Opt-in and opt-out: what it means
DefinitionOpt-in is a customer's recorded permission to receive texts or emails from a business, and opt-out is their request to stop, often by replying STOP. Service businesses need to capture consent when collecting a phone number and honor stop requests right away.
How it works in a service business
Consent is easiest to prove when it is collected plainly: a checkbox on the booking form, or a clear line saying that the customer agrees to receive appointment messages. Keep a record of when and how permission was given. The tradeoff is reach: a customer who has not opted in cannot be texted, even if you have their number from a phone call. A common mistake is ignoring a stop reply or buying a list of numbers. Treat an opt-out as final until the customer opts in again, and make sure the opt-out applies to your software and to any outside provider. Service reminders and marketing blasts can have different consent needs, so check your own rules.
Example
A customer replies STOP to a reminder. The system marks her phone as opted out, no further texts go out, and the office sees a note suggesting a call for the next visit.
Where Apex touches this
In progress
Part of this is built. The rest is not. Status as of 2026-10-07; the badge shows the least-built feature involved.
- CM09Opt-out / STOP and quiet hours(Built, rolling out)
- CM10Channel consent preferences(In progress)
- CM27Unsubscribe / compliance footer auto(Built, rolling out)
Apex Flow Scheduler is in early access. See how we label status.