Complying with Israel's SMS Regulations When Using Yotpo SMS & Email

This information is not legal advice. While we do our best to provide useful information as a starting point, Yotpo SMS & Email advises all merchants to obtain professional legal advice to ensure that all marketing campaigns are sent in full compliance with all applicable laws.

If you plan on sending SMS or email marketing messages to customers in Israel, it’s essential to get familiar with Israel’s Communications Act. You can easily adhere to it by following a few simple steps.

In this article, you’ll learn about the main points of Israel’s Communications Act and how Yotpo SMS & Email help you comply with those regulations.

How to stay compliant with Israel’s SMS and email regulations

When sending marketing messages to recipients in Israel, you must:

• Obtain explicit consent

• Provide an easily accessible opt-out mechanism

• Identify your brand

Obtaining consent

According to the regulations in Israel, customers must explicitly agree to receive promotional text or email marketing messages from you. When collecting subscribers on your website through a pop-up or another subscriber collection tool, make sure to clearly state that the individual agrees to receive recurring marketing messages.

You must also be transparent about what information you’re collecting and how you’ll use it, mention that consent is not a condition of purchase, and provide links to your Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

With Yotpo SMS & Email, consent can be obtained at your store’s checkout or via our various subscriber collection tools all of which are designed to comply with regulations and include the required legal verbiage. To learn more, see Customizing Your Shopify Checkout Opt-In Box and Introduction to Subscriber Collection Tools.

Please note:

Consent to receive promotional SMS messages does not extend to emails and vice versa. The customer needs to provide consent separately for each messaging channel.

Providing an opt-out mechanism

Regulations in Israel require you to give customers clear instructions on how to opt out. Opting out must be free and possible at all times.

SMS

Subscribers can opt out from receiving marketing text messages sent via Yotpo in two ways:

• By clicking an opt-out link in the text message. The Yotpo SMS & Email campaign builder ensures compliance by automatically including an unsubscribe link in all your text messages.

• By replying with a keyword, for example, “STOP” or ״הסר״ in Hebrew. To learn more about how keywords and service messages work, see Compliance Settings.

Please note:

By default, all text messages sent via Yotpo use a Business Sender ID which cannot receive replies. If you want to make two-way communication possible and receive messages from subscribers, including opt-out triggering keywords like "STOP" or "הסר", you can request a Long Virtual Number (LVN).

Email

Subscribers can opt out by using an unsubscribe link included automatically in the footer of all email messages you send.

Identifying your brand

Regulations in Israel require that you identify yourself in every message, i.e. make it clear the messages are coming from your brand. Тext messages use the Business Sender ID, which is your brand name. Additionally, you can easily include your brand name using the “Sitename” shortcode.

For emails, in the General Settings > Email Settings tab, you can enter your store name and set up a dedicated sending domain so that the emails you send appear to come from your brand instead of Yotpo.