SMS
Monitor SMS event notification delivery and logs.
This page covers SMS message format, send history, delivery logs, and the suppression list for event notifications. Open SMS history, SMS delivery logs, and SMS suppression in the admin console. For org-wide subscriber admin, see SMS subscribers. For how visitors subscribe on /subscribe, see SMS subscriptions.
When an event with Notifications enabled triggers a delivery, matching verified SMS subscribers receive a short text describing the event at send time.
Description and impact analysis are flattened to plain text (lists appear as lines; link URLs may appear in the message body). Messages are kept concise and include opt-out language. A short link to the event is included when the dashboard and event are public.
For how Visibility and subscription toggles affect delivery across channels, see Notifications overview — FAQ. Turning the dashboard Subscriptions SMS toggle off hides public sign-up; existing verified subscribers still receive deliveries.
Message format
Messages are kept concise (ideally a single SMS segment) in this general shape:
Incidents and maintenance
[Business Name] Incident: current workflow status. event_title
https://your-status-host/l/shortCode
Reply STOP to cancelInformational events
[Business Name] Info: event_title
https://your-status-host/l/shortCode
Reply STOP to cancel| Part | Description |
|---|---|
| Business Name | Your organization's display name — the same value shown as Business name on the Account page |
| event type / status | Short labels such as Incident: Investigating or Maint: In Progress (informational uses Info) |
| event_title | The event title; truncated when needed so the full message stays short |
| short link | Temporary link to the event on your status dashboard (/l/…) |
| STOP line | Opt-out language required for compliant SMS |
Examples:
[Acme Corp] Incident: Investigating. API degradationplus short link and STOP line[Acme Corp] Maint: In Progress. Database upgradeplus short link and STOP line[Acme Corp] Info: Planned maintenance windowplus short link and STOP line
Dashboard visibility and subscriptions
For how Visibility and subscription toggles affect delivery across channels, see Notifications overview — FAQ. SMS-specific effects:
| Setting | Effect on event notification SMS |
|---|---|
| Dashboard Visibility off | SMS still send with the event summary. No short link is included (the dashboard would return 404). |
| Event not published | SMS still send with the event summary. No short link is included (the event page would return 404). |
| Subscriptions toggle off | SMS still send to existing subscribers. Sign-up and self-service manage flows are hidden; admins can still add and edit subscribers on SMS subscribers. |
| Dashboard and event both public | SMS include a short link to the event on the status dashboard. |
See Subscriptions overview for what the dashboard subscription toggle controls on the public status page.
Short links
Event (and subscription) SMS use temporary short links on your status dashboard host so the text stays short.
- Links are created per send and expire automatically after a retention window (event-view links are retained for 30 days).
- Opening a short link on the wrong host (or after expiry) does not reveal the target — visitors see an in-app message on that status page (not the platform “status page doesn’t exist” page).
- Open short links on the live status dashboard hostname for that dashboard.
Monthly SMS quota
Event notification SMS count against your organization's SMS messages per month plan quota (UTC calendar month). Check usage against your plan limit (enabledFeatures.smsMessages).
- Subscription SMS (verify and manage links from your status dashboard) do not count toward this limit.
- When you are at or over the limit, new event notifications are not delivered. Delivery stops at the limit (partial batches send only what remains). Skipped sends are not retried.
- Event saves always succeed — quota applies only to asynchronous outbound delivery.
Send history
SMS history shows a UTC calendar-month bar graph of event notification SMS sends per day. Navigate 13 months of history with previous/next month controls. Counts match your monthly SMS quota population on Overview (event notifications only). All bucketing uses UTC calendar days and months.
Delivery logs
SMS delivery logs are an organization-wide audit trail of outbound notification messages — not tied to a single event or dashboard row. They answer whether a message was accepted, delivered, blocked, or skipped before send.
After StatusDashboard hands a notification off to your messaging provider, each row shows what happened next:
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Recipient | Who the message was addressed to (phone number) |
| Preview | Truncated message body at send time |
| Type | What triggered the send — event notification, subscription verify, or subscription manage |
| Status | Aggregate outcome (see below) |
| Timeline | Provider lifecycle events appended after handoff (accepted, sent, queued, delivered, blocked, and so on) |
Use Filter by recipient to search for a specific number. Logs are retained for 30 days, then removed automatically.
