Long Code Text Messaging FAQ
What is Long Code Text Messaging?
Long code text messaging uses a standard 10-digit phone number to send text messages. In order for you to use long code texting, we must set the phone number up for you in advance. Typically, the phone number has a (424) area code. For customers who would rather have a local phone number to send long code text messages, we can purchase a phone number for you but there will be that extra cost involved. Note that all Canadian customers are automatically set up for long code texting upon implementation.
What is the Character Limit for Long Code Text Messages?
Long code text messages are limited to a maximum of 160 characters. However, the limit may be less than 160 if special characters or accented letters are used.
Are Recipients Required to Opt-In?
It is possible to receive long code text messages without opting in. However, some customers have requested that opting-in be required and we will accommodate those requests. If you are unsure if your organization requires recipients to opt-in to receive SMS messages, reach out to us at gettechsupport@brightarrow.com.
Why are There Random Special Characters at the End of My Text Message?
You may send a long code text message and realize upon receiving it that there are seemingly random special characters at the very end of the message. Maybe your contacts are asking why the text message ends with %# or &* or another similar combination of special characters. These characters are included by us intentionally as a proactive measure to ensure your message is not blocked by the recipient's phone carrier.
Some phone carriers use an aggressive SPAM detection algorithm that was checking for messages sent at similar times even if they originated from different phone numbers. These algorithms would detect BrightArrow text messages as SPAM and subsequently block ALL of our text messages into a region for several days. As a workaround, we had to find a way to ensure the strings varied somewhat. Since all texting characters are visible, our only option was to randomly put "innocuous" characters at the end of the text.
You may notice that not all of your messages contain these special characters. It may seem fairly random, but it actually depends on how many messages are going out at the same time from our servers. Since most organizations send out a lot of texts at once, this mechanism is very important to ensure the messages are received.