What is SPAM?
SPAM is any email sent which is unsolicited, i.e. the email is not requested by the recipients.
In addition, SPAM may also have the following characteristics:
- Anonymous – The address and identity of the sender are concealed or are fraudulent;
- Sent in Mass – The email is sent to large groups of people;
- Malicious – it is sent with malicious intent; and/or,
- No Opt-Out – no option is given to stop receiving future emails.
SmartSurvey may only be used with email lists where you have the consent of the recipient(s). You are prohibited from sending any recipient emails which they have not signed up to. You must not send email under any other organisation other than your own.
SmartSurvey’s Rules regarding SPAM & Email Sending
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Remain in the SmartSurvey Statistic Thresholds. You must not exceed any of the following thresholds:
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Email Limits – What are Email Limits? The number of emails you are allowed to send via your SmartSurvey account. What is the threshold for Email Limits? You can find the limit per plan on our pricing page smartsurvey.co.uk/pricing. The limit applies to the account including all the sub-users. If you anticipate you need more or have already reached this limit, please contact our Sales Team and they will be able to assist you with a higher email limit.
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Bounces – What are Bounces? It is when a destination email address cannot accept the email and the email gets returned to sender, this is usually because the email address is incorrect or inactive. What is the threshold for Bounces? 7% or more of the number of emails sent have bounced.
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Unsubscribes – What are Unsubscribes? It is when a recipient of an email unsubscribes as they no longer want to receive further communication from the sender. What is the threshold for Unsubscribes? 1.4% or more of the recipients unsubscribe or 1% if number of unsubscribes is higher than clicks.
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Blocks – What are Blocks? Emails that do not leave the sender’s servers because of a permanent error. This is usually because they are invalid, previously reported your email as SPAM, resulted in complaints or did not pass through the sender server’s SPAM filter. What is the threshold for Blocks? 30% or more of your emails are identified as Blocks.
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Complaints – What are Complaints? When an email recipient marks your email as a SPAM. What is the threshold for Complaints? 0.08% and in any case, never more than 20 Complaints per day.
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SPAM Traps – What are SPAM Traps? These are inactive email addresses which webhosts use to measure whether your sending list is outdated, purchased and/or obtained from 3rd parties. What is the threshold for SPAM Traps? 1% or more of emails sent.
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Abuse Complaints
What are Abuse Complaints? These are when a recipient reports your email because you emailed without their consent. What is the threshold Abuse Complaints? 1% or more of emails sent.
- Third Party Mailing List. Sending to third party mailing lists is prohibited if the recipient has not opted in to receive communication from you.
- Consent for non-transactional emails. Emails can only be sent to a recipient if that recipient has explicitly granted consent to receive the emails. Consent must be clear, explicit and provable consent to receive communication. No consent is required for transactional emails. Proof of consent must be kept and provided in the event of an escalated complaint.
- Unsubscribe link in every marketing email. An unsubscribe link must be provided in each marketing email.
- Information about sender. The sender’s name, domain and email address must be clearly communicated in every email. When sending from a different domain name on behalf of a partner or related third-party organization, the email body must clearly communicate that the message is sent via a third-party domain.
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Only legal and legitimate information may be sent. You must not send any messages that:
- contravene our Terms of Use (/terms-of-use);
- contain, promote, reference, or link to unlawful, illegal, libelous, defamatory or violence against any individual or group and more generally affecting human rights;
- promote the activities of gambling, sexual, adult content, weapons and any explosives, tobacco or tobacco-related, drugs, political, hacking, penny stocks, forex and crypto-currency trading and trading advice, payday loans, debt collection agencies, clairvoyance, lead sales and affiliate marketing, paid surgery, work-at-home or entrepreneurial schemes, and promotional real estate;
- are sent in the name and on behalf of third-parties (including their own customers); or,
- deemed unsuitable to or harmful to the reputation of SmartSurvey or any of its affiliates, partners, customers and users.
- Regulated Business. If your business is regulated by an authority. You are asked to contact our sales department for a custom account instead of subscribing for a self-service account. SmartSurvey may ask to request documents and relevant licences relating to your activity.
What happens if you SPAM or breach this policy?
SmartSurvey operates a zero-tolerance approach. If you send any spam, SmartSurvey reserves the right to do any or all of the following:
- Disable your account temporarily and you may not receive any refunds.
- Terminate your account indefinitely and you may not receive any refunds.
- Prevent you from opening another SmartSurvey account
- Report you to the relevant authorities where we believe that your actions contravene anti-SPAM laws.
- Rate limitation of your emails or suspension of email tool
- Any other right provided in line with our Terms of Use: /terms-of-use
How to Report SPAM?
If you have been sent SPAM or have any information regarding someone using SmartSurvey for SPAM please contact abuse@smartsurvey.co.uk and we will investigate the matter and take the appropriate measures.
Changes to this Policy
SmartSurvey reserves the right to change the thresholds under Rule 1, at any time without prior notice.