Status values
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Submitted | Log row created; handoff to the provider may still be in progress |
| Sent | Accepted by the provider for delivery |
| Queued / Pending | Intermediate provider states while delivery is in progress |
| Delivered | Provider confirmed delivery (or carrier acceptance, depending on country) |
| Blocked | Permanent-class failure reported by the provider (invalid number, carrier block, spam, protect, and so on) |
| Failed | Handoff failed before the provider accepted the message |
| Skipped | Send was skipped because the recipient is on your organization's suppression list — the provider was never called and no quota is consumed. Clear on SMS suppression. |
A Skipped row is intentional: it records that a notification would have been sent but was suppressed to protect deliverability and honor opt-outs. See Suppression for how to clear a number when the underlying issue is fixed.
Suppression
Hard failures and opt-outs can damage deliverability and compliance for everyone on your account. StatusDashboard maintains an organization-wide suppression list on SMS suppression so problem destinations are not retried on every future notification.
When a number is suppressed, all outbound texts to that destination are skipped — event alerts, verification texts, and manage links. The send is recorded in delivery logs as Skipped (no quota consumed).
STOP and START
Event and subscription texts include Reply STOP to cancel. When someone replies STOP (or an equivalent keyword such as END, CANCEL, or UNSUBSCRIBE):
- Their number is added to your suppression list with reason Opt-out.
- No further texts are sent until the suppression is cleared.
- They remain on your subscriber list — phone, dashboard, and component selections are unchanged. STOP is a delivery suppression, not a subscription delete.
To receive texts again, the subscriber can reply START (or an equivalent re-opt-in keyword such as UNSTOP or YES). StatusDashboard clears the Opt-out suppression for your organization. Texts resume on the next qualifying send — missed alerts are not sent again automatically. They must still be a verified subscriber with at least one component selected to receive event notifications.
Subscriber preferences vs. suppressed delivery
| Action | Subscriber list | Future texts |
|---|---|---|
| Clear all components (manage page or admin edit) | Kept; status No components | None until components are added again |
| Reply STOP | Kept; selections unchanged | None until opt-out is cleared |
| Admin Delete subscriber | Removed from that dashboard | None |
How numbers get on the list
| Reason | When it is added |
|---|---|
| Opt-out | The recipient replies with STOP (or an equivalent keyword) |
| Invalid | The provider reports the destination number as invalid |
| Carrier blocked | The carrier or device blocks messages to that destination |
| Spam / Protect | The provider or protect rules block the message as abusive or non-compliant |
START clears Opt-out suppressions only. Suppressions for invalid, carrier blocked, spam, or protect are not cleared by START — fix the underlying issue, then remove the row as an admin when appropriate.
Transient failures vs. permanent suppressions
A single failed delivery does not always add a permanent suppression.
| What happened | Suppression list | What to expect next |
|---|---|---|
| Temporary issue (phone off, out of coverage, busy network) | Usually not added | The next send may succeed — check the delivery log timeline |
| STOP reply | Opt-out added | Future sends skipped until START or you remove the suppression after confirming consent |
| Invalid, carrier blocked, spam, or protect | Added with matching reason | Future sends skipped until you remove the suppression after fixing the issue |
Entries do not expire. They stay until an admin deletes them (or a carrier-level opt-out continues to reject sends independently).
Removing a number
Click Remove on a row and confirm. That clears the number from StatusDashboard's suppression list for your organization.
- Removing an entry allows future sends when the next qualifying event or subscription text runs (unless the carrier still rejects the destination).
- If the recipient previously opted out with STOP, they should text START as well. Removing a row here alone may not be enough — a failed send can re-add an Opt-out suppression automatically.
- StatusDashboard does not resend missed notifications automatically.
- If the number is still invalid or opted out at the carrier, the next send may fail and the number may be suppressed again.
Only remove a number after you have confirmed it is appropriate to resume contact (consent restored, typo fixed, and so on).
Frequently asked questions
Why does a delivery log show Skipped instead of Blocked?
The recipient was already on your organization's suppression list when the notification was evaluated. StatusDashboard skipped the send and wrote a Skipped log row. Check the suppression list to see why the number was suppressed and whether it is safe to remove.
A number failed once — will we keep texting them?
After a permanent-class failure (invalid, carrier blocked, spam, protect) or an opt-out, the number is added to the suppression list and future notification sends are skipped until you remove it. Transient failures do not always add a suppression entry; you may see a failed timeline event without a matching suppression row.
Why does a short link show “Link not valid”?
The status dashboard still loaded — only that link is unusable. Common causes: the temporary link expired, the code was mistyped, or it was opened on a different status-dashboard host. This is different from the platform message that the entire status page does not exist.