Acceptable Use Policy

This Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP") sets out how the sendrules Service may and may not be used. It forms part of the Terms and Conditions and applies to every message sent, received, forwarded or processed through sendrules. Where the AUP is stricter than a rule in an attached upstream provider's own AUP, the stricter rule wins.

1. Consent and permission

You may only send to recipients who have given you consent to receive the type of message you are sending, or where a lawful basis clearly applies. If a recipient did not opt in and could not reasonably have expected the message, you must not send it. This applies to bulk, transactional and one-to-one messages equally.

2. Content that is never permitted

You must not use sendrules to send: unlawful, harassing, defamatory or discriminatory content; sexual content involving anyone under 18; content that infringes intellectual-property rights; malware, phishing, credential-harvesting or content that misrepresents the sender's identity; content that promotes or facilitates fraud, illegal weapons, hard drugs, hate speech or violence; or content whose delivery would violate export-control, sanctions, or consumer-protection laws that apply to you or your recipients.

3. Sending hygiene

You must maintain sending hygiene appropriate to the volume you send. Where relevant, that includes: honouring unsubscribe requests within 10 business days at the outside; running the sendrules quality gate on your recipient lists and acting on the reasons it surfaces; keeping bounce and complaint rates below the thresholds published on the Ramp-up page; and using the ramp-up engine when introducing new sending infrastructure.

4. Authentication

Domains you send from must have valid SPF, DKIM and DMARC records. The Auth Check and DMARC-monitoring tools in the app help you verify this. sendrules may block or slow sends that fail authentication in a way likely to harm your reputation or another customer's.

5. Reply and inbound handling

Managed inboxes and inbox forward-webhooks are provided so you can receive replies, bounces and out-of-office responses. You must not use them to collect personal data outside the scope of your original message, to enrich a list you did not build lawfully, or to route third-party mail that has not been addressed to you.

6. Automation and integration

API keys, event webhooks and external forward-webhooks must be used from systems you control. You must not use sendrules as a covert relay for a third party's traffic, sell access to your credentials, or wrap the API in a service that misrepresents its source.

7. Investigating incidents

sendrules may — without prior notice, when in our reasonable opinion the situation requires it — pause a Grid, suspend an API key, hold outbound traffic, or remove content in order to protect other customers, upstream provider reputations, or platform integrity. Where the underlying issue is a mistake we will restore quickly; where it is a violation of this AUP we will explain the finding and give you an opportunity to respond before further action.

8. Reporting abuse

If you believe another sendrules customer is violating this AUP, tell us through the Contact page. Please include the message headers or a route-log URL if you have one — those make our investigation quicker and fairer.