Stormward: proof of consent for text messages

01 / Program details

What the program is

Every message Stormward sends is transactional and safety related. There is no marketing campaign, no promotional traffic, and no third-party content. A number receives one of exactly three kinds of message: a one-time opt-in request, a verification code the recipient asked for, or an alert about a dangerous warning affecting a place that recipient's account is watching.

Brand	Stormward
Program name	Stormward Alerts
Use case	Transactional. Life-safety alerting for severe weather, natural disasters, and the civil, evacuation, and hazmat emergencies relayed by the National Weather Service.
Message types	One-time opt-in request; account verification code; hazard alert and safety check-in; keyword replies (`STOP`, `START`, `HELP`, `YES`, `SAFE`).
Message frequency	Event driven, so it varies. A dangerous warning sends at most two texts to the person at risk and one to the account holder. Most weeks send none at all.
Cost	Message and data rates may apply. Stormward charges nothing per message; text alerts are part of the paid Pro plan.
Opt-out	Reply `STOP` to any message, at any time. Also `UNSUBSCRIBE`, `CANCEL`, `END`, `QUIT`.
Help	Reply `HELP` or `INFO`, or email alerts@stormward.app.
Eligibility	Account holders must be 18 or older and in the United States.
Policies	Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

02 / How consent is collected

Two ways in, both of them explicit

Stormward exists so that someone can watch over a person who might not answer a phone: an elderly parent, a family member living alone. That means two different people can end up with a number on the system, and each one gives consent in a different way. Neither path can be completed by anybody except the person holding the phone.

The first path is the one most recipients take. A Stormward subscriber adds a loved one and enters their mobile number. Stormward does not start alerting that number. It sends a single message asking the person to opt in, and the alerts begin only when that person texts back.

Path A: invited by text, confirmed by reply

Opt-in type: via text. This is how a protected person joins the program.

A Stormward subscriber enters a loved one's mobile number on that person's card in the app, and confirms they have permission to provide it.
Stormward sends exactly one message to that number, naming the subscriber, naming the place being watched, and giving both keywords.
The person replies YES. Only then is the number marked verified, and only then can it ever receive an alert. The timestamp of that reply is stored as the consent record.
Silence is a no. If nobody replies, no further message is ever sent to that number. The number is capped at one invite for its lifetime, so it cannot be asked again, by this subscriber or any other.
The subscriber's app shows "waiting for reply, not yet receiving texts" until the reply arrives, so an unanswered invite is never mistaken for coverage.

Messages

From StormwardMatt added you to Stormward severe-weather alerts for Mom's house. Reply YES to confirm, STOP to opt out. Msg&data rates may apply.

RecipientYES

From StormwardConfirmed. Stormward will text this number during dangerous warnings. Reply STOP any time.

The exact wording sent and received. The invite is the only unsolicited message a number can ever receive from Stormward, and there is never a second one.

Path B: entered by the account holder, confirmed by code

Opt-in type: web form plus verification code. This is how a subscriber turns on texts for their own phone.

A signed-in Pro subscriber types their own mobile number into the Stormward app, underneath the disclosure shown below.
Stormward texts a six-digit code to that number. Nothing is marked as consented at this point.
The subscriber types the code back into the app. Possession of the handset is what proves the number is theirs, so a mistyped digit cannot enroll a stranger.
On a correct code, Stormward records the consent timestamp and the IP address the consent came from, and the number becomes eligible for alerts.
The number can be removed from the account at any time, with no code and no waiting.

Your phone

Get text alerts on your own phone

Verify a number and Stormward will text you during dangerous warnings, alongside email and push.

Your mobile number

Send code

By adding your number you agree to receive automated text messages from Stormward: a verification code now, and safety alerts when a dangerous warning affects a place you watch. Message frequency varies by warning. Msg and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help. See our Terms and Privacy Policy.

The consent disclosure sits directly beneath the number field in the Stormward app, at the moment the number is collected.

