---
title: "Terms in plain English | Shared SMS Inbox"
description: "A plain-English summary of the arrangement: what $49 a month gets you, what the number is and is not for, what we cannot promise, and how to end it."
canonical: "https://sharedsmsinbox.com/terms"
---

# Terms, in plain English

> A plain-English summary of the arrangement: what $49 a month gets you, what the number is and is not for, what we cannot promise, and how to end it.

What you get for your money, what the number is meant to be used for, what we are not able to promise, and what happens when you stop. Written to be read.

- [Get your number](https://app.sharedsmsinbox.com)
- [Create free account](https://app.sharedsmsinbox.com)

_No credit card required. Pay only when you choose your number._

> **This is a summary, not the contract** This page describes in plain English how the service is meant to be used. It is not the binding terms of service. Those still have to be written and reviewed by a lawyer before launch, and where the two differ, the written terms are the ones that count.

## What you get

One subscription is one phone number. Its incoming text messages are shown to the teammates you approve, and to nobody else.

- **One dedicated phone number per subscription.** It belongs to your company account rather than to a person or a handset.
- **Incoming text messages, in a shared inbox.** They are shown to the teammates you have given access to, each signing in with their own account.
- **$49/month per phone number.** Unlimited teammates, no per-user fee, no setup fee. A second number is another $49/month.
- **No contract and no minimum term.** You pay a month at a time and you cancel from your account settings.
- **Creating an account is free.** You are asked to pay at one point only: when you activate a number.

Administrators can see every number on the team. Everyone else sees only the numbers they have been given access to. **You are responsible for who you give access to, and for removing it when somebody leaves** — an administrator can do that at any time, and it takes effect immediately.

> The text of a message, and any code inside it, is permanently erased a set time after it arrives — 72 hours by default, and an administrator can change that. The record that the message arrived stays. [Security and access](https://sharedsmsinbox.com/security) covers this in full.

## What the service is for

It is for the accounts a company shares: the accounting software, the advertising account, the supplier portal, the booking platform.

Those accounts text a login or verification code to one number. This gives that number to the company instead of to one employee, so the people who need the code can read it themselves.

**It is receive-only.** The number takes messages in and sends nothing out. There is no outbound texting, so it cannot be used to message customers, run campaigns or reply to anyone.

There are four things it is not for, and they matter:

- **Not for receiving messages on behalf of people who have not agreed to it.** The number goes on accounts your company owns, read by colleagues who know the messages arrive here.
- **Not for getting around a service’s own identity rules.** If a service asks for a personal number, or for one number per person, it means it. Work with that rule rather than around it.
- **Not for bulk or automated sign-ups.** This is one number for a company’s shared accounts, not a supply of numbers for creating accounts at scale.
- **Not for anything unlawful.** Including anything intended to impersonate somebody or to take over an account that is not yours.

## What we cannot promise

Some of this is outside our control. Some of it is simply not decided yet. Either way, you should hear it before you buy rather than after.

**We cannot promise that any particular service will accept the number.** That decision belongs to the service sending the text, not to us. Some accept only certain kinds of number, many accept only numbers from their own country, and any of them can change the rule without telling anyone. Add the number to the account and send yourself a test message before you rely on it.

**We do not claim this makes text messages more secure.** It makes shared access manageable. Where a service can give each of your employees their own login, that is usually better. Where it supports an authenticator app, that is generally stronger than a code sent by text.

**We do not claim your messages are private from us.** The service has to be able to show you a message, so it can read a message. Anyone weighing this up for genuinely sensitive material should factor that in.

**And some terms are not settled yet, so this page does not state them.** Putting a number here that the binding terms later contradict would be worse than an admitted gap. These are the gaps:

- Refunds and proration.
- Notice periods.
- Whether there is a grace period on the number after cancellation.
- Whether a number can be moved to another provider.
- Any service level or uptime commitment.
- Limitation of liability.
- Governing law.
- The process for suspending an account that is being misused.
- What happens to your data after cancellation.

> If one of these matters to your decision, ask before you activate a number rather than assuming. The [help page](https://sharedsmsinbox.com/help) is the place to start.

## Ending it

There is no contract and no minimum term. You cancel from your account settings and the monthly charge stops.

The part worth slowing down for is the number itself. **Treat giving up a number as permanent.** Once it is released it can be given to somebody else, and we cannot promise you would get it back. An account still pointing at a number you no longer hold is an account you may not be able to get into.

So do it in this order:

1. List every company account that has this number on it.
2. Change the number on each of those accounts, and check that a code actually arrives at the new one.
3. Only then cancel the number in your account settings.

Refunds, proration and whether there is any grace period on the number after cancellation are on the list above of things still being confirmed.

## The pages this one leans on

- [Pricing](https://sharedsmsinbox.com/pricing) — What the $49/month covers, and the exact moment you are charged.
- [Security and access](https://sharedsmsinbox.com/security) — Who can read your messages, how long they are kept, and what we do not claim.
- [Privacy](https://sharedsmsinbox.com/privacy) — What information we hold about your team, and why we hold it.
- [How it works](https://sharedsmsinbox.com/how-it-works) — What happens between signing up and the first message arriving.
- [Help](https://sharedsmsinbox.com/help) — The questions people ask before they commit, answered in one place.

## Nothing here has to be signed

Create your account for free, look around properly, and activate a number only when you are sure it suits you. There is no contract to get out of afterwards.

- [Get your number](https://app.sharedsmsinbox.com)

_$49/month per phone number. No contract. Cancel any time._

---

Canonical: https://sharedsmsinbox.com/terms

Every page of this site is also available as Markdown. Site map: https://sharedsmsinbox.com/llms.txt