Personal Messaging Best Practices
SMS, iMessage, and WhatsApp guidance for personal, welcome outreach—with time for real conversations.
Keep your outreach personal and paced
Start with people who know you and welcome hearing from you. Spread outreach throughout the day, using small batches and taking breaks for conversations.
Recommended pace for SMS and iMessage
Recipients per 10 hours
Keep campaign outreach within 150 recipients in any rolling 10-hour period.
Recipients per hour
Reach up to 50 recipients in any 60-minute period, with breaks between small batches.
Spread it out. Leave time to reply. These are recommendations, not sending targets.
Make room for conversations
A batch does not need to fill the hourly allowance. Send a small group of messages, then pause to review replies, log responses, and update voter information before continuing. Avoid sending your entire hourly allowance in one rapid burst.
A rolling 10-hour period means the previous 10 hours at any point in time; it does not reset at midnight.
WhatsApp best practices
Focus on existing, welcome conversations. We recommend keeping new outreach to 50 conversations within a rolling 10-hour period, spread throughout the day. Take breaks between small batches and make time for replies.
Use WhatsApp when the recipient knows you and welcomes contact there. Switching channels does not remove the need to pace your outreach or respect requests to stop.
These are UpVote recommendations, not official Apple, carrier, or WhatsApp limits or a guarantee against messaging restrictions. Who you contact and whether they welcome your message matter alongside volume and pace.
Before you tap Send
Check the recipient at the top of the message. A saved name is a useful clue, but your relationship with the recipient is what matters.
Good sign: this number appears to be saved in your contacts.
Send only if you know them and they will recognize you.
Pause: this number may not be saved in your contacts.
It could be a voter-file number. If you’re unsure who it is, skip it.
Please note: a name on your phone does not guarantee that your number is saved on their phone.
Golden rule: if you are unsure who a recipient is, skip them.
How your message can look to a voter
Help recipients recognize you. An unexpected message from an unknown number can be easy to report as spam. Reach out to people who know you, and include your name.
An unfamiliar number can make reporting easy.
A familiar conversation helps people recognize you.
Before sending a Bulk SMS
Take a moment to review the recipient list before moving into the Messages app.
Recognize every name
Send only to people you personally know and expect to recognize your number.
Make it sound like you
Use the campaign template as a starting point, then add personal context when it will help the recipient recognize you.
Respect the response
If someone says you have the wrong person or asks not to be contacted, do not message them again.
If you see a number instead of a name, skip it
It could be a voter-file number rather than someone saved in your contacts. Do not assume it is safe to contact simply because it appears in the outreach flow.
“Hi Sarah, it’s Mark from the neighborhood association…”
Your 30-second checklist
- ✓ I recognize every recipient shown before I send.
- ✓ I checked the recipient line and skipped anyone I could not confidently identify.
- ✓ This person knows me and is likely to recognize my number.
- ✓ My message sounds like me.
- ✓ I am sending in small batches, leaving time for replies, and following the recommendations for my messaging channel.
If you see an outreach reminder
Your campaign admin can customize SMS and WhatsApp warnings based on the number of messages sent within a 10-hour period. A warning is a reminder to check your pace, review replies, and consider taking a break.
The reminder counts messages; the recommendations above refer to SMS recipients or new WhatsApp conversations. The counts may differ. The reminder does not replace the SMS hourly recommendation, and its threshold is not a guaranteed safe allowance.
A brief note about iMessage
Apple allows recipients to report unwanted iMessages. Apple states that a reported iMessage is sent to Apple with the sender’s information, and that iMessage misuse may result in service limitations.
There is no public Apple rule stating that a specific number of reports or messages automatically triggers a restriction. The safest approach is not to rely on a numerical “safe limit,” but to contact only people who know you, verify every recipient, and send relevant messages at a reasonable pace.
What if messaging stops working?
Pause campaign messaging and tell your campaign team. Check the error you received: an iMessage account restriction is different from a carrier or phone-number issue.
For a spam-related iMessage block, follow Apple’s official instructions and any account review steps offered. Contact Apple Support if needed; contact your carrier for carrier service issues. Recovery timing and outcomes vary.
If WhatsApp restricts your account, follow the in-app instructions and official support process. Do not keep retrying outreach or switch channels to continue unwanted contact.
Frequently asked questions
How should I pace SMS outreach?
Keep outreach within 150 recipients in any rolling 10-hour period and up to 50 recipients in any 60-minute period. Use small batches and take breaks for replies and logging.
What do you recommend for WhatsApp?
Focus on existing, welcome conversations. Keep new outreach within 50 conversations per rolling 10-hour period, spread throughout the day.
Do these amounts guarantee that my account will avoid restrictions?
No. These are UpVote best practices, not platform-approved safe limits. Recipient recognition, welcome contact, and pacing matter even at lower volumes.
Does a saved contact name mean they recognize my number?
No. Having their number saved does not guarantee they have yours. Introduce yourself and include personal context when helpful.
What if I only see a phone number?
Pause and verify who it belongs to. It may be a voter-file number. If you cannot confidently identify the recipient and your relationship with them, skip it.
What if someone asks me to stop or says I have the wrong person?
Stop contacting them and record the response in UpVote. Review any incorrect match before further outreach.