Acceptable use policy
This article is a plain-language summary of how Bird may and may not be used. It exists so you can answer "is this okay to send?" without reading legal text. It is a summary, not the contract — the binding rules are in Bird's formal terms and its Acceptable Use Policy, and where this article and the formal text differ, the formal text wins.
The short version: send messages that people asked for, that are honest about who they're from and what they contain, and that are legal where you and your recipients are. Almost everything below is a specific case of breaking one of those three rules.
What's prohibited
Spam and unsolicited bulk messaging. Sending marketing or bulk messages to people who didn't agree to receive them — including purchased, rented, or scraped contact lists. Consent is the foundation of everything sent through Bird; the consent article explains what counts and how to keep records.
Phishing and fraud. Impersonating another person, brand, or organization; spoofing sender identities; misleading subject lines or content designed to trick recipients into revealing credentials, payment details, or personal information; and any other deceptive scheme.
Malware and malicious content. Distributing viruses, ransomware, spyware, or links to malicious sites — whether in the message body, attachments, or behind shorteners and redirects.
Harassment and abuse. Messages that threaten, intimidate, or harass individuals or groups, including continuing to message people who have opted out or asked you to stop.
Illegal content and activity. Content that is illegal to send or promote in your jurisdiction or your recipients' — and using Bird to facilitate illegal activity of any kind. Some content categories are also restricted in specific countries or channels even when legal elsewhere; see Supported countries & restrictions.
How Bird enforces this
Bird continuously monitors trust-and-safety signals across the platform — complaint rates, bounce patterns, recipient feedback, content signals, and reports from mailbox providers and carriers. This protects every sender: shared infrastructure means one bad actor can damage deliverability for everyone, so abuse is caught and contained quickly.
When sending crosses the line, the response is proportionate to the severity:
- Throttling — your sending rate is reduced while signals are elevated, giving you time to correct course.
- Pausing — sending is suspended on the affected domain or workspace until the issue is resolved.
- Account action — for serious or repeated violations, Bird can suspend or terminate the account.
If your sending is throttled or paused, you'll see it in the dashboard along with the reason. The abuse & compliance overview explains how the enforcement pipeline works per channel.
How to stay on the right side
In practice, compliant senders all do the same few things: collect real consent before messaging, keep records of it, honor opt-outs immediately, and send content that matches what people signed up for. The compliance articles walk through exactly how:
- Consent & data privacy (GDPR/CCPA) — the cross-channel basics
- Email list consent & CAN-SPAM — the email-specific rules
Related pages
- Supported countries & restrictions — where Bird can and can't deliver, and content restricted by market
- Abuse & compliance — how enforcement works across channels
- Bird's Acceptable Use Policy — the binding legal text this article summarizes