SMS S.H.A.F.T. Policy

Please be advised that the following information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

What is S.H.A.F.T?

S.H.A.F.T., which stands for Sex, Hate, Alcohol, Firearms, and Tobacco, is a set of guidelines established to safeguard consumers by prohibiting brands from disseminating content containing any of the aforementioned subject matters to inappropriate audiences.

These regulations are enforced by the phone carriers and CTIA guidelines and apply to all SMS platforms within the industry. While not technically a law, compliance with the S.H.A.F.T. guidelines is crucial for any entity utilizing SMS communication with consumers.

What happens when a violation occurs?

Violations of CTIA regulations may result in your text message being blocked and your business being banned from sending future text campaigns.

What words are prohibited related to “Firearms”?

As it relates to firearms, any words related to firearms may result in an S.H.A.F.T. violation. However, CTIA does not publish a list of banned words to prevent businesses from "gaming the system."

What is Bravo doing to help me stay compliant?

To assist with compliance, Bravo will automatically check SMS messages for known prohibited words in its 3.0.5 minor release. If a known word is present in the message, a pop-up will appear alerting the user of the violation and providing guidance for resolution.

What if my business name contains a prohibited word?

Since carriers specifically don't allow words related to firearms, it's important that we comply with those requirements. For those customers that have the word "gun" or "firearm" in their name they can instead be creative and abbreviate it to the first initial or anything else that doesn't spell out any of those blacklist type words. For example, if the name of your business is Sunny’s Gun Shop. Change it to Sunny’s G.S or Sunny’s.

We have removed the Store.Name template bit from SMS Messaging to help alleviate this from happening on newly created templates.

My business of located outside of the US and Canada, does this still apply?

It should be noted that Twilio, the SMS platform utilized by Bravo, applies S.H.A.F.T. regulations to all customers on their platform, regardless of location.

What are my next steps?

All messages’ templates should be audited for blacklisted words, including re-occurring loan (if applicable) and layaway reminders in addition to any scheduled mobile events. Bravo has four short how to video’s found HERE to help!

I need help crafting new SMS messages!

We would be glad to assist you with crafting compliant messages. To receive this support, we kindly ask that you submit a ZenDesk ticket outlining your specific messaging needs. Our team of experts will review your request and work with you to develop messages that meet the S.H.A.F.T. guidelines and all relevant regulations.

Thank you for trusting us to help you navigate this important aspect of SMS communication.

Words Bravo is Currently Blocking

Ammo 
Ammunition 
Automatic 
Automatics 
Beer
Beers
Barrel 
Barrels 
Bullet 
Bullets 
Cartridge 
Cartridges 
Chamber 
Chambers 
Champagne
Champagnes
Firearm 
Firearms 
Gun 
Guns 
Gunpowder 
Holster 
Holsters 
Keg
Kegs
Kegger
Loan
Loans
Magazine 
Magazines 
Pawn
Pawns
Pistol 
Pistols 
Recoil 
Recoils 
Revolver 
Revolvers 
Rifle 
Rifles 
Safeties 
Safety 
Scope 
Scopes 
Semiautomatic 
Semiautomatics 
Semi|Automatic 
Semi|Automatics 
Shotgun 
Shotguns 
Sight 
Sights 
Silencer 
Silencers 
TNT
Trigger 
Triggers 
Handgun 
Uzi 
Musket 
NFAitem 
NFAitems 
NFA|Item 
NFA|Items 
Blackpowder 
Black|Powder 
Magnum 
Bomb 
Grenade 
Missile 
Shot
Fortyfive 
Forty|Five 
Thirtyeight 
Thirty|Eight 
Armamen