Legal

Text message and call terms

Last updated 28 October 2026.

1. Who sends these messages

StandingBy is a personal safety check-in app made by Straight A Software LLC, a Massachusetts limited liability company ("we", "us"). We send all StandingBy texts and automated calls, under the StandingBy name.

Each person we contact is given one StandingBy phone number, used for both texts and calls. We keep using the same number for that person, so a number they have saved keeps working. A code you ask for to confirm your number comes from our verification provider's number instead, and still comes if you have replied STOP to us.

2. What we send

Alerts to people a user added

A StandingBy user (the "user") sets up a schedule of check-ins and chooses people to contact if a check-in does not arrive. If you are one of those people (a "contact"), we may send you:

• Alerts saying the user has not checked in and asking you to try to reach them. The first alert explains what StandingBy is. Later ones say they are follow-ups.
• Automated calls that use an artificial or prerecorded voice to say the same thing. Some alerts are two calls close together.
• Requests for help when the user presses SOS, even if they checked in recently.
• A link to the user's last known location, if the user chose to share it with you. The link stops working when that alert is resolved.
• Updates when the user checks in or stops monitoring. They say only what happened, never that it was a false alarm, because StandingBy cannot know that. They come by text if any alert they answer was, or may have been, sent to you by text, and as one call if any was, or may have been, sent to you by call. So if you were called, the update also comes by call.
• A one-time code, only when you ask for one, to confirm the number is yours: on the consent page, or on our website when you manage or withdraw your agreement. You can ask for it by text or by an automated call that reads it out. If your number cannot receive texts, only the call is offered.
• Replies to keywords such as STOP, START and HELP.
• A confirmation text, right after you agree on the consent page to be a user's contact, confirming what you agreed to and the number alerts will come from. It comes each time you agree, for each user, including if you agree again after opting out. It is sent only if your number can receive texts and you have not replied STOP; otherwise the consent page itself confirms your agreement, and if you replied STOP, texting START confirms it instead. It mentions that the StandingBy app can also alert you over Wi-Fi. Installing it is optional: you are a contact either way, and texts and calls still come, unless you replied STOP, in which case no alert or confirmation comes until you text START (a code you ask for still does).

Check-in reminders to users

On an Obvious profile, a user gets a text reminder on their own phone when a check-in is due and none has arrived shortly after the app's notification. Reminders are on by default, and can be turned off for each profile. A profile can also allow checking in by replying SAFE to that text. Disguised profiles never get reminder texts and never accept a reply, because a text on a lock screen cannot be disguised.

Account texts to users

Users also get a one-time code when they confirm their phone number, a text confirming the number when they first confirm it or change to a new one (if it can receive texts and has not replied STOP; otherwise the app confirms it on screen), a text whenever their password is reset, and codes that protect a running session after a password reset. These only go to the user's own number.

No marketing

We do not send marketing or promotional texts or calls. If we ever want to, we will ask for separate consent first. Consent to StandingBy alerts will never be treated as consent to marketing.

3. How we get consent

Contacts

1. The user adds you. Under our terms of service, users may only add people who know them. Being added does not mean you will be contacted. We do not text or call anyone until they agree on the consent page, except a one-time code they ask for there, by text or call, to confirm their number before agreeing.
2. The user introduces you. The app drafts a short introduction that the user sends from their own phone, as an ordinary personal message. It includes a unique link to a page at app.standingby.io. We do not send the introduction and we never send a first message to a stranger on our own initiative.
3. You read the consent page. It tells you:
   • who added you,
   • what StandingBy is,
   • what you may receive and when,
   • the StandingBy number that will contact you, and your own number,
   • that alerts can come at any hour, can include automated calls with an artificial or prerecorded voice, and can include repeated calls in quick succession,
   • that an alert can include a link to the user's last known location, if the user chose that, and that the link stops working when the alert is resolved,
   • what we store about you,
   • how to stop,
   • how to get help, with links to these terms and our privacy policy.
   It offers a contact card so you can save our number.
4. You confirm your number, and agree or do not. To agree, you ask the page for a one-time code, sent to your own number by text or read out in an automated call, enter it, then tick an unticked box and submit the page. The code shows the number is yours, so nobody else can agree on your behalf, including the user who added you. You do not have to agree, and you do not have to buy anything. We keep a record of your agreement, including when it happened and the exact version of the wording you saw.

You can see a sample consent page. It sends no code and records nothing, and the names and numbers on it are made up.

If you were added but never agreed

We do not contact you. If the user misses a check-in, you are not texted or called, and the app shows the user that you will not be contacted until you agree.

The introduction the app drafts

The user can edit the wording before sending it, but not the link. As drafted:

Hi - I have added you as one of my safety contacts on an app called StandingBy. If I am ever out on my own and do not check in, it will text or call you from a number you will not recognize.

Could you open this and save the contact it gives you? Takes a second, and it helps you recognize calls from StandingBy:
app.standingby.io/c/7Kq2mR

Nothing is wrong. I am just setting it up.

