Acceptable Usage Policy

1. About this policy

1.1. GetOnline Ltd trading as 'AuthSMTP' (the "Vendor") provide an authenticated SMTP email relay server along with other ancillary websites and functions (the "Service").

1.2. This Acceptable Usage Policy specifies which actions are permitted and which are prohibited when using the Service.

1.3. This Acceptable Usage Policy is an addendum to the Terms of Service (https://www.authsmtp.com/documentation/terms-of-service.html), in the event of any conflicts between this policy and the Terms Of Service, this document will control.

2. Responsibility

2.1. The person who enters into the Service Agreement (the "Customer") is solely responsible for all emails sent our via the account.

2.2. If the Customer provides any other organization, person, program or device the ability to send email through the account either directly, indirectly, with authorization or without authorization, the Customer accepts responsibility for those messages.

3. Spam, Virus & Phishing Emails

3.1. Sending of any type of malicious emails via the Service is explicitly prohibited, this includes but is not limited to:

  • Junk email (i.e. email whose content serves no meaningful purpose)
  • Emails containing or that link to malicious computer code (i.e. trojan, malware, worm)
  • Fraudulent emails (i.e. pertaining to be a third party with the intention of stealing personal data or authentication credentials)

3.2. Accounts that are determined as sending emails of this nature, may be suspended and / or terminated.

4. Unsolicited Email

4.1. Sending unsolicited messages of any volume is explicitly prohibited.

4.2. All recipients must have given permission to receive email specifically from the Customer

4.3. Example circumstances that would be permitted include:

  • a. Specifically opted-in to receive emails from the Customer via an automated mailing list
  • b. Have consented to receive emails on an adhoc basis and are therefore specifically expecting to receive emails from the Customer
  • c. The Customer is providing the recipient with a specific service and the terms of that service include email contact
  • d. The Customer has a pre-existing business or personal relationship

4.4. Example circumstances that would not be permitted include:

  • a. Mailing lists that have been purchased from third party companies
  • b. Methods that automatically generate lists by 'harvesting' email addresses from the Internet / web sites
  • c. Emails that are not compliant with the US CAN-SPAM Act
  • d. Stale mailing lists (greater than 18 months since last contact)

5. Complaints

5.1. Automated Complaints

5.1.1. The Vendor operates automated feedback loops with other Internet / Email service providers which provides data about spam complaints, the Customer is not authorised to override access to this data, any requests to do so will be automatically rejected without notification.

5.1.2. If an automated complaint is received against an account, it will be logged against the account and a notification sent to the Customer.

5.1.3. The Customer is expected to take all possible action to prevent further complaints including:

  • a. Deleting the recipient from all databases within the Customers control
  • b. Review the overall complaint ratio for that particular mailing and across the account

5.1.4. All automated complaints will be logged against the Customers account

5.2. Manual Complaints

5.2.1. The Vendor publishes full details on the Website of how Internet users can submit manual spam complaints for investigation.

5.2.2 If a manual complaint is received against an email, the Vendor will contact the Customer for an explanation and request the following information:

  • How the recipient opted-in to receive emails
  • Confirmation that the recipient has been deleted from all databases within the Customers control

5.2.4. All manual complaints will be logged against the Customers account.

5.3 Complaint to Message Ratio

5.3.1. The complaint to message ratio is expected to be no more than 1 complaint per 3000-5000 emails sent.

5.3.2. If the ratio goes above that limit, it may trigger a review of the account and the Vendor will contact the Customer to discuss the issue.

5.3.3. If the ratio is well in excess of that limit, the Vendors reserves the right to suspend the account without notice whist it is subject to further investigation.

5.4. Excessive Complaints

5.4.1. If an account receives excessive complaints, the Vendor will review the account and take appropriate action on a case-by-case basis.

5.4.2. If the account the account is deemed to be in breach of this Acceptable Usage Policy, it may result in the immediate suspension of service and possible closure of the account.

5.4.3. Accounts terminated due to excessive complaints, and therefore a breach of this policy, do not qualify for any refund.

5.4.3. The Vendor reserves the right to charge for time, system resources and associated costs incurred dealing with excessive complaints - typically a minimum of US$10 / UK£5 / EUR€7 for each complaint received.

5.5 Complaint Notifications

5.5.1. The admin email address of an account is the primary means through which the Vendor will contact the Customer about the account including complaints - this must be kept up-to-date and able to receive emails. If the Customer fails to keep a valid admin contact email address on the account, the Vendor reserves the right to suspend the Account until it is updated.

5.5.2. The same condition described in clause 5.5.1. also applies to the optional spam complaint notification email address that can be set via the Control Panel.

6. Illegal Use

6.1. The Vendor network and systems may be used only for lawful purposes.

6.2. Transmission, distribution or storage of any material in violation of any Applicable Law or regulation is prohibited.

6.1.2. This includes, without limitation, material protected by copyright, trademark, trade secret or other intellectual property right used without proper authorization, and material that is obscene, defamatory, constitutes an illegal threat or violates export control laws.

