SMS & messaging
The text messages Woof sends
Woof sends four kinds of text message, and every one of them is transactional. Woof does not send marketing texts.
Woof never sends marketing or promotional text messages
There is no newsletter by SMS, no offers, no upsells. Every message Woof sends is one of the four below, and each is the direct result of something you or someone you know did.
What you might receive
| Message | Who receives it | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Sign-in code “123456 is your Woof verification code. It expires in 10 minutes. Woof will never ask you for this code.” | The number on your own account | You asked to sign in. Woof has no passwords — a one-time code is how you get in. |
| Safety Network invitation “Alex added you to their Woof Safety Network. If they ever stop responding, Woof may contact you so their pet isn’t left alone. Accept or decline: …” | Someone a Woof user chose and entered | A Woof user added you as one of their Safety Contacts. You have to accept before Woof will ever contact you again. |
| Missed check-in — to you “Woof: you haven’t checked in. Open Woof to confirm you’re okay, or your Safety Network will be contacted.” | The number on your own account | You missed a check-in you set up. This is Woof asking you directly, before anyone else is contacted. |
| Missed check-in — to your Safety Network “Woof: Alex hasn’t checked in and we can’t reach them. You’re one of their Safety Contacts. Can you help? Open …” | A Safety Contact who accepted an invitation | The person who added you has not responded, and you agreed to be contacted if that happened. |
How consent is obtained
If the messages are about your own account, you gave your number when you created it. Woof uses a phone number as the account identifier, so signing up is the act of asking Woof to text you sign-in codes, and setting up protection is the act of asking Woof to text you if you miss a check-in.
If you are somebody’s Safety Contact, a Woof user entered your number and Woof sent you one invitation explaining what you were being asked to do. You must accept that invitation before Woof will contact you about an incident. If you decline, or simply never reply, Woof does not text you again about that person’s protection. Consent comes before contact, and it is recorded.
How often
Message frequency varies and is driven entirely by events, not by a schedule. Most people receive a sign-in code occasionally and nothing else. Messages about a missed check-in only occur when a check-in is actually missed, and are limited to the steps of the escalation described in how Woof works.
Stopping messages
Reply STOP to any Woof message and that number will stop receiving them. Reply HELP for help and our contact details. You can also write to info@woofhelp.com at any time.
Replying STOP stops the messages; it does not tell Woof you are safe. If an incident is open and you reply STOP, Woof stops texting that number but the incident continues — because “stop texting me” and “I’m okay” are different statements, and treating one as the other could end an escalation for somebody who needed it.
Message and data rates
Message and data rates may apply. Woof does not charge you for text messages; your mobile carrier may. Woof’s messaging is available to United States numbers.
Carriers and delivery
Woof sends messages through a licensed messaging provider. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. Woof does not rely on a single channel for safety: a missed check-in is escalated by push notification and text, and the deadline itself is held on Woof’s servers rather than on your phone, so a message that fails to arrive does not stop protection from working.
Your number, and your consent
Woof does not share your SMS opt-in consent or your mobile information with third parties or affiliates for their marketing or promotional purposes. Your number is used to run Woof and for nothing else. It is not sold, not rented, not shared with advertisers, and not used to build a profile of you.
The exceptions are the ones that make a text message possible at all — the licensed messaging provider that delivers it, and the hosting that Woof runs on. They act on Woof’s instructions and may not use your number for their own marketing. Opt-out state is stored against a one-way hash of the number rather than the number itself. See the Privacy Policy and the Terms of Service.
Who is sending them
Woof Help LLC
New York, NY, United States
info@woofhelp.com
+1 (646) 455-9167
woofhelp.com