Users

Users agree to texts in the StandingBy app, when they confirm their own phone number. A confirmed number is needed to start a session. The screen tells them what will come to the number, how often, that message and data rates may apply, and how to get help and stop, with links to these terms and our privacy policy. Tapping Send code sends a one-time code to the number, or they can ask for a call that reads it out; entering it shows the number is theirs. A text then confirms what they agreed to, when a number is first confirmed or replaces another, if it can receive texts and has not replied STOP; otherwise the app confirms it on screen. Reminders can be turned off for any profile at any time.

4. When, and how often

Contacts get a text confirming each time they agree, if their number can receive texts and has not replied STOP (and a code by text or call, if they ask for one to confirm their number), and after that only when a user who added them misses a check-in or asks for help, and then when that is resolved. When an alert is sent:

• Message frequency varies. One missed check-in can mean several texts and calls within about an hour. Each step can mean up to one text and two calls, followed by a single update when it is resolved.
• If the user checks in and later misses another check-in, the process can happen again in the same session.
• Alerts can arrive at any hour, including overnight. Late at night is when going unnoticed is most dangerous, so alerts are not held back.

Users get at most one reminder for each check-in that comes due during a session and has not arrived. How often depends on the schedule they chose, for example every 45 minutes.

5. Sample messages

These examples use a made-up user named Sarah Chen. They are copied from the StandingBy message specification. The wording may change, and this page will be updated when it does.

Confirmation, right after you agree

Sent each time you agree, and only if your number can receive texts and you have not replied STOP. If you have, agreeing on the consent page asks you to text START to finish, and no alert or confirmation comes until you do (a code you ask for still does).

Sarah Chen now has you as a StandingBy safety contact.
If they miss a check-in, alerts come from this number by text and call.
Save it so calls can ring.
This is not an emergency service. In an emergency call 911.
Optional: the app can also alert you over Wi-Fi: standingby.io/app
Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply.
Reply HELP for help, STOP to opt out.

First alert

Sarah Chen's expected check-in has not been received.
This is StandingBy, a safety app. Sarah Chen asked for you to be told if they stopped checking in. Their last check-in was 25 minutes ago.
Please try to reach them.
This is not an emergency service. In an emergency call 911.
What this is: standingby.io/messages
Reply STOP to opt out.

First alert, when others were already alerted

Sarah Chen's expected check-in has not been received.
Alerts were submitted to others 20 minutes ago.
This is StandingBy, a safety app. Sarah Chen asked for you to be told if they stopped checking in. Their last check-in was 45 minutes ago.
Please try to reach them.
This is not an emergency service. In an emergency call 911.
What this is: standingby.io/messages
Reply STOP to opt out.

Follow-up

Still no check-in from Sarah Chen.
It has now been 45 minutes. We sent you an alert 20 minutes ago.
Please keep trying to reach them.

A new missed check-in, after an earlier one was resolved

Sarah Chen has missed a check-in.
The earlier alert was answered by a check-in, but their last check-in was 30 minutes ago.
Please try to reach them again.
This is not an emergency service. In an emergency call 911.
Reply STOP to opt out.

Location, when the user chose to share it

If the user chose to share their location with you, an alert can carry one more line, just before the 911 line:

Last known location: app.standingby.io/l/7Kq2mRx9Lp3VbT8sNw4ZcA

The link opens a page showing where the user's phone last reported being, and when. It stops working when that alert is resolved. Calls never include a location.

A request for help

Sent when the user presses SOS, even if they checked in recently:

Sarah Chen requested help through StandingBy.
Please try to reach them.
This is not an emergency service. In an emergency call 911.
Reply STOP to opt out.

The user checked in

Sarah Chen has checked in.
StandingBy is still watching, so you may hear from this number again.
No further action is requested by StandingBy.

The user stopped monitoring

Sarah Chen has stopped monitoring.
No further automatic alerts are scheduled for this session.

These say only what StandingBy saw: a check-in, or the end of monitoring. They never say it was a false alarm or that the user is safe, because StandingBy cannot know that.

With a request to confirm

For some sessions, these updates also ask the contact to call the user, because an all-clear can be sent under pressure. The first such message in a session reads:

Sarah Chen has checked in.
StandingBy is still watching, so you may hear from this number again.
An all-clear can be sent under duress. Please call Sarah Chen and confirm they are safe.

Later ones in the same session are shorter:

Sarah Chen has checked in.
StandingBy is still watching. Call Sarah Chen if you can.

When the user stops monitoring:

Sarah Chen has stopped monitoring.
An all-clear can be sent under duress. Please call Sarah Chen and confirm they are safe.

Automated calls

Calls use an artificial or prerecorded voice. The message plays twice, then the call ends. It is the same whether you answer or it goes to voicemail, and there is nothing to press. A call you ask for to hear a code is different: it asks you to press a key before it reads out the code, so the code is not left on voicemail.

