Outbound alerts text a recipient list, not individuals. Build lists of external contacts, set them to expire, and let people add their own number via a QR sign-up link — no login required.
What Recipient Lists Are For
When an emergency alert goes out by SMS, it texts a recipient list — a named set of external contacts — rather than numbers typed in one at a time. Lists are the roster you maintain before an incident so that, when one happens, reaching the right people is a single click.
Creating a List
Open SMS Recipient Lists in the admin dashboard.
Click Create list and give it a clear name — for example "Site A — Floor Wardens".
Add contacts by phone number in full international format (E.164, e.g. +447700900123).
Permanent vs Temporary
Lists and the people on them can be permanent or time-boxed, which keeps your rosters honest without manual tidying:
Permanent list — Members stay until you remove them. Use this for standing teams.
Temporary list — The whole list expires at a set end time, and everyone on it is removed automatically. Handy for a one-off event.
Permanent list, temporary members — The list lives on, but individual numbers you add expire after a set window — say a contractor on site for seven days.
Time-boxed members are removed automatically when their window ends. You never have to remember to take the contractor off the list — they drop off on their own.
Sign-up Links (QR Codes)
Rather than collecting numbers yourself, you can generate an unguessable sign-up link — and its matching QR code — that lets people add their own number to a list. No login, no account, just a number and a tap. It's ideal for a poster in a lobby or a slide at an induction.
From a list, choose Create sign-up link.
Share or print the link or QR code where the right people will see it.
They scan it, enter their mobile number, and confirm — a quick CAPTCHA keeps bots out.
Their number joins the list, ready for the next alert.
Give a sign-up link a retention window and anyone who joins through it is removed automatically once that window ends — perfect for visitors who should only be reachable while they're on site. The shorter of the link's window and the list's own end time always wins.
A sign-up link is a public URL protected only by its unguessable token, a CAPTCHA, and rate limits. Anyone who consents by submitting their number is opting in — and they can opt out at any time by texting STOP. See the next article for how consent and opt-out work.