Do App Notifications Give Us Permission to Text or Email Customers?
No. Keep app push, texts and email separate. Signing up for an app is not blanket permission to send ads. FCC rules require prior express written consent for covered automated telemarketing. Commercial email has its own CAN-SPAM rules. Have your lawyer check the message and how it will be sent. Read the FCC rule.
What changes when we send a text?
The FCC rule, 47 CFR 64.1200, covers certain automated calls and messages. Which parts apply can depend on the message and the tool used to send it. Give your lawyer the actual text and sending method. A phone number collected for an order is not, by itself, approval for a sales campaign.
What changes when we send commercial email?
The FTC’s CAN-SPAM guide calls for truthful sender details and subject lines. It also covers ad labels, a valid postal address and a way to opt out. The main purpose of the email matters. Keep delivery notices and ads separate for review. Adding a sales pitch can change what staff need to check. Read the FTC guide.
How should we organize the office workflow?
Write the channel beside each message: app push, SMS or email. Ask the provider to show the message on a phone and explain how it gets there. Keep the approved text and consent records together. Give staff a clear way to pass stop requests to the person who controls that channel.
What should we check before launch?
Before you use a contact list, review each type of message:
- List the messages your office wants to send and name the channel for each.
- Separate delivery information from advertising before reviewing the templates.
- Ask the provider to identify the sending technology and available permission records.
- Have counsel approve the consent, disclosure and stop-request process for each channel.
- Rehearse a preference change internally and confirm staff know which future messages to stop.
Questions owners ask
Is a push notification the same as an SMS?
No. Push comes through the app’s notification service. SMS is a phone text. Ask to see the actual message and how it is sent. A dashboard label may not tell you enough. This page does not say all push messages are free of legal or privacy duties.
Can we use an order phone number for promotions?
Do not treat a stored number as proof of consent to ads. Show your lawyer how it was collected and the words the customer agreed to. Include the proposed campaign. Give office staff a clear rule to follow so they do not have to make a legal call for each name.
Are delivery updates always exempt?
No blanket answer fits every update. The channel and the words both matter. Show the reviewer the actual notice. Keep the approved version in reach of staff. A friendly extra sentence about a sale should go through review before anyone adds it to a delivery message.
What should happen when someone asks us to stop?
Record the request and get it to the person who controls the affected messages. Test that step during setup. Include a request made by phone to the office, as well as one made in the app. Ask your lawyer which messages must stop and which deadlines apply.
What should we verify about Custom Fuel App notifications?
Open the existing notification guide and ask for a live walk-through with internal test data. Which messages are app push? Does another service send texts or email? A push example does not prove the product sends marketing texts. Have the proposed messages reviewed before you use them with customers.
Primary sources
Bring your reviewed message list to a Custom Fuel App demo. Related reading: Existing notification guide, Customer records. Find more on the answer hub.
Planning guidance for the office. Check the rules for your work with the agency, your lawyer or a qualified reviewer. A product setting does not prove compliance.
Last updated: 2026-10-17
Author: The Custom Fuel App team