7. Fair Usage and Technical Limitations

7.1. The Vendor systems can accept and process very large amounts of email, however a fair usage policy is operated to ensure that the Service is available to all customers, all of the time (where technically possible).

7.2. The Vendor reserves the right to rate limit and / or suspend an account, if its usage has a detrimental effect on the performance, availability or stability of the Vendor systems.

7.3. The fair use policy includes (but is not limited to) a maximum of 5 concurrent connections per account (or per IP address).

8. Email Deliverability

8.1. When using the Service to send large volumes of email, the Customer agrees to do everything possible to increase the chance of the emails delivered - this includes (but is not limited to):

  • a. Sign up for whitelists and feedback loops where the Vendor cannot do it on the Customers behalf
  • b. Consider using various technical methods of increasing deliverability such as DKIM signing and SPF records
  • c. Send one message to each recipient as opposed to one message CC'd or BCC'd to multiple recipients.
  • d. Ensure all email 'from' / 'return path' / 'return to' / 'reply to' (sender) addresses are valid and able to receive inbound email
  • e. The sender address corresponds with the website / organisation through which they opted-in to receive emails from
  • f. Ensure your messages are correctly formatted and contain all the necessary elements

8.2. In the event a specific or apparent blacklisting against a specific account, domain name or IP address, as a result of messages sent; the Vendor reserves the right to suspend affected accounts until the issue can be resolved.

8.3. If the Vendor determines that an email domain name is not correctly configured for use with the network or otherwise, the Vendors reserve the right to remove it from the account and block any related emails until the issue can be resolved.

8.4. The Customer agrees that the percentage of failed messages will not exceed 5% of the total number of sent messages in any quota period.

8.4.1 A failed message is defined as a message that cannot be delivered to a recipient email provider which in turn triggers a non-delivery report (DSNs).

9. Bulk Mailing / Mailing List Best Practices

9.1. When using the Service to distribute mailing lists to large numbers of recipients, it is important that you follow industry standard practices (including but not limited to):

  • a. Maintain database by removing invalid email addresses (i.e. invalid domains, illegal characters, bounced addresses etc.)
  • b. Email message headers / envelopes must not be missing, malformed or forged and messages must not contain false or misleading information
  • c. Must include a working 'unsubscribe' link or Internet based method to process any unsubscribe requests
  • d. Unsubscribe requests should be processed immediately or where that is not possible, before sending out another mailing to avoid the recipient receiving further complaints
  • e. Keep records of how and when recipients signed up to receive emails
  • f. Ensure incoming email system is capable of handling the non-delivery reports (DSNs) for emails that could not be delivered

10. Systems and Network Security

10.1. The Customer must keep their Account Credentials secure and ensure that only secure passwords are used, this is to reduce the risk of a malicious third party being able to access / abuse the account and the Service.

10.2. The Vendor reserves the right to suspend any account if it is determined that the Account Credentials have compromised.

10.3. The inclusion of your Account Credentials in any device or software application that is going to be distributed to a 3rd party is not permitted without our prior consent and instruction from the Vendor.

10.4. Violation of system or network security is prohibited and may result in criminal and civil liability. The Vendor will investigate any incidents involving such violation, where appropriate it may involve and co-operate with law enforcement.

10.5. Examples of system or network security violations include (but are not limited to):

  • a. Unauthorized access to or use of data, systems or networks, including any attempt to probe, scan or test the vulnerability of a system and / or network or to breach security or authentication measures without express authorisation of the owner of the system or that network.
  • b. Interference with service to any user, host or network including, but not limited to:
    • Mail-bombing
    • Packet flooding
    • Deliberate attempts to overload a system
    • Broadcast attacks
    • Sending or distributing viruses / infected files
  • c. Forging of any TCP-IP packet header or any part of the header information in an email or a newsgroup posting.
  • d. Unauthorized monitoring of data and / or traffic on any network or system without the express authorisation of the owner of the system or network.

11. Miscellaneous

11.1. Indirect or attempted violations of the policy, and actual and or attempted violations by a 3rd party on behalf of one of our Customers or a Customers' end user, shall be considered violations of the policy by such Customer or end user.

11.2. To encourage responsible usage of the Internet, the Vendor will act against the Customer if they abuse the Service and / or the Internet in general. This action will usually take the form of a temporary suspension of the account until the matter can be resolved. If appropriate, the account may be terminated immediately and without refund.

12. Changes to this policy

12.1. This policy is effective as of ​the 25th of May 2018 and will remain in effect except with respect to any changes in its provisions in the future, which will be in effect immediately after being posted on this page.

12.2. The Vendor reserves the right to update or change the policy at any time and the Visitor should check this policy periodically. The continued use of the Website and / or Service after the Vendor posts any modifications to the policy on this page will constitute the Visitors acknowledgment of the modifications and consent to abide and be bound by the modified policy.

12.3. If the Vendor make any material changes to the policy, the Vendor will notify by placing a prominent notice in the Control Panel.

13. Current Version

13.1 The version reference for this acceptable usage privacy policy is:

AUP-1.0.1