, how to opt out, and a disclosure that the messages are recurring and the frequency of the messaging.

Lists do not travel. CTIA says senders "should not use opt-in lists that have been rented, sold, or shared to send messages."

Opt-out is any clear request

CTIA says consumers should be able "to opt-out of receiving Messages at any time."

The FCC rule goes further. A person "may revoke prior express consent, including prior express written consent, to receive calls or text messages" by "any reasonable method," and the request "must be honored within a reasonable time not to exceed ten business days."

In Gnymble, an exact STOP opts the subscriber out of that number at once. A request in other words is flagged in the inbox with the subscriber's own words, so a person can act on it.

One part of the FCC rule is delayed

The FCC has delayed, until January 31, 2027, the part of its rule that would make an opt-out from one type of informational message apply to all future messages from the same sender on unrelated matters.