# Consent and opt-outs

> What an inbound text does and does not permit, what has to appear near your text button, and how Beam handles opt-outs.

Not legal adviceThis page is a practical summary of how Beam behaves and what the rules generally require. Text messaging carries statutory damages per message in the United States, so have your own counsel review your specific setup and language.

## The distinction that matters most

When someone texts you first, you may reply about the thing they asked about. That is implied consent, and it is why the text-us-first funnel is both safer and simpler.
That permission does not extend to marketing. Someone asking "how much is a new roof?" has not agreed to join a promotional list. Sending them campaign blasts later requires separate, express written consent, captured on its own. This is the single most common and most expensive misunderstanding in text marketing, and it is worth being strict about internally.

## What belongs near your text button

  - Who you are.
  - What texting you is for.
  - "Message and data rates may apply."
  - "Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help."
  - Links to your privacy policy and terms.
  - Message frequency, if you are signing them up for something recurring rather than a one to one conversation.

Beam's widget includes a default consent line. Replace it with wording your counsel approves.

## How Beam handles opt-outs

Beam stops messaging a contact the moment they ask, and it does not require them to know a magic word. STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE, QUIT, CANCEL, END, REVOKE, and REMOVE all work, and so does ordinary language like "please stop texting me", "take me off your list", or "don't contact me again".
This matters legally: since April 2025, a request to stop has to be honored when it arrives by any reasonable means, not only as an exact keyword. Beam deliberately errs toward opting someone out. Losing one conversation to a false positive is a much better outcome than continuing to message somebody who asked you to stop.
An opted-out contact is blocked at the send layer, so nothing further goes out, including assistant replies and scheduled follow-ups. A contact.opted_out event fires to your webhooks so your CRM can record it.

## What Beam does not do for you

  - It does not write your privacy policy or terms.
  - It does not capture marketing consent. If you intend to run campaigns, collect that separately and keep the record.
  - It does not decide whether your list was properly sourced. A purchased list is a purchased list no matter how good the tooling is.

## Keep the record

For any consent you rely on, keep the timestamp, what the person saw when they agreed, and the message they sent. Beam stores every inbound message with its timestamp, which is exactly the artifact you want if a complaint ever arrives. That inbound text, sent from their own phone, is a strong record.

## Quiet hours

Beam only sends during your workspace's sending window, 9am to 8pm by default, and the assistant answers between 8am and 10pm. Marketing messages generally must respect 8am to 9pm in the recipient's local time.