Viber Regulations: How Do They Work?

From ads to drip campaigns, brands that use messaging apps are able to connect with their customers quickly and more effectively than their competitors who don't. One of the most popular messaging apps brands use for marketing is Viber.

Since its establishment in 2010, the app has become one of the most in-demand apps in the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) sector. As the number of messaging apps in and outside of this sector grows, the company is investing a lot of time and effort to stay relevant for its users.

A large portion of those efforts is taken by security concerns. As thousands of businesses today use Viber for promotional purposes, the company has an extensive list of rules and regulations to ensure the safety of its users.

In this article, we are taking a look at the regulations Viber has for businesses and individual users to understand how you can best use the app for your brand.

Who Can Businesses Send Messages on Viber?

Let’s start with the basics: Viber is an opt-in channel of messaging, and therefore if you are using it for your brand, you can only send messages to users who’ve agreed to receive your texts. Additionally, they must be of legal age.

When it comes to the process of sending, third-party applications are not allowed. Viber prohibits using tools such as social media schedulers or automated chatbots; all messages should be sent through Viber from your verified business channel.

Furthermore, you accept that in case of any claim from the third-party entities and users regarding any message sent from your verified account, you as a business will defend Viber and take accountability for the claim. In case of any spam message, the company has the right to charge you $5000, as well as terminate the provision of services.

Sending Time for Businesses on Viber

This one may be less obvious, but Viber also has regulations on the times of the day when promotional messages should be sent. This is done, of course, to avoid situations, when, for example, the recipient is woken up by your text at 06:00 in the morning of a Saturday. Here’s the schedule approved by Viber:

Promotional messages:

During working days - 9:00 till 20:00

During non-working days and holidays - 11:00 - 18:00

Personal messages:

Personal messages can be sent 24/7, without any limitations.

Seemingly limiting at first, these regulations benefit both your brand and the customers. This regulation makes sure that you reach them only during their active times, and don’t cause discomfort by interfering with their leisure time.

Shared Sending

Shared sending, that is, sending a message joined with another account is prohibited on Viber. The need for this can arise, for example, if you are cooperating with another brand and want to promote your joint project. However, you can only use your official account to send the messages.

Industries Prohibited From Using Viber

To further ensure safe and pleasant usage of the app for the end-users, Viber has made a list of industries that cannot be accepted to send Business Messages on the app. Here’s the list of the industries:

• Political parties or organizations that have political nature;
• Gambling, both online and offline, as well as trade, including cryptocurrencies, binary options, and Forex companies;
• Credit or loan services unless these services are offered by banks or other registered financial institutions;
• Adult content;
• Tobacco- and alcohol-related services;
• Weapon and drug trade businesses;
• Open portals, websites, blogs with unmonitored user-created content ;
• Religious and online/offline spiritual services;
• Viber’s competitors.
  
  

Companies not belonging to these industries won’t be subject to any limitations.

Content Terms And Conditions

Another important regulation to be addressed is the content terms and conditions, to ensure that the texts you are sending are not spammy or harmful, but a useful and engaging form of content.

Messages sent on Viber shouldn't include any of the following:

• Content which infringes or violates any intellectual property and other rights;
• Content that can potentially be considered abusive or discriminatory;
• Content that any existing laws or regulations find illegal;
• Content containing viruses or malware;
• Content that claims to be sponsored by Viber.
  

Once again, the messages can only be sent to users who've opted in to receive your texts. The recipients can also use 2WAY Service Messages by initiating it through using Viber's URL scheme. In this case, the system will consider that they have given their consent to receive your brand messages until they decide to opt-out.

Messages sent to end-users who haven't given their consent will be considered spam and can result in a penalty. Viber's monitoring team keeps a close eye on spammers and blocks them from sending further messages.

Unsubscription

Last but not least, Viber allows the end-users to unsubscribe from your texts through a simple click of a button. The team of Viber monitors the unsubscription rates round the clock, and if for one message the total unsubscription rate climbs above 3%, you’ll get a warning. If this happens repeatedly, your sender account will be deactivated.

Wrapping Up

Although this may seem overwhelming at first, these regulations are easy to follow if you aim to run carefully-crafted and targeted campaigns. If used correctly, Viber is a powerful messaging tool that can help your brand reach its audience with useful and effective content in a quick and seamless way.