Text messages

Who Relay would text, and why

Relay is a standby service. Somebody names a small number of people they trust — to confirm an emergency is genuine, or to be given access to specific things if one happens. Those people are the only ones we would ever text, and only about that.

The messages exist because email is unreliable at exactly the wrong moment. A message that is filed as junk on the day it matters is the failure this whole product is built to survive.

How it gets turned on

You turn it on yourself, signed in to your own Relay account, by adding a mobile number and ticking a box that reads:

Text me if something needs my attention. Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency varies. Reply STOP to cancel or HELP for help.

The box is empty until you tick it. We record that you ticked it, the wording you were shown, and when.

Nobody can turn this on for you — not even the person who named you. They may have typed a phone number in when they set up their plan, so that they can reach you. That number is never used by us for text messages. Only one you entered yourself, with the box ticked, is.

We never buy, rent, import or otherwise obtain numbers from anywhere else, and we do not sell, rent or share yours.

What the messages say

These are the messages, in full:

• Relay: someone has asked for access to a vault you are named on. Please sign in at relaystandby.com to answer. Reply STOP to opt out.
• Relay: a request you were asked about is still waiting for an answer. Sign in at relaystandby.com. Reply STOP to opt out.
• Relay: this is a practice run, nothing is wrong. Sign in at relaystandby.com and press "I got this". Reply STOP to opt out.

Every one of them says the same thing in different words: something needs you, go and sign in. There is never a code in a text message, never a link that signs you in, and never anything to buy. That is not a courtesy — it is the security model. A message worth intercepting is a message worth faking, so ours are worth neither.

How to stop

Reply STOP to any message and we stop immediately. You can also switch it off on the same screen you switched it on, and you can delete the number entirely.

Reply HELP and you get:

Relay: help at relaystandby.com or hello@relaystandby.com. Reply STOP to opt out.

Stopping texts changes nothing else. You keep your account, you stay in the circle of whoever named you, and you still get email.

Frequency, and what it costs

Message and data rates may apply — that is between you and your carrier; we charge nothing for this.

Frequency varies, and for most people it is nothing at all. Messages are sent when something actually happens: a request is raised on a vault you are named on, an answer is still outstanding, or the person who named you runs a practice run. In a typical year that may be zero messages. There is no newsletter and no schedule.

The rest of it

What we store and what we cannot read is in the privacy policy; the agreement itself is in the terms. Our email comes from relay@relaystandby.com, and a real person reads hello@relaystandby.com.