Hello. This is an automated call from StandingBy, a personal safety app.
Sarah Chen's expected check-in has not been received.
Sarah Chen asked for you to be contacted if this happened.
Their last check-in was 45 minutes ago.
Please try to reach Sarah Chen.
This is not an emergency service. In an emergency call 911.

After an SOS:

Hello. This is an automated call from StandingBy.
Sarah Chen requested help through StandingBy.
Please try to reach Sarah Chen.
This is not an emergency service. In an emergency call 911.

The second of two calls close together adds, after "Hello.": "This is a second attempt to reach you."

Replies to STOP, HELP and START

You will get no more messages from StandingBy at this number, except a code you ask for. What StandingBy is: standingby.io/messages
Reply START to undo this.

StandingBy sends automated safety alerts and account texts. It is not read by a person.
Help: standingby.io/messages
Reply STOP to opt out.

Replying START after replying STOP:

StandingBy: this number can get our texts again.
Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply.
Reply HELP for help, STOP to opt out.

And then, to a contact whose alerts cannot restart that way, a second text:

To get StandingBy alerts again, confirm your number on our website: standingby.io/messages

Texts to users about their own account

When a user first confirms a number in the app, or changes to a new one, if it can receive texts and has not replied STOP:

StandingBy: this number is verified. Your account texts and any check-in reminders come here.
Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply.
Reply HELP for help, STOP to opt out.

A check-in reminder, on an Obvious profile that allows checking in by reply:

StandingBy: your check-in is due.
Open the app to check in: app.standingby.io/checkin
Or reply SAFE to check in.
Reply STOP to stop these texts.

After a reply of SAFE, when people had already been alerted:

StandingBy: you are checked in.
Sam Lee and Priya Shah will be told you checked in.

After a password reset:

StandingBy: your password was just reset.
If you did not do this, someone may be using your email.
Do not share any code sent to this phone.

What our messages to contacts never contain

Other contacts' names or numbers, the user's phone number, the name of the user's profile or why they set it up, coordinates or a place name (a location is only ever a link), any claim that the user is in danger or safe, or any request for money, passwords or codes.

Messages to the user can name the contacts who will be told, as in the check-in confirmation above, and never ask for money, passwords or codes either.

6. Opting out: STOP

• Reply STOP to any text from your StandingBy number, the one that sends alerts and reminders. STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END and QUIT work too. This stops both texts and automated calls to your number, for every user who has you as a contact, not only one. We send one text confirming it and nothing after that, except a one-time code if you ask for one.
• Withdraw online: on the consent page while the link the user sent you still works (links expire after 30 days), or at any time on our website after confirming your number with a one-time code. You do not need the link for that. Withdrawing stops contact about the user you choose, and changes nothing for any other user who added you.
• Or tell us any other reasonable way, for example by emailing support@straightasoftware.com with your number, and whether you mean one user or every user who added you. We act on what you ask, promptly, and within the time the law requires.

Once you opt out, we cannot contact you about the users you stopped, even if they miss a check-in. After a STOP, that is every user who added you. We tell each user affected straight away that you can no longer be reached, so they can choose someone else.

If you replied STOP and want alerts again, text START to the same number. That restarts texts and calls for anyone who has you as a contact. If the wording you agreed to has changed since, or you stopped some other way, such as on our website or by email, we ask you to confirm your number on our website instead. Agreeing again on our website does not undo a STOP by itself: the page asks you to text START as well, and until you do we neither text nor call you about anyone (a code you ask for still comes).

Users: replying STOP stops every StandingBy text to your phone: reminders, checking in by reply, password reset notices, and, if you are also someone's contact, alerts to you. One-time codes you ask for still come, from our verification provider. The app shows that this has happened, and anyone who has you as a contact sees that you cannot be reached. Text START from the same phone to get your own texts again; if you are also someone's contact, it restarts alerts to you as well, as described above. Your sessions keep running, and your contacts are still contacted if you miss a check-in.

7. Help: HELP

Reply HELP to any text from your StandingBy number to learn what StandingBy is and how to stop our messages. You can also email support@straightasoftware.com. Our messages are automated and replies are not read by a person as they arrive, so please do not reply with anything urgent.

8. Rates and delivery

• Message and data rates may apply, depending on your mobile plan.
• Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.
• Delivery is not guaranteed. Texts and calls pass through phone carriers and can be delayed, filtered or lost. Phones may silence calls from unknown numbers. Do not rely on StandingBy as your only safety measure.
• StandingBy is intended for US phone numbers.

9. Your phone number and privacy

We never sell phone numbers and never share them for marketing. Mobile information, text messaging opt-in data and consent are not shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. We share phone numbers only with the service providers that help us run StandingBy, such as those that deliver our texts and calls, check whether a number can receive them, and host our service, and only as much as they need for that. The privacy policy explains what we store, how long we keep it, and how to have it deleted.

10. Changes and contact

If we change these terms in a way that matters, we will update this page and the date at the top.

Straight A Software LLC
support@straightasoftware.com