SMS containing links not delivered by some carriers

Question

My web app sends an SMS text message to users in the US when they enter their phone number, using the Nexmo API. When the SMS contains a link, it does not get delivered to users if their carrier is Verizon or T-Mobile. For other carriers, such as Sprint and AT&T, it does get delivered. It does not generate error messages in any case with Nexmo and I still get charged for the text even if it gets blocked by the carrier.

I contacted Nexmo and they replied:

I would say it is very likely that the link in this sms caused a spam filter to block this message, especially if other plain content messages have been delivered to this number successfully. So the issue with US LVNs is that they are intended for pure P2P traffic and this is why sending a link might be suspicious and seen as a message originated from an application. Unfortunately there is nothing we can do about this as it is set by the US carriers.

These are not definitely not spam or marketing messages. How can I send a link in an SMS message and not get blocked?

Answer 1

I had the same issue recently. All major carriers have some basic checks in place which blocks the SMS from getting delivered if you use short links (e.g.http://abc.gl/1432). The SMS will get delivered as long as you have a .com in the URL (e.g. http://abc.gl.com/1432)

Answer 2

Well, I observed that some carriers mark it as spam if have "Some Message. Click Here http://example/somelink" format. Removing "Click here" part worked for me. i.e. "Some Message. http://example/somelink"

Answer 3

Got the same issue. I have been using twilio to a t-mobile phone in the US.

SMS Hello Alan, your code is: 146945 for website.com is not working but

SMS Hello Alan, your code is: 146945 is working fine.