Terms and Conditions
Last Edit: January 2023
The use of the PhilSMS website and all its content, services, and products (collectively referred to as the "Service") is governed by the following terms and conditions ("Terms and Conditions" or "Agreement") and all applicable laws. PhilSMS, Inc. ("PhilSMS") owns and operates the Service. Your use of the Service is contingent upon your unmodified acceptance of all the terms and conditions outlined herein, as well as any other operating rules, policies (including, but not limited to, PhilSMS's Privacy Policy), and procedures that may be periodically published on this Site by PhilSMS (collectively known as the "PhilSMS Policies").
Please carefully read these Terms and Conditions before accessing or using the Service. By accessing or using any part of the Service, you signify your agreement to be bound by these Terms and Conditions. If you do not agree with all the Terms and Conditions, you are not permitted to access or use the Service. If these Terms and Conditions are construed as an offer by PhilSMS, acceptance is explicitly restricted to these terms. The Service is exclusively available to individuals who are at least 18 years old.
Responsibility of Contributors
If you register an account, submit material to the selected SMS campaign Service, post links on the Service, or otherwise make (or permit any third party to make) any material available through the Service (referred to as "Content") or other services, you are solely responsible for the content and any consequences arising from that Content. This responsibility extends regardless of whether the Content in question, or any part of it, constitutes texts, graphics, audio files, or computer software. By making the Content available, you confirm and guarantee that:
- 1. The downloading, copying, and use of the Content do not violate the proprietary rights, including but not limited to, copyright, patent, trademark, or trade secret rights, of PhilSMS or any third party.
- 2. If your employer or any person has intellectual property rights to the content you created, you have either (i) obtained written permission from your employer or such person to post or make available the Content, including any software, or (ii) obtained a written waiver from your employer or such person concerning all claims to rights in or to the Content.
- 3. You have fully complied with all necessary licenses related to the Content and have taken all required steps to successfully convey the Content or any necessary terms to end users.
- 4. The Content does not contain or introduce any viruses, worms, malware, Trojan horses, or other harmful or destructive content.
- 5. The Content is not spam, machine- or randomly-generated, and does not include unethical or unwanted commercial content designed to drive traffic to third-party sites or enhance the search engine rankings of third-party sites, or to engage in unlawful acts (such as phishing) or deceive recipients about the source of the material (such as spoofing).
- 6. The Content is not pornographic, libelous, seditious, or defamatory, does not include threats or incite violence towards individuals or entities, and does not violate the privacy or publicity rights of any third party.
- 7. The Content complies with the guidelines of the mobile network and telecommunications operators directly or indirectly involved in the performance of the services ("Telecommunications Operators") and the National Telecommunications Commission.
If you delete the Content or any part of it, PhilSMS will make reasonable efforts to remove it from the Service. However, you acknowledge that caching or references to the deleted item may not be immediately unavailable. Without limiting any of these representations or warranties, PhilSMS has the right (though not the obligation), at its sole discretion, to: (i) refuse or remove any Content that, in PhilSMS’s reasonable opinion, violates any PhilSMS policy or is in any way harmful or objectionable, or (ii) terminate or deny access to and use of the Service to any individual or entity for any reason. PhilSMS is not obligated to provide a refund of any amounts previously paid.
Sender ID T&Cs
You acknowledge that the use of a Sender ID, also known as Sender Name, Sender Mask, or AlphaMask, is a crucial component for effectively providing services on the platform. A Sender ID is the name displayed as the sender of an SMS on the recipient's device, masking the number used for sending SMS through the platform.
You commit to utilizing only sender IDs that do not: (i) misrepresent your product/services/brand; (ii) infringe on the copyright of other individuals/entities/brands; (iii) convey or reflect any malicious or unlawful intent; (iv) reflect or involve any spam/abuse/illegal activity.
Additionally, you agree to create a sender ID only when you represent and are duly authorized to do so by an individual/brand/entity. Creating a sender ID without the proper authority for an individual/brand/entity entitles PhilSMS to pursue any legal remedy available under the law and/or these Terms and Conditions.
Premium Sender IDs pertain to those represented by international companies with headquarters located outside the Philippines. Any Sender IDs falling under this description will be designated as Premium Sender IDs. PhilSMS reserves the right to categorize existing Sender IDs as Premium Sender IDs if deemed appropriate, and may block them without prior notice if found to be fraudulent.
To determine Premium SIDs, a notice of thirty (30) days shall be provided for any new brands. PhilSMS holds the discretion to make such determinations and take corresponding actions.
Prohibited Content
The following content are prohibited from being posted or sent through the platform:
1. Content/Service that promotes violence or hatred against individuals or groups based on certain attributes such as:
Race or ethnicity
Religion
Disability
Gender
Age
Nationality
Veteran Status
Sexual orientation/gender identity
Profession
Etc.
