Quiet Hours

  • Updated

What are Quiet Hours?

Quiet Hours are designated time windows that apply specifically to marketing and promotional messages, that prohibit businesses from sending messages during legal designated quiet hours in a recipient’s local time zone, typically between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m., as outlined by the U.S. Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and various U.S. state laws. These quiet hour restrictions help ensure that marketing communications are delivered at appropriate times and in compliance with federal and state regulations. Businesses usually adhere to the quiet hours to reduce the risk of unwanted disruptions to their customers or audience and to avoid potential legal exposure.

 

What is Community’s Quiet Hour Warning?

Community’s Quiet Hour Warning helps ensure that marketing and promotional messages are not sent to members during legally restricted hours, keeping your communications compliant with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and other state laws in the US.


If you attempt to send or schedule a Campaign during Quiet Hours, you will be prompted with an explicit acknowledgement message. To proceed, you must check a box confirming that you understand and accept the legal risks of sending messages during restricted hours, and that the message you are sending is not a marketing communication.


The same applies to automated Flow messages. If you uncheck the “Do not send message(s) during quiet hours” option, you must explicitly acknowledge responsibility for any potential legal implications. This confirmation ensures that you are aware you are sending a message outside of normal compliance requirements and quiet hour warnings provided in the product.


For automated Flow messages with Community’s Quiet Hour Warning enabled, the default setting, those messages will not be sent between 8:00 p.m. and 10:59 a.m. ET (5:00 p.m. – 7:59 a.m. PT) as shown in the chart below. Those messages will be queued and sent after the quiet hour window ends. This helps ensure that messages are not sent between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. in any of North America’s four major time zones listed below, even when a member’s timezone or location is unknown. The window will shift by one hour based on observance of daylight savings time in the Eastern Time Zone.


For messages sent through the Community API, Quiet Hours Warning is automatically enforced by default to prevent outbound messages from being delivered during restricted hours. Any time outside of 11:00 a.m. ET to 8:00 p.m. ET (U.S.) is considered Quiet Hours, and messages submitted during this period will be queued and automatically sent once Quiet Hours end. To bypass this behavior (for example, to send a transactional or non-marketing message), include the parameter “override_quiet_hours”: true in your API request. By setting this parameter, you acknowledge responsibility for ensuring that the message complies with all applicable laws and regulations, including the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). For more information, see the Send Message API documentation.

Quiet Hour Warning gives leaders the flexibility to manage their outreach while maintaining a strong compliance foundation—and ensures that marketing messages are never sent at times that may violate federal or state communication laws.


Which messages are subject to Quiet Hours Warning?

Quiet Hours Warning applies to marketing and promotional messages sent for the purpose of promoting products, services, events, or other commercial activities. These types of messages are subject to federal and state restrictions under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and related laws.


The following message types are subject to Quiet Hours Warning but may be overridden:

  • Campaigns – One-time or scheduled marketing messages sent to a segment or list of members.
  • Flow Messages (Marketing) – Automated messages that include promotional content or follow-ups based on campaign engagement.
  • API (Marketing) – Messages sent programmatically using Community’s API that includes marketing or promotional content. 


For these message types, senders will be prompted to acknowledge that they understand and accept the legal risks if they choose to send or schedule messages during Quiet Hours.


The following message types are not subject to Quiet Hours Warning, as they are typically system-initiated, informational, or member-initiated:

  • System Messages – Opt-in confirmations, STOP/HELP responses, or other required compliance messages.
  • Direct Messages – One-to-one messages between a leader and a member.
  • Keyword Responders and Community Keywords – Automated responses triggered when a member texts in a keyword (e.g., “JOIN” or “INFO”).
  • Non-promotional Flow Messages – Informational or transactional automations that do not include marketing content.

In short, Quiet Hours Warning applies to any outbound marketing communication that is not triggered directly by a member’s inbound message or required for compliance purposes.


When will Quiet Hours Warning messages be sent?

An automated message that is blocked during quiet hours shown above will be sent soon after that quiet hours window ends (e.g., 11am ET or 8am PT). Generally, the message will be sent immediately after the quiet hour window ends, but there may be a short delay based on queuing. If a message subject to Quiet Hour Warning is part of a series of delayed messages, delays set to subsequent messages in the series will be based on the send time of the initial delayed message.


An example:

You schedule three messages in an automated welcome series. The first message is “Hello!”, set to send immediately. The second message is “What’s Up?” and is set to send 4 hours after your initial welcome message. The third message is “Hi Again!” set to send 3 hours later. If a member texts your number at 4pm ET, they’ll receive a welcome message (“Hello!”) immediately at 4pm ET, a message saying “What’s Up?” at 11am ET the next day, and then a message saying “Hi again” at 2pm ET.

Related articles