Acceptable Use Policy

Updated: March 24, 2025

At Klaviyo, our mission is to enable businesses to grow while ensuring that our platform is used responsibly and in compliance with the law. This Acceptable Use Policy (the “Policy”) outlines activities and content that are prohibited when using our products, services, and websites (collectively, the “Services”). By using the Services, you agree to abide by this Policy. Violations of this Policy may result in suspension or termination of your access to the Services, at our sole discretion.

Spam Policy:

You may not use our Services to send unsolicited messaging or spam, whether in bulk or not.  

  • “Unsolicited” means that the recipient has not consented to receive messages from you.
  • “Bulk” means that the message is sent as part of a larger collection of messages, all having materially similar content.
  • “Spam” is unsolicited messaging by any channel, including but not limited to email, text, or any other mobile channels.  You may not use our Services to send: (a) spam messages in violation of any applicable laws, including anti-spam laws; (b) spam messages to addresses obtained through any internet-based harvesting or scraping methods; or (c) spam messages to addresses that are incomplete or inaccurate.

Prohibited Activities:

Consent and List-Gathering

  • You are prohibited from sending to: 
    • Email addresses, phone numbers, or other contacts that are purchased, rented, borrowed, third-party owned/provided or any other lists that have not consented to receive communications, promotions or advertisements from your business, including but not limited to voter registration data lists and survey/event registration lists;
    • Distribution lists, publicly available contacts, or media email addresses or phone numbers;
    • Individuals who have unsubscribed from your messaging program(s).
  • You may not use Klaviyo to:
    • Harvest or otherwise collect information about individuals without their consent.

Sender Identification and Integrity

  • Prohibited activity includes but is not limited to:
    • Evading, or attempting to evade, spam filtering and detection mechanisms with the intention of “snowshoeing” or any other practice of sending messages across multiple domains or brands to dilute reputation metrics or evade filters
    • Waterfalling or list cleaning across multiple email or mobile messaging service providers with the intention of purging out bounces, complaints and unengaged recipients
    • Misrepresenting your sender information or identity
    • Preventing or obfuscating unsubscribe functionality

Use of Klaviyo Platform

  • You may not use the Klaviyo services in a manner designed to avoid or circumvent bills, invoices, or other fees that Klaviyo would otherwise be entitled to collect  
  • You may not infringe on the intellectual property rights of others, including through the unauthorized use or sharing of copyrighted content or trademarks.
  • You may not solicit, store, process, send, or transmit any of the following types of data or information in the Klaviyo platform:
    • (a) any information defined under Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (EU GDPR) or the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation as a “special category”; 
    • (b) medical records or health information, including Protected Health Information as defined in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”); 
    • (c) any non-public government identification numbers or financial account information such as: (i) Social Security number or local equivalents, passport numbers, driver’s license number or similar identifiers; or (ii) financial account information including credit or debit card number; and 
    • (d) information related to children under the age of 13 (or in the EEA, under 16).

Prohibited Content:

You may not use the Services to:

  • Promote Hate or Discrimination: Encourage, promote, distribute, or otherwise facilitate hate, violence, or discrimination against individuals or groups based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or any other protected characteristic.
  • Engage In Illegal Activities: Encourage, engage in, promote, distribute, or otherwise facilitate any unlawful activity, including but not limited to activities that violate local, national, or international laws (e.g., fraud, data theft, controlled or illegal substances, child exploitation).
  • Mislead, Deceive, or Cause Harm or Damage: Impersonate another person or entity, misrepresent your affiliation, or use deceptive practices such as spoofing, phishing, or misleading header information. You may also not use the service to promote content that is materially false, inaccurate, or misleading in a way that Klaviyo reasonably determines could cause harm or damage (e.g., malware or viruses), mislead a recipient (e.g., phishing emails), or deceive or confuse others about important events, topics, or circumstances;
  • Promote Obscene or Offensive Material: Engage in, promote, or distribute content that is obscene, sexually explicit, pornographic or otherwise inappropriate.
  • Promote Fraudulent Content: Engage in, promote, distribute, or otherwise facilitate content that is intended to deceive, including fake offers, counterfeit goods, or scam-related materials.
  • Interact with or target children under the age of 13 (or in the EEA, under 16).