2. Content/Service that is violent, gory, graphic, disturbing, immoral, indecent, obscene, profane, vulgar, derogatory, blasphemous, libelous, and/or primarily intended to be shocking, sensational, or disrespectful.
3. Content/Service that intends to incite violence, encourage dangerous or illegal activities, especially those that have an inherent risk of serious physical harm or death.
4. Content/Service that expresses support for groups that are involved in violent or criminal behavior (e.g., terrorist activity, organized criminal activity)
5. Content/Service for phishing activities and other harmful and illegal activities.
6. Malicious content/service
7. Content/Service that glorify criminals, condone crimes, and/or treat criminal acts in a light manner
8. Content/Service that connotes illegal behavior such as but not limited to drug use, pedophilia, physical assault, violence, and prostitution
9. National and Local Election-related content/service
10. Any other content not mentioned herein that is analogous to the foregoing.
Posting or sending any prohibited content through the service shall give PhilSMS the right to terminate the service and blacklist you from future service.
Database Ownership & Consent
By using the Service, you hereby certify that:
your Company is the rightful and sole owner of your customer or user database where the names, mobile numbers, and other information about your customers and users are indicated;
the aforementioned database has been legally acquired and is being updated through the Company’s data gathering activities or lead generation efforts;
each individual (customer, user, or lead) in the said database has given his/her full permission and/or consent to the Company so that the latter may send him/her SMS or any form of message according to the rules and guidelines set by the National Telecommunications Commission, the Telecommunications Operators, and the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and its implementing Rules and Regulations; and you shall retain proof that you have secured and received such individual consent.
you have authorized custody and access to the above-mentioned database and you are authorized to issue this said certification and/or undertaking;
are authorized to issue this said certification and/or undertaking; the Company shall undertake to indemnify and hold free and harmless PhilSMS, its representatives, successors and assigns, employees, officers, directors, agents, representatives, attorneys, and shareholders, from and against any and all claims, actions, damages, losses, liabilities, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorney’s fees) arising from or in connection with the implementation of the broadcast announcements, resulting to:
violation of any laws and/or government rules and regulations;
intellectual property infringement;
violation of any right to privacy;
violation of right of publicity;
violation of right against spamming;
defamation;
violation of trademark and trade name rights;
violation of other personal or proprietary right of any person;
violation of any agreements; or
Analogous to the forgoing.
Price Changes
PhilSMS may change the pricing at any time by giving written notice before the implementation of the price change in your account.
SMS Credit Refunds
Non-Refundable Assurance: This term communicates that, under normal circumstances where the service functions as intended and doesn't experience failures, refunds for paid credits are not permitted. This emphasizes the commitment to providing a reliable service and sets the expectation that refunds are contingent on the service not meeting its intended functionality. We do however allow transfer of your SMS Credits to other PhilSMS accounts.
Infringement
As PhilSMS asks others to respect its intellectual property rights, it respects the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that material located on, or linked to by PhilSMS.com.ph or any PhilSMS social network or mobile application, violates your Intellectual Property Rights, you are encouraged to notify PhilSMS at the soonest possible opportunity after discovery of the same. PhilSMS shall respond to all such notices by providing the appropriate remedy, including, if the circumstances require it, removing the infringing material or disabling all links to the infringing material immediately. In the case a visitor infringes or repeatedly infringes, or has the tendency to infringe, on the copyrights or other intellectual property rights of PhilSMS or others, PhilSMS may, in its sole discretion, terminate or deny access and/or use of the Service to such visitor. In the case of such termination or denial of access, PhilSMS shall have no obligation to provide a refund of any amounts previously paid to PhilSMS.
Changes
PhilSMS reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify or replace any part of these Terms and Conditions without further notice. It shall be your responsibility to check these Terms and Conditions periodically for changes. Your continued use of or access to the Service following the posting of any changes to these Terms and Conditions signifies that you have been properly notified of and you have accepted those changes. PhilSMS may also, in the future, offer new services and/or features through the Service (including, the release of new tools and resources and modification as well as termination of released features). Such new features and/or services shall likewise be subject to these Terms and Conditions unless otherwise stated.
Termination
PhilSMS may immediately terminate your access to all or any part of the Service at any time and without prior notice, even if without cause or for any causes such as, but not limited to:
1. Violation of any of the terms or warranties provided in this Agreement or the proposal;
2. Termination of the Agreement is done as part of the general shut down of PhilSMS’s service, or the happening of any event (whether the same may be caused by force majeure or act of man) which prevents PhilSMS from delivering any of the Services provided herein.
