SMS & messaging
The text messages Woof sends
Woof sends a handful of 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 kinds 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, so 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. |
| Pet Guardian invitation “Alex chose you as someone they trust to help with Marty’s care if they can’t. Will you be Marty’s Pet Guardian in Woof? Accept or decline: …” | Someone a Woof user chose and entered | A Woof user chose you to help with their pet’s care if they can’t. You have to say yes before Woof texts you about that pet again. |
| Pet Guardian Care Record link and code “Your Woof Pet Guardian code is 123456. It expires in 10 minutes. Don’t share it with anyone.” | A Pet Guardian who said yes | The owner shared their pet’s Care Record with you, or you asked for a code to view it. |
| Missed check-in: to you “Woof: you haven’t checked in. Reply YES to confirm you’re okay, or open Woof. If we don’t hear from you, we’ll contact your Safety Network.” | 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: the last message before your Safety Network “Woof still hasn’t heard from you. Reply YES to confirm you’re okay, or open Woof now. Your Safety Network will be contacted shortly.” | The number on your own account | Woof still has not heard from you. This is the final message before the people you chose are 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. |
| An alert has ended “Woof: we detected that Alex returned home, so the alert has ended. No further action is needed.” | A Safety Contact Woof already contacted | The person you were contacted about checked in, or their phone arrived home. |
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.
If you are somebody’s Pet Guardian, a Woof user entered your number and Woof sent you one invitation explaining what you were being asked to do. You must say yes on that page before Woof texts you about their pet again. Replying STOP stops the texts but does not end the role; step down from your Pet Guardian page to do that.
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 mobile numbers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and Germany.
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 Use.
Who is sending them
Woof Help LLC
New York, NY, United States
info@woofhelp.com
+1 (646) 455-9167
woofhelp.com