Acceptable Use Policy

This Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP") governs how you may use Straight to Inbox ("Service"). This policy is part of our Terms of Service. By using the Service, you agree to comply with this AUP.

We designed these rules to protect the deliverability and reputation of every sender on our platform. Violations harm all users, so we enforce this policy strictly.

1. Prohibited Content and Industries

The following content and industries are not permitted on Straight to Inbox. Accounts found sending this content will be suspended immediately without prior notice.

Illegal and Regulated Content

• Illegal goods or services of any kind
• Controlled substances, recreational drugs, or drug paraphernalia
• Unlicensed pharmaceuticals or prescription medication sales
• Weapons, ammunition, or explosives sales
• Counterfeit goods or trademark-infringing products
• Content that facilitates illegal activity

Financial Fraud and Deceptive Practices

• Cryptocurrency pump-and-dump schemes, ICO promotions, or unregistered securities
• Penny stock promotions or get-rich-quick schemes
• Payday loans, debt collection harassment, or predatory lending
• Multi-level marketing (MLM) recruitment or pyramid schemes
• Phishing, credential harvesting, or social engineering
• Any content designed to deceive recipients about the sender's identity or intent

Adult and Explicit Content

• Pornography or sexually explicit material
• Escort services or adult entertainment solicitation
• Dating services that promote infidelity

Gambling

• Online gambling, sports betting, or casino promotions (unless licensed and operating in jurisdictions where this is legal, with prior written approval from us)

Harmful and Abusive Content

• Content promoting violence, hatred, discrimination, or harassment against any individual or group
• Content promoting self-harm or eating disorders
• Malware, spyware, or ransomware distribution
• Affiliate marketing spam or "make money online" schemes with no legitimate product
• Political campaign emails (unless compliant with applicable election laws, with prior written approval)

2. Prohibited Sending Practices

The following sending practices are not permitted regardless of your industry or content type.

• Purchased or rented lists — Sending to any list not built through your own legitimate opt-in process.
• Scraped email addresses — Sending to addresses harvested from websites, directories, or social media.
• Co-registration lists — Sending to contacts who opted in to a different service and were shared with you without their explicit consent for your emails.
• List bombing — Subscribing third-party email addresses to lists without their consent.
• Deceptive subject lines — Using misleading subject lines designed to trick recipients into opening emails.
• Missing unsubscribe — Sending marketing emails without a functional, clearly visible unsubscribe mechanism.
• Suppression circumvention — Attempting to email addresses that have previously bounced, filed a spam complaint, or unsubscribed.
• Bulk role-based emailing — Sending to role-based addresses (info@, admin@, support@) at scale without individual opt-in.
• Excessive frequency — Sending more than once per day to the same recipient without their explicit consent for that frequency.

3. Restricted Industries

The following industries may use Straight to Inbox but require prior review and written approval before sending. Contact us at [email protected] before creating an account.

• Gambling — Licensed operators only. Must provide license documentation.
• Political campaigns — Must comply with applicable election and campaign finance laws.
• Alcohol and tobacco — Must comply with age verification and advertising regulations in all recipient jurisdictions.
• Nutritional supplements and health products — Must not make unsubstantiated medical or health claims.
• Affiliate marketing — Must be for legitimate products with transparent disclosure of affiliate relationships.
• Real estate and mortgage — Must comply with fair lending and anti-discrimination laws.

4. Sending Reputation Requirements

All accounts must maintain sending metrics within acceptable thresholds. These thresholds exist to protect the deliverability of every sender on our platform.

• Bounce rate must stay below 5%. Accounts exceeding this threshold will have sending automatically paused.
• Complaint rate must stay below 0.1%. Accounts exceeding this threshold will have sending automatically paused.
• Unsubscribe rate is monitored. Consistently high unsubscribe rates may indicate list quality issues and will trigger a review.

These thresholds are enforced automatically by our platform. When sending is paused due to threshold violations, you will be notified and given guidance on how to resolve the issue before sending resumes.

5. Authentication Requirements

All sending domains must be properly authenticated before sending:

• DKIM — Required. Our platform provisions DKIM signing automatically via BYODKIM.
• SPF — Required. Must include our sending infrastructure in your SPF record.
• DMARC — Strongly recommended. We provide guided setup and verification.

Accounts that fail authentication checks will not be permitted to send until the issues are resolved.

6. Enforcement

We take violations of this policy seriously. Enforcement actions are proportional to the severity and intent of the violation:

Minor Violations

Examples: slightly elevated bounce rate, missing SPF record, single accidental send to a non-opted-in contact.

• Written warning via email
• 24-hour window to correct the issue
• Guidance provided on how to resolve

Major Violations

Examples: sending to a purchased list, consistently high complaint rate, restricted industry content without approval.

• Immediate sending suspension pending review
• Account review within 48 hours
• Sending may resume after corrective action is verified

Severe or Intentional Violations

Examples: phishing, malware distribution, deliberate suppression circumvention, prohibited content.

• Immediate account termination
• No refund of prepaid fees
• Report to relevant authorities if applicable

Repeat Violations

A second violation of any severity within 12 months results in account suspension. Reinstatement is subject to review and is not guaranteed.

7. Monitoring

We employ both automated and manual monitoring to enforce this policy:

• Automated — Real-time bounce and complaint rate monitoring per tenant. Automatic sending pause when thresholds are exceeded. Two-layer email validation catches invalid addresses before sending. 17-point quality checks flag spam-like content in the editor.
• Manual — New account review during onboarding. Periodic content and sending pattern audits. Investigation of abuse reports from recipients and ISPs.

8. Reporting Abuse

If you receive unwanted email sent through Straight to Inbox, or if you believe an account is violating this policy, please report it to:

• Email: [email protected]

Please include the full email headers and any relevant details. We investigate all abuse reports and take appropriate action.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Acceptable Use Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our platform, legal requirements, or industry best practices. Material changes will be communicated via email or a notice in the application at least 15 days before taking effect.

10. Contact

Questions about this policy? Contact us at [email protected].