Messages that are sent via our API still have to obey text messaging rules and regulations. What this means is that we have a few guardrails in place for all messages sent through the API.

The first thing we do is that all messages sent through the API will automatically prefix the shop's name with a colon and a space at the beginning of a message. For example, if you were sending messages on behalf of a shop named Postscript, messages sent on behalf of that shop would have a Postscript: prefixed to the message sent to a subscriber before the body of the message you send us via the API.

The second thing we do is require all messages sent through the API obey waking hours if they are promotional. This means that if you try to send a message to a subscriber outside their waking hours, we will not deliver that message until that subscriber's waking hours are back. You will receive a status value of scheduled in these cases in the response.

If you would like access to send message categories that are either transactional or conversational, please fill out this request form and we will take each request on a case by case basis.

In addition to the above, when you attempt to send a message via our API, you are creating a request to send a message. This means that initially, you will get back information on the request, not the sent message itself. Once the message has been sent on our side, the message request will no longer have the sent_message properties as null and instead will include the actual sent message information. Most of the time (unless you are scheduling a message for the future or are trying to send a promotional message outside waking hours), the message should be sent pretty quickly. Occasionally, it may take awhile to send the message. You can check whether or not a message request's message was sent by using the GET endpoint to look it up and see if the sent_message field contains the message's information.

Keep these things in mind as you are using the API to send messages and build your applications.

Some additional helpful links from our Help Center on messaging to be aware of: