Messaging Policy

Program description

TheLocalRing provides temporary United States and Canadian phone numbers for low-volume, one-to-one conversations. Someone texts a published privacy number, the message is delivered to the renter's configured email inboxes, and an authorized email reply is relayed as SMS from that number.

On a monthly plan, an incoming call to a Canadian number may also ring phones the renter lists. TheLocalRing does not place calls, record calls, or take voicemail, and it never sends a message to someone who has not first texted the number.

Receive-first consent

A renter cannot send the first SMS. A recipient establishes consent by first texting the rented number. That inbound message permits replies related to that conversation only. It does not permit unrelated, promotional, recurring, or bulk messaging. TheLocalRing records the inbound carrier identifier, time, participants, and source country as proof of consent.

Identification and opt-out

The first reply identifies a public reply label and the platform—for example, “Sofa seller via TheLocalRing. Reply STOP to end.” A renter may choose the label; until then it says “Listing contact.” The label is separate from the renter's account name, email address, and personal phone number. Recipients may reply STOP to block further messages, START to opt back in, or HELP for assistance. Opt-outs are enforced by the messaging provider and the application.

Frequency and charges

Message frequency varies with the recipient's conversation. Standard message and data rates may apply under the recipient's mobile plan. Consent to receive relayed SMS is not a condition of purchasing a product or service from the renter.

Prohibited messaging

TheLocalRing may suspend or terminate a renter who uses the service for:

• First-contact, unsolicited, marketing, promotional, bulk, or automated messages;
• Fraud, phishing, impersonation, harassment, threats, or deceptive conduct;
• Illegal content or carrier-prohibited categories, including unlawful sex, hate, firearms, alcohol, tobacco, or cannabis content;
• Unlicensed lending, debt collection, lead generation, or attempts to evade carrier filtering;
• Account verification, one-time passwords, or any use that misrepresents a virtual number as a mobile number.

Rental periods and reuse

A number is assigned exclusively to one renter during the paid period and seven-day reservation period. Forwarding stops at paid expiry. After the reservation ends, the number may be reused by another customer. Prior messages, forwarding settings, recipient consent, and email-reply links do not transfer to a later rental. A new holder must receive a new inbound text before replying.

United States senders

A United States number may be offered to a customer only after it is assigned to TheLocalRing's approved carrier campaign and recorded as approved in our inventory. Unregistered US numbers fail closed for outbound SMS. Canadian senders remain limited to Canadian destinations during the current rollout.

Support

For messaging or opt-out assistance, email hello@thelocalring.com. A plain-language walkthrough is available on our SMS consent page.