Our text messages, in plain English.

What this is

These are the terms for the text messages we send. They sit alongside our main Privacy Policy, which covers everything else (email, the website, the social graph, your record in our system).

The short version: we send a small number of texts, only to people who have opted in, only about Onto work we think you genuinely care about, and you can stop them at any time with a single word.

What to expect

We text occasionally about: new ventures launching, invitations to Kairos experiences, important updates about projects you are part of, and the occasional moment that we want our community to know about first.

We do not text often. A couple of times a month at most, usually less. We will not text you about anything unrelated to Onto and the work we are doing together.

How we got your number

We only send texts to people who have explicitly opted in. That happens in one of a few places: you may have checked a box on a form on our website, replied to an email saying you'd like to receive texts, or directly told us in person or in conversation that you would like to be on the list.

If you never opted in and you are receiving texts from us, that is a mistake on our end and we want to know about it. Write to oi@onto.eco and we will figure out what happened and stop immediately.

The platform we use

We send messages through Mailchimp, the same platform we use to send our emails. We chose Mailchimp because they handle the carrier-side compliance properly and we wanted that done right rather than improvised.

When we text you, the message comes from a phone number associated with our Mailchimp account. Mailchimp records standard delivery information (sent, delivered, failed) and whether you clicked any links in the message. We see this in aggregate to know whether our outreach is reaching people. We do not use it to build a behavioral profile of you, and we do not sell or share it with anyone else.

Your phone number, the messages we sent you, and your opt-out status are stored inside Mailchimp's systems in addition to our Airtable Social Graph. Mailchimp's own privacy policy applies to that storage. You can read it at mailchimp.com/legal/privacy.

How to stop

Reply "STOP" to any text you receive from us. Mailchimp will permanently unsubscribe your number from our list. We are blocked from texting you again after that.

Reply "HELP" for a short explanation message with our contact details.

If you would also like us to remove your record from the Onto Social Graph entirely (not just from the SMS list), write to oi@onto.eco and we will take care of it. The two are separate: stopping texts keeps your record in our system but silences the texts; removing your record clears you from our network database altogether.

Charges

Standard message and data rates from your carrier may apply, as with any text. Onto does not charge you anything for these messages, and we do not see, share, or have access to your carrier billing.

Where this fits with privacy

These SMS terms are part of, but distinct from, our broader Privacy Policy. The Privacy Policy covers what we collect, why we collect it, where it lives, what you can do about it, and how we protect it. The SMS terms here just narrow in on the text-message channel specifically.

If anything here conflicts with the Privacy Policy, the Privacy Policy takes precedence. If anything here is unclear, please ask us.

Updates

We will update this page when our SMS practices change. The effective date at the top reflects the most recent revision. Material changes that affect how we contact you will be communicated by email or text, with a chance to opt out before they take effect.