To create and format your message
+-
+
- All messages start from a template +
- Click “Send Messages”. You’ll see existing templates. +
- Add a new template or choose an existing template and select Edit.
Add links
- -When composing a text message, write URLs in full and Notify will convert them into links for you. -
- -You cannot convert text into a link. - -
- -We do not recommend using a third-party link shortening service because:
+ {# Add links #} +Add links
+When composing a text message, links to websites or online applications can help your recipient respond quickly.
-
-
- your users cannot see where the link will take them -
- your link might stop working if there’s a service outage -
- you can no longer control where the redirect goes +
- Write URLs in full and Notify will convert them into links for you. Note that you cannot hyperlink text in Notify + messages. +
- For link click tracking, you can consider adding campaign parameters to URLs. +
- All links should point to a government domain. +
- Link directly to where your recipient needs to take action, not to more information.
Personalize your content
- -To personalize the content of your messages, add a placeholder to the template.
- -Placeholders are filled in with details, like a name or reference number, each time you send a - message.
- -To add a placeholder to the template:
- --
-
- Go to the {{ service_link(current_service, 'main.choose_template', 'templates') }} page. -
- Add a new template or choose an existing template and select Edit. -
- Add a placeholder using double brackets. For example: Hello ((first name)), your reference is - ((ref number)). -
- Select Save. -
When you send a message you can either:
+About link-shortening services
+We do not recommend using a third-party link-shortening service because:
+-
+
- Your recipient cannot see where the link will take them, which could make them suspect the link is spam/scam. +
- Your link might stop working if there’s a service outage. +
- You can no longer control where the redirect goes. +
Personalize your content
+Personalizing your content can increase response rates and help the recipient know the text is legitimate.
-
-
- manually fill in the placeholders yourself -
- upload a list of personal details and let Notify do it for you +
- Including a person’s first name increases response rates. +
- Specific details such as time and location of an appointment or where suspected fraud use occurred encourages action.
If you upload a list, the column names need to match the placeholders in your template.
+To personalize your content
+-
+
- Add a placeholder to your content by placing two brackets around the personalized elements. +
- You can manually enter the personalized content or you can upload a spreadsheet with the details and let Notify do the + work for you. See data preparation. +
Add optional content
+Example
+To personalize with the recipient's first name and include a reference number:
+State WIC: Hello ((first name)), your reference is ((ref number)). Please provide this number when you call 123-123-1234 to make an appointment.
-To add optional content to your messages:
+ {# Add conditional content #} +Add conditional content
+Conditional (or optional) content appears only when a recipient meets certain criteria. This feature allows you to make + all or part of the message contingent upon specific criteria associated with the recipient.
--
-
- Go to the {{ service_link(current_service, 'main.choose_template', 'templates') }} page. -
- Add a new template or choose an existing template and select Edit. -
- Use double brackets and ?? to define optional content. For example, if you only want to show something to people - who are under 18: ((under18??Please get your application signed by a parent or guardian.)) -
- Select Save. +
- Use two brackets and ?? to define the conditional content. +
- You can manually enter the conditional content or you can upload a spreadsheet with the personal details and let Notify + do the work for you. See data preparation.
- If you only want to show something to people who are under 18:
+
+
State SNAP: Renewal applications are due by March 15. ((under18??Please get your application signed by a parent or + guardian.))
+
+ -
+ If you want to make people who are homebound aware of the option of virtual visits (but not other message recipients):
+
+
State Medicaid: Please call 123-123-1234 to schedule an appointment. ((homebound??Virtual visits are available.))
+
+ -
+ If you want to send a messages in different languages to different recipients:
+
+
((English??We’ve identified unauthorized use on your EBT account. Call the phone number on the back of your card to + cancel or go to your local CSO for immediate replacement.))((Spanish??Hemos identificado un uso no autorizado en su + cuenta EBT. Llame al número de teléfono que aparece en el reverso de su tarjeta para cancelarla o diríjase a su CSO + local para que se la sustituyan inmediatamente.))
