Text messages
How owners opt in to texts from a study.
Signalment sends text messages only to pet owners who agree to them for their own animal, in one of three ways: on a study’s sign-up page, where an owner who gives a US or Canadian mobile number may tick one box, never ticked for them and never needed to send their answers; in the owner app, where the owner gives their mobile number, chooses an hour and ticks the wording below; or in person or by phone, where a member of the study team reads the owner the same wording, records the number, the hour and how consent was taken, and confirms that the owner agreed. The wording agreed to, its version and when are kept, and who took a spoken agreement is on the study’s audit trail. From the sign-up page the first text is the invitation to join, sent when the study team adds the animal to the study; in the app or by the team, a first text confirms the number. Nothing is sent before that. Texting is always optional. A STOP is final until the owner replies START; the study team cannot turn texts back on after a STOP.
On the sign-up page
A study that offers texts adds one screen to its sign-up page, after the owner’s phone number: one box, unticked, with the wording beside it and links to Signalment’s privacy notice and terms (and to the study’s own privacy notice when it has one). The owner may leave it empty and still send their answers. A number from outside the US and Canada gets no box. The review screen shows the choice, and the receipt email repeats it when the box was ticked.
- Opt-in type: web form, on the study’s sign-up page, before any account
- Who may opt in: an owner signing their own animal up for a study that offers texts
- What is recorded: the number, the wording agreed to with its version, and when, with the sign-up
The wording beside the box
I agree to receive text messages about this study from Harrowgate Veterinary Clinic, sent by Signalment, including my invitation to join and reminders. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help.
The study team’s organization is named in it. Texts sent from this agreement: the invitation to join when the team adds the animal, the invitation again if the team resends it (at most one a day, three in all), one follow-up if the study chose it and the owner has not joined, then reminders and messages as below.
The opt-in, on the owner’s phone.
An owner taking part in a study opens the animal’s page in Signalment, goes to More, and under Text reminders gives a mobile number, chooses a time of day, ticks the agreement and presses Turn on text reminders. Nothing is sent before that. A first text confirms the number.
- Opt-in type: web form, inside the Signalment owner app, after signing in
- Who may opt in: the owner of an animal enrolled in a study that offers text reminders
- What is recorded: the number, the time chosen, the wording agreed to and when, on the animal’s record
The wording the owner agrees to in the app
I agree to receive text message reminders about this study from Signalment on behalf of the study team, at most one a day while a check-in is due, and messages from the study team about my animal. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to end texts, HELP for help. Mobile numbers are never shared or sold.
Frequency and opting out
At most one reminder a day, only on a day a check-in is due and not yet in, and never between 9 pm and 8 am in the owner’s own time zone; an invitation that would land at night waits for the morning. Messages from the study team are sent one at a time by a named person. Reply STOP to any text to end them, START to turn them on again, HELP for help; the owner can also stop texts on the same card, and the study team can stop them on the owner’s behalf. Every outgoing text carries the STOP line.
Sample messages
What the texts say.
Taken from the product. The names are from the fictional example study.
Reminder, sent by the system at most once a day while a check-in is due
Signalment: Maple’s check-in is due today (The Lanternfield arthritis study). Open https://signalment.app/my. Reply STOP to end texts.
Message from the study team, from a template
The Lanternfield arthritis study: Hi Jordan, Harrowgate Veterinary Clinic here. A reminder that Maple’s study visit is coming up. Reply or call (707) 555-0142 if the time does not work. Reply STOP to end texts.
Message from the study team, from a template
The Lanternfield arthritis study: Hi Jordan, this is Harrowgate Veterinary Clinic about Maple’s study. Could you call us on (707) 555-0142 when you have a moment? Reply STOP to end texts.
Invitation to join, when the study team adds the animal to the study (owners who agreed on the sign-up page)
The Lanternfield arthritis study: Harrowgate Veterinary Clinic invites Maple to take part. Join here: https://signalment.app/app/#/join/… Reply STOP to end texts.
Follow-up, once, if the owner has not joined after the days the study chose
The Lanternfield arthritis study: Harrowgate Veterinary Clinic’s invitation for Maple is still open. Join here: https://signalment.app/app/#/join/… Reply STOP to end texts.
Reply to HELP
Signalment sends study invitations, check-in reminders and messages from your study team. Reply STOP to end texts. Questions: hello@signalment.app
Reply to STOP
You will get no more texts from Signalment for this study. Reply START to turn them back on.
Reply to START
Signalment: texts for this study are on again. Reply HELP for help, STOP to end texts.
Where the number goes
Delivery, and who sees what.
- Texts are delivered by Twilio Inc. in the United States, which receives the mobile number, the message text and its delivery status, and nothing else
- Mobile numbers are never shared or sold, and never used for marketing
- The number is kept on the animal’s record with the owner’s other contact details; the study team’s messages and the owner’s replies are kept with the study
- The privacy notice and the data processing addendum say the rest; the service terms apply