All provisions of this Terms and Conditions, which by their nature should survive termination of the Service, including, but not limited to, ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, indemnity and limitations of liability, shall survive such termination.
Disclaimer of Warranties
The Service is provided on an “as is” basis. PhilSMS and its suppliers and licensors hereby disclaim all warranties of any kind, express or implied, including, but without limitation, the warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. Neither PhilSMS, nor its suppliers and licensors, makes any warranty that the Service herein provided will be error free, or that access thereto will be continuous or uninterrupted. Further, PhilSMS makes no warranty or representation as to the accuracy, correctness or completeness of any information furnished or made available through the Service. You understand that any information, data, content or services downloaded or otherwise obtained from or through the Service are thus downloaded or obtained at your own discretion and risk.
Limitation of Liability
In no event shall PhilSMS, its suppliers or licensors, or their respective stockholders, directors, officers, employees or successors-in-interest be held liable with respect to any matter subject of this agreement under any contract, negligence, strict liability or other legal or equitable theory for: (i) any special, incidental or consequential damages; (ii) the cost of procurement or substitute products or services; (iii) interruption of use or loss or corruption of data; (iv)loss of profits or trading losses; or (v) any amounts that exceed the fees paid by you to PhilSMS under this agreement during the twelve (12) month period prior to the cause of action. PhilSMS stockholders, directors, officers, employees or successors-in-interest shall have no liability for any failure or delay due to matters or causes beyond its reasonable control. The foregoing shall not apply to the extent prohibited by applicable law.
General Representation of Warranty
By accessing and/or using the Service, you represent and warrant that (i) your access and/or use of the Service is and shall be made in strict compliance with the PhilSMS Privacy Policy, with these Terms and Conditions and with all applicable laws, rules and regulations (including, but without limitation, any local laws or regulations of the country which you are a national or a resident, or of the state, city, or other governmental area where you are staying, regarding online conduct and acceptable content, and including all applicable laws regarding the transmission of technical data exported from the Philippines or the country in which you reside) and; (ii) your use of the Service does not and shall not infringe on or misappropriate the intellectual property rights of any third party. As such, you shall be held solely responsible for any access and/or use of the Service in violation of the aforementioned laws, rules and/or regulations. Should PhilSMS, its shareholders, directors, officers, agents, employees and/or successors-in interest be held liable for any claim or damages arising from any of your acts, you hereby agree to indemnify PhilSMS for any and all amounts paid therein.
Indemnification
You agree to, at your own expense, indemnify, defend, and hold harmless PhilSMS, and its shareholders, subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, agents, co-branders or other partners, and employees from and against an and all losses, damages, liabilities, settlements, costs and expenses (including attorneys’ and professionals’ fees and other legal expenses) arising out of or related to any claim, demand, suit, action, or proceeding (including those brought by third parties) due to your fault or negligence, or arising out of or relating to: (a) any breach by you of these Terms and Conditions or any policy or guidelines references herein, (b) any of your own services, content or other materials or services provided by you or your third party providers, (c) an allegation that the services or content provided by you to your customers violates any local or foreign law, rule or regulation, (d) your breach of any law or any rights of a third party, or (g) any Content uploaded or provided by you.
Severability
Whenever possible, each provision of these Terms and Conditions will be interpreted in such a manner as to be effective and valid under applicable law. However, if any provision of this Agreement is held to be prohibited by or invalid under applicable law, such provision will be ineffective only to the extent of such prohibition or invalidity, without invalidating the remainder of such provision of the remaining provisions of this Agreement.
Data Privacy
A copy of PhilSMS’s Data Privacy Policy can be found and accessed at https://philsms.com/privacy-policy.html. This document details how PhilSMS manages Personal Data, subject to Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 (“the Act”), relevant regulations, any amendments/revisions thereto, and other applicable privacy laws (the “Data Privacy Laws”).
By interacting with PhilSMS, submitting information to PhilSMS, or signing up for any Products and Services offered by PhilSMS, you agree and consent to PhilSMS (including its related corporations and business units) (collectively the “Companies”), as well as their respective representatives, employees and/or agents, (collectively referred to therein as “PhilSMS”, “us”, “we”, or “our”) collecting, using, disclosing such Personal Data to PhilSMS’s authorized service providers and relevant third parties.
Miscellaneous
The Terms and Conditions contained herein constitute the entire agreement between PhilSMS and you concerning the subject matter hereof, and they may only be modified by a written amendment signed by an authorized executive of PhilSMS, or by the posting by PhilSMS of a revised version of these Terms and Conditions. The Terms and Conditions herein shall be governed by the laws of the Philippines and the proper venue for any disputes arising out of or relating to any of the same will be the courts located in the Philippines, specifically and exclusively the courts in Taguig City Philippines.