+
+ - do this yourself -
- upload a list of personal details and let Notify do it for you -
- Go to the Settings page +
- Select “Start text messages with service name.” +
- Change the service name to a familiar program or benefit. +
- The phone number must be in the first column (Column A) and must be labeled Phone number. +
- Each column must have a unique name. +
- If you are using Excel, you must either disable the”auto-date/time format” for time and date columns or convert the file + to a CSV prior to loading. (If you do not, Excel will display date/time data in a confusing format.) +
- Never send unnecessary or protected private information. +
- Remind your recipients that text messaging is not a secure means of communication and they should not send you private + information via text. +
- Only include links to websites and online applications that are secure. +
- Send an introductory text letting recipients know you will be texting them and to save the number in their phone. +
- Include an auto-response with the name of your organization and a contact phone number. +
- Go to the Text message settings section of the {{ - service_link(current_service, 'main.service_settings', 'settings') }} page. -
- Select Manage on the Text message - senders row. -
- Select Change or Add text message - sender. +
- Introductory text:
+
+
State Transit Dept: We're piloting a new way to get important reminders to our staff. Save this number to your phone, + you'll receive updates from us here.
+
+ - Auto-response text:
+
+
State Agency: This number is unmonitored. To contact us, call us at 123-123-1234. We will never ask for personal details + in a text. If you have questions about how to protect your privacy, see statename.gov/privacy.
+ - Achieve compliance to begin piloting, such as ATO and privacy standards -
- Demonstrate that a government-run notifications tool provides a unique value -
- Gather data from the pilot to improve the product +
- Achieve compliance to begin piloting, such as ATO and privacy standards. + + +
- Demonstrate that a government-run notifications tool provides a unique value. +
- Gather data from the pilot to improve the product.
- Message send/failure analytics -
- Complement Notify with practical guidance and support services -
- Iterate on existing features and implement new features based on what we've learned so far -
- Hone our measurement approaches to better quantify impact +
- Complement Notify with practical guidance and support services. +
- Iterate on existing features and implement new features based on what we've learned so far. +
- Hone our measurement approaches to better quantify impact.
- SMS sending via API integration -
- Single-level decision two-way messaging (e.g. reply “YES” if, or “NO” if…)
- Self-service account creation
- Application status page -
- Scheduled send option +
- Improved scheduled send option
- Email sending via UI and API -
- Multiple-level decision two-way messaging (greater than one layer decision-tree) -
- Open-text reply two-way messaging (rather than reply yes or no, 1 or 2, etc.) +
- Two-way messaging
- Multilingual interface and content library options
- Recurring scheduled send (such as “Send each Monday for 3 weeks”) -
- manage risks around information
- when it passes through the service -
- when it’s stored on the service +
- Admin, a Flask website running on the python_buildpack which hosts agency user-facing UI +
- API, a Flask application running on the python_buildpack hosting the Notify API
- AWS S3 buckets for temporary file storage +
- AWS Elasticache (Redis) for caching data and enqueueing background tasks +
- AWS RDS (PostgreSQL) for system data storage +
- AWS SNS for sending SMS messages +
- AWS SES for sending email messages (note: email function is currently unavailable to users for pilot) +
- Notify stores data within the cloud.gov-managed PostgreSQL database and S3 buckets. The entire database is encrypted at + the disk level. +
- Additionally, data is encrypted at the field level when it is stored in the database, using OpenSSL 3.0.8 via the Python + cryptography library. The implementation is available on GitHub. +
- Your email address and password +
- A code from an authenticator app or sent by Login.gov in the form of a text message +
To add conditional content
+-
+
For each person you send this message to, specify ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to show or hide this content. You - can either:
+Examples
+-
+
-
-
If you upload a list, the column names need to match the optional content in your template.
+ {# Identify your program #} +Identify your program
+You can help your recipients identify your texts as legitimate by customizing your messages to clearly state who they + are from. Consider using the program or benefit name that is most familiar to your recipients.
-Message customization
+To customize your program name
+To change the text message sender from the default service name:
+-
+
Change the text message sender
+ {# Prepare your data #} +Prepare your data
+The easiest and most efficient way to personalize your content is by uploading a spreadsheet. Notify can accommodate + many file formats and structures.
