While S.H.A.F.T. is mostly a US acronym, it is used in the industry for SMS prohibited content, and it stands for sex, hate, alcohol, firearms, and tobacco. These are categories that carriers typically will not allow, or will only allow with specific safeguards in place.
Using terms related to S.H.A.F.T. in your SMS marketing campaigns could lead to heavy filtering or blocking of your messages by wireless service providers.
Understanding S.H.A.F.T. categories
The CTIA defines the S.H.A.F.T. categories as follows:
| Category | Description |
| Sex | Sexually inappropriate or explicit content like pornography, sex toys/lubricant, sexual references/innuendos, supplements for sexual health, sex therapy, sexual services, and solicitation of sexual acts |
| Hate | Content promoting violence, discrimination, or hatred based on race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or disability |
| Alcohol | Promotion of alcoholic beverages, including beer, wine, and spirits (allowed with proper age-gating features) |
| Firearms | Advertising or sale of guns, fireworks, explosives, ammo, holsters, target lessons, and depictions of violence |
| Tobacco | Promotion of cigarettes, cigars, vapes, smokeless tobacco, and CBD products |
While you can’t send S.H.A.F.T.-related content using a toll-free number, you can send some S.H.A.F.T.-related content through designated short codes—specialized phone numbers used for sending one-way messages. Before you do that, get explicit consent from your subscribers and provide a seamless opt-out process. Note that firearms and most tobacco will be blocked even on a shortcode.
S.H.A.F.T. exceptions
Marketing sex, alcohol, and tobacco through SMS or MMS comes with some important restrictions. Brands need to implement an age gate to restrict access based on the subscriber’s age.
An age gate means asking people to enter their date of birth before they can access your content. The age gate should deny access if the subscriber is underage (below 21).
The consequences of violating S.H.A.F.T. principles
If you violate S.H.A.F.T. principles, carriers could take a variety of corrective actions, the most common being a sending disruption or message filtering. Non-compliance with S.H.A.F.T. policies could also result in:
- Fines
- Permanent blocking by the carriers
- Suspension of your toll-free number or short code
Staying compliant with S.H.A.F.T. principles
To stay compliant with S.H.A.F.T. principles, follow these best practices:
- Understand and adhere to the CTIA’s S.H.A.F.T. guidelines.
- Avoid S.H.A.F.T.-related content in your mobile messaging or website.
- If you sell sex, alcohol, or tobacco-related products, use an age gate on your website.
- Avoid sending unsolicited messages. Use email opt-ins, sign-up forms, or SMS keyword opt-ins to collect explicit consent from your audience.
- Have a clear opt-out process and make sure unsubscribes are promptly dealt with.
- Use a marketing automation platform like Klaviyo to roll out effective S.H.A.F.T.-compliant SMS campaigns.
After signing up, use Klaviyo to segment your SMS list, automate consent collection, and track your SMS marketing performance.