Messaging

SMS opt-in for safety contacts

Aroha members can ask a trusted person to be alerted if they need help on a date. That person is not an Aroha user — so they opt themselves in, on their own phone, before we ever have their number.

1. In the app

The member never types anyone else’s phone number. The app gives them a personal QR code and link, which they hand to the person they trust — usually face to face.

invite someone you trust

have them scan this code (or send them the link). they’ll read how alerts work and opt in on their own phone — nothing is ever texted to them until they agree.

Sample safety-circle invite QR code
go.arohadating.net/join/…
share link
get a new code

A member cannot consent on someone else’s behalf, so the app doesn’t let them try: there is no phone-number field anywhere in it. The QR opens the opt-in page below. Codes are personal and revocable — “get a new code” kills any link that was shared too widely, without touching people who already joined.

The QR shown here is real — scan it (or tap the button) to open a permanent example of the opt-in page, marked as a sample.

Open the example opt-in page →

2. On the web — where consent happens

The invited person opens the member’s link on their own phone. The page explains the program and collects consent next to the phone field.

Before any number is entered, the page states: what Aroha is, what messages they’d receive and when, that frequency varies and is typically zero, that message and data rates may apply, the HELP and STOP keywords, that consent is not a condition of any purchase, and links to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service — all directly adjacent to the phone field. The person enters their own name and number, ticks “I’m entering my own number and I agree to receive these texts”, and submits. We record when and where the consent was given. Only then is the first message sent — the welcome text below.

See the exact page →

3. Over SMS

The first and only message a new contact receives, sent from +1 833 736 8006 immediately after they opt in on the web.

Aroha → contact
You're in Priya's safety circle on Aroha. We text only if Priya needs help on a date. Msg frequency varies. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help, STOP to opt out.

After the welcome, nothing further is sent unless the member triggers SOS or misses a check-in. STOP records a permanent opt-out for that phone number across the whole service — not only for the member who invited them.

4. What a contact receives in an emergency

If the member presses SOS
Priya hit SOS on Aroha. They're out with maya - Blue Bottle, 4th St go.arohadating.com/sos/aB3xK9pQ Please call them. If you can't reach them, call 911.
If the member misses a check-in
Priya's Aroha check-in was due at 1:00pm and they haven't checked in. They're out with maya - Blue Bottle, 4th St go.arohadating.com/sos/aB3xK9pQ Please try calling them.
Opt-inWeb form on the member’s personal invite page — the recipient enters their own number next to the full program disclosure and an explicit consent checkbox. Permanent example: arohadating.com/join-example/
Number+1 833 736 8006
Opt-outSTOP (also HALT and carrier variants). Permanent, per phone number, service-wide.
Re-subscribeSTART or UNSTOP — lifts a prior opt-out for that number.
HelpHELP (also SUPPORT) — returns what the service is, a rates notice, and both keywords.
FrequencyVaries, and usually never. One welcome message at opt-in; after that, only when a member triggers SOS or misses a scheduled check-in during a date. No recurring or scheduled messaging.
ContentTransactional safety alerts only. No marketing or promotional content of any kind.
RatesMessage and data rates may apply.
Consent recordsEach opt-in is stored with the number as entered by its owner, a timestamp, and the submitting device’s IP address and user agent.
PoliciesTerms & conditions · Privacy policy

The link in an alert opens a page showing the member’s last known location and the time it was recorded. It expires 24 hours after the alert and is excluded from search engines.