-The text message sender tells your users who the message is from.
+File format
+Notify can accept files in the following formats: CSV, TSV, ODS, and Microsoft Excel.
-To change the text message sender from the default of ‘Notify.gov’:
+File structure
+-
+
Formatting personalized content
+If you are sending a message with personalized content, such as the first name of the recipient or the appointment time + and location, the names of the column headings have to match the indicator included in the message template.
+For example, if the personalized content is the first name of the recipient, and we are using the spreadsheet below, the + indicator in the message needs to be ((First name)), not ((firstname)) or ((name)).
+ +Formatting conditional content
+If you are sending messages with conditional content, such as content based on the recipient’s preferred language or + location, the flag to receive the content needs to be captured in its own column with a Yes or No (Y/N) flag.
+ +Example
+| Phone number | +First name | +Last name | +Spanish | +English | +Date | +Time | +Location | +
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 123-456-7890 | +Lulu | +Praether | +N | +Y | +November 2, 2023 | +3:25 | +123 Ford Rd. | +
| 234-567-8901 | +Sela | +Appel | +Y | +N | +November 2, 2023 | +4:00 | +123 Ford Rd. | +
| 123-456-7890 | +Dexter | +Moseley | +N | +Y | +November 2, 2023 | +2:00 | +123 Ford Rd. | +
Preventing fraud
+Texting fraud is ever prevalent and while we can’t eliminate the risk, we can reduce the chances that recipients will + fall victim to fraud.
+-
+
-
-
Examples
+-
+
Roadmap
This roadmap is only a guide. It does not cover everything we do, and some things may change.
You can contact us if you have any questions about the roadmap or suggestions for new features.
-What we’re working on
+What we’re working on
-Now
+Now
We are investigating the Notify concept, building on the notifications tool pioneered by the UK.
To do this, we are convening a pilot with a small set of partners.
Goals during this stage:
-
-
Features prioritized during this stage:
@@ -46,53 +50,38 @@Now
Next
+If the pilot is successful, we hope to recruit additional high-impact partners to improve outcomes for low-income individuals and families.
Goals during this stage:
-
-
Features prioritized during this stage:
--
+
Later
+Later
In the future, we may decide to expand beyond SMS, or to offer the service government-wide.
Features to be considered during this stage:
--
+
-
-
Security
Data
-On Notify, data is encrypted:
--
-
Infrastructure
+ +Notify.gov is comprised of two applications both running on cloud.gov:
+-
+
Any recipient data you upload is only held for seven days.
- -Technical security
- +Notify.gov utilizes several cloud.gov-provided services through Amazon Web Services (AWS):
+-
+
Notify.gov also provisions and uses two AWS services via a supplemental service broker:
+-
+
Current security review
+Currently, Notify.gov operates under a GSA Lightweight Authority to Operate (LATO). This federal security authorization + process leverages security controls provided by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The process is + focused on operational security from both a functional and assurance perspective.
+We are pursuing a full Authority to Operate (ATO)
+ +Data
+To send a message, agencies upload a spreadsheet of phone numbers and other necessary data from their existing data + management system. On Notify.gov, data is encrypted when it passes through the service and when it’s stored on the + service.
+Notify.gov is not a system of record and as a result does not have a SORN. Agencies are responsible for managing their + data outside of Notify.gov.
+-
+
Data retention
+Any recipient data uploaded is only held for seven days; all personally identifiable information (PII) is deleted for + successful messages, so data is retained only for unsuccessful messages. +
+ +Technical security
Protect sensitive information
Some messages include sensitive information like security codes or password reset links.
@@ -46,6 +76,23 @@Two-factor authentication
If signing in with a text message is a problem for your team, contact us to find out about using an email link instead.
+ }})
+
+ How to hide PII after sending a message
+ +User permissions and signing in
+You can set different user permissions in Notify. This lets you control who in your team has access to certain parts of + the service.
+ +Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
+Notify.gov uses Login.gov to authenticate users.
+-
+
If signing in with a text message is a problem for your team, contact us to find out about using an email link instead.
+ - - + + {% endblock %}