03 / Keywords

Every keyword, and what it does

Stormward answers these on every number, whether or not that number is known to the system. The opt-out path deliberately errs towards stopping messages: if a reply is ambiguous but reads as a refusal, the number is opted out rather than kept.

Reply	What happens
STOP UNSUBSCRIBE CANCEL, END, QUIT	The number is opted out permanently and is never texted again, on any account. If it belonged to someone being watched over, the account holder is emailed so they know that person has dropped to slower email alerts. Stormward: you will not receive further Stormward messages. Reply START to turn them back on.
HELP INFO	Identifies the program and repeats the opt-out and support route. Stormward severe weather alerts. Reply STOP to opt out. Help: alerts@stormward.app. Msg and data rates may apply.
START	Clears an opt-out so the number is allowed to receive messages again. Alerts stay off until the person opts in again, so START on its own never restores alerting. Stormward: this number can get messages again. Alerts stay off: reply YES if you were invited by text, or re-add it in the Stormward app.
YES Y	Confirms an invitation and records consent. The reply is identical whether or not an invitation was pending, so nobody can use it to discover whether a number is on the system. Confirmed. Stormward will text this number during dangerous warnings. Reply STOP any time.
SAFE	Answers a live alert. Replying SAFE tells Stormward the person is all right and stops the escalation for that warning, without leaving the messages app. Thanks, we've marked you safe and stopped the alerts.

04 / Sample traffic

What an alert actually looks like

Once a number is verified, this is the only kind of message it receives, and only when the National Weather Service issues a life-threatening warning for a place that account is watching. The opt-out instruction rides on the alert itself, not just on the first message.

To the person at risk

From StormwardSTORMWARD: Tornado Warning for Mom's house. Reply SAFE if you're OK, or tap my.stormward.app/a/k3f9x. Reply STOP to opt out.

RecipientSAFE

From StormwardThanks, we've marked you safe and stopped the alerts.

Sent at the warning, and once more three minutes later if nobody answers. Then it stops texting that person.

To the account holder

From StormwardSTORMWARD: Mom hasn't confirmed safe during a Tornado Warning. Check on them. Details: my.stormward.app/a/k3f9x

The failover message, eight minutes into an unanswered warning, to the subscriber's own verified number so a human can go and check.

05 / Limits

What Stormward will not do

Consent is worth little without limits on what can be done with a number after it is given. These are enforced in the software, not in policy alone.

×
No marketing, ever. There is no promotional message in this program. A verified number receives safety traffic and nothing else.
×
No second invitation. Each number can be invited once for its lifetime. An unanswered invite cannot be resent, by the original subscriber or by anyone who later enters the same number.
×
No texting an opted-out number. Once a number replies STOP, the system refuses to send to it regardless of which account asks. Only that handset can reverse it, by texting START.
×
No third-party use. Mobile numbers and consent records are never sold, rented, or shared with third parties or affiliates for their own marketing. They are used only to deliver Stormward's own safety messages, and are handled by our messaging provider solely to send them.
×
No alerts to an unverified number. A number that has been entered but not confirmed is treated as absent. The account falls back to email, and the app says so plainly.

06 / The record

What we keep as proof

Consent is stored per number, not per account, so the record survives a subscription lapsing, an account closing, or the same number being entered again later. For every number, Stormward retains:

Number	The mobile number in E.164 format, normalised on write.
Consent timestamp	When the YES reply arrived, or when the correct verification code was entered.
Consent origin	For a code-verified number, the IP address the confirmation was submitted from.
Verification state	Whether the number is verified, and when it became verified.
Opt-out timestamp	When a STOP was received, which permanently blocks further sending.
Invitation count	How many opt-in requests the number has received in its lifetime, capped at one.
Delivery log	Which messages were sent and whether delivery succeeded. Phone numbers are stripped from diagnostic details before they are written.

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Safety notice. Stormward is an informational tool that relays National Weather Service data. It is not a substitute for Wireless Emergency Alerts, NOAA Weather Radio, or instructions from local emergency officials. Questions about this program: alerts@stormward.app.