Text consent, opt-outs and imported records

Open the lead or customer. The Text consent section shows Opted in, Opted out or Unknown, with the evidence for the current state, and History lists every change. The same status appears in the Message Center conversation header. Admins, general managers, sales managers, salespeople and call center staff can select Change for records they can open.

To record Opted in, choose how the customer agreed (Verbal on a call, Written/signed form, Customer texted us first, Website form, or Other with a note) and the date they agreed. Kinetic View stores who recorded it. Opted out can always be recorded. Unknown only undoes an opt-in recorded by mistake; it never clears an opt-out. Every change is added to the timeline and the history; nothing is overwritten.

These rules apply to Send Text, Message Center replies and the mobile apps alike. Opted in: texts are allowed. Opted out after a STOP reply: every text is blocked with “This customer replied STOP, so texts are blocked. They can text START to opt back in.” Staff cannot override a STOP; the customer re-subscribes by texting START or UNSTOP. Opted out by staff: blocked until a new opt-in is recorded. Unknown: you can reply only if the customer has texted your company from that number before; otherwise you see “Record this customer's text consent before texting them.” and can record consent right there. Automations send only to Opted in numbers.

A missing consent record means the CRM has no recorded decision. It does not prove the customer never gave permission. An imported phone number, customer relationship, previous text, or approved brand/campaign registration must not be treated as recorded opt-in evidence. If the previous CRM never tracked individual consent, there may be no consent field to export. Check original forms or provider records instead of inventing one.

An administrator can authorize contractor workflow access for a trusted MCP connection. get_contact_text_consent returns the contact’s current phone, exact updated_at revision, consent status and any legacy annotation. Status values are consented, opted_out, unknown and unknown_legacy_import, decided by the same rules as the Text consent control. A STOP takes precedence over any recorded evidence. Consent recorded for a previous phone number does not count. A legacy annotation applies to the matching current phone number; it does not establish permission for a replacement number.

Use record_imported_text_consent only with the matching full phone, source, actual evidence and original consent timestamp. The tool rejects stale contact revisions, future timestamps and older evidence that would override a later recorded opt-out, and it cannot opt in a customer who replied STOP. Its changes appear in the same History and timeline as the Text consent control. Never fabricate evidence to unblock a campaign.

If the owner confirms the contact came from a legacy import and no decision is recorded, mark_legacy_text_consent_unknown can annotate that provenance. It requires the exact revision, source and explicit confirmation. It does not grant consent, clear opt-outs or send a message, and refuses a contact with a recorded decision. This is an MCP workflow annotation, not a bulk opt-in switch.

Preview recipients and exclusions before activation. Unknown legacy contacts remain excluded from consent-gated texts. Keep existing provider opt-outs and suppression lists during cutover, and verify the actual messaging configuration using an administrator-approved internal test recipient. A successful import or draft preview is not proof of delivery.