I’m not a big fan of SMS ads because brands subscribe to them without my permission and there never seems to be a way to unsubscribe from them. Two days ago I got an SMS ad from Teavana, one of the only brands I don’t mind getting ads from since one time their ad was like come by and pick up 100g of free tea (which I did). But, in their latest ad I noticed they’ve now added an “opt-out” option at the end. I’m not going to opt-out of their SMS’s but I think every brand should have this option since it’s so much more professional and as a consumer, I don’t end up hating a brand because of their spam (I’m looking at you BMW). I’ll be filing this under Kuwait win of the week.
29 replies on “Opt-Out of SMS Ads”
Hey Mark,
If you are a Zain subscriber, you can send SMS “ad off” to 99999. Never tried it myself though but they said it works.
There has to be other ways with the other mobile operators in Kuwait but not sure about them.
This will turnoff all ads of course
This will only turn off certain ads, but yeah it really helps. That said recently I’ve been getting whatsapp spam as well which you just have to block manually.
Yea but I guess the rate of getting whatsapp spam/ads is way less than SMS…
Thanks, it worked! I wish I knew about this a long time ago.
Welcome. Let me know if you are still receiving the MOI messages.
whats even more annoying are the ads sent through whatsapp! no matter how many random numbers i block, they keep multiplying.. now thats an invasion of privacy.
+1. Whoever sells peoples lists to these companies should be prosecuted.
Peoples phone numbers on lists* ;p
THIS. I keep getting bombarded with images, broadcasts and texts from all these +1(xxx)xxx-xxxx numbers on WhatsApp that I never remember subscribing to and haven’t found a way to turn it off.
Anyone with answers?
Thanks a ton sala6a. Worked like a charm.
how did they get ur name. u wud have given ur number to them.
When u buy stuff at shops they ask for your number. Another habit I would like to see go away.
easy man just tell them no thanks I don’t want to share my data, which I do almost all the time
yeah that doesn’t work with xcite for example
I gave xcite my home number – makes it much easier to prevent unwanted communications.
also doesn’t work with car dealerships
What if there was something faulty in your car and they had to do a recall ?
I don’t get the big deal with giving your number to your car dealership. Obviously they’re only going to contact you when they have offers or when they need something.
Well you said it, they’re going to contact you when they have offers. Offers are ads and I’m not interested in getting car offers.
In another case, I sold my BMW for example a few years ago. But I still get offers from BMW because they have my number.
Call their customer service dept. and instruct them to delete your records/ info.
Actually you wouldn’t, that is if you liked the fact you got the free tea…. What shops do with your number is track your shopping habits and send you targeted messages and sometimes free gifts based on your frequency of your visits and purchases… It’s a new smart system that people should trust their numbers with respected shops that won’t abuse it with bombarding AD messages to their customers
One thing I believe, you should always go to the product the product should never come to you.
so you do not order shit online?
When you order online, you go to the product (it’s website) and tell it to come to wherever you are.
So no, your assumption/analogy is wrong.
I never really give my number—however I think it is a clever way for brands to get in touch with the consumer. If they are actually doing something I want—then I appreciate the text I suppose. The opt-out basically takes the spam out of it IMO
cheap ads from your blog. how to opt out?
Well there is a difference here. The blog is free to read and access because the ads on the blog support my income. If there was no income there wouldn’t be a blog.
for those with rooted Android devices running KitKat, you can use Root Call Blocker to block those obnoxious spam SMSes.
Recently I was facing a problem of not getting OTP from my bank and when I wrote to them they asked me to send ad on to 99999 and it worked.
Is there a way for selective “add off” anyone can help.
Thanks,
Laxman