You may not use the Services to offer products or services related to:

  • Illegal or restricted activities, such as escort services, mail-order bride, spouse finder, and other related services;
  • Promotion of recruiting or prospecting schemes (including home parties) for multi-level channel, network and/or referral marketing arrangements; 
  • Get-rich-quick, work-from-home, and make-money-online offers; 
  • Sale of social media engagement;
  • High risk financial services, including but not limited to debt relief and credit repair (including collection and forgiveness), payday loans, short-term high-interest loans, and third-party loans;
  • Cryptocurrencies and any related crypto services and information;
  • Data or list brokers, list rental services, and the sale or transfer of lists of email addresses or phone numbers;
  • Lead generation services, including any business that involves sharing or selling consumer data/opt-in information;
  • Promotions for the primary purpose of affiliate marketing, including but not limited to communications where you have no direct relationship to the promoted product or service other than affiliate commissions or links;
  • Gambling services or products, including but not limited to online poker, casino games, lotteries, college and pro sporting events and betting tips; and
  • Prescription medications, pharmaceutical products or services, medical therapies, telehealth, and other related technologies, products, or services.

In addition, we reserve the right to evaluate and restrict any use cases related to illegal or controlled substances in accordance with the policies and compliance standards of our downstream providers.

Channel-Specific Guidelines:

In certain regions, additional restrictions apply based on industry standards or legal requirements. These may include, but are not limited to:

  • SMS/MMS,Email, and Mobile Communications: You must comply with all applicable legal and industry regulations concerning SMS/MMS, email, and other mobile  marketing, including restrictions on unsolicited communications, appropriate message content, and opt-out mechanisms, and all applicable guidelines published by the CTIA and any wireless carriers. 
  • Short Code and Toll-Free Numbers (US/Canada): In addition to the prohibited content categories listed in the “Restricted Messaging Content” section above and in the Klaviyo Help Center, certain message categories, such as those related to hate speech, adult content, and promoting illegal activities, are strictly prohibited across short code and toll-free numbers in the U.S. and Canada. This includes any SMS or MMS message content related to:
    • Illegal substances (federal, state, or in any message recipient’s jurisdiction), including but not limited to CBD, marijuana/cannabis, prescription medication that cannot legally be sold over the counter, Kratom, vaping/e-cigarettes, THC, and related paraphernalia products
    • Sex, hate, alcohol, firearms, and tobacco (SHAFT)
  • Short Codes, Toll-Free Numbers, Alphanumeric Sender IDs, and other mobile-based messaging (Global): Different standards may apply for international messaging.  For more information, visit our Help Center. 

Consequences of Violations:

We have the right, but not the obligation, to monitor or investigate your use of the Services at any time for compliance with this Policy, our Terms of Service, or any other agreement between you and us governing your use of the Services.  In accordance with our Terms of Service, Klaviyo shall be entitled, without liability to Customer, to immediately suspend, terminate, or limit your access to Klaviyo Services at any time in the event that Klaviyo determines, in its sole discretion, that you have violated any part of this Policy, whether within or outside of your use of the Services, or that you have authorized or helped others to do so.  We reserve the right to report any illegal activities to the relevant authorities.

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We may update this Policy from time to time by posting an updated version at www.klaviyo.com/legal/acceptable-use-policy and any such updates will be effective upon posting. When we update this Policy, the “Last Updated” date above will be updated to reflect the date of the most recent version. Your continued use of the Services constitutes your acceptance of the modified Policy. We encourage you to review this Policy regularly.

If you become aware of any violation of this Policy, please contact us at abuse@klaviyo.com.

Previous Versions:

September 24, 2021