SMS Geo Permissions

When you create a Plivo account, Geo-Permissions are enabled by default for messaging to the following countries:

• United States (US)
• United Kingdom (UK)
• India

These defaults are set to provide a secure starting point, and you can customize them based on your specific requirements.

Geo-Permissions are settings within your Plivo account that allow you to enable or disable SMS messaging to specific countries based on your business needs. This feature helps you control where your messages are sent, enhancing security and preventing unauthorized usage.

Using Geo-Permissions helps protect your account from potential misuse and unexpected costs by restricting SMS traffic to only the countries you intend to target. It acts as a security measure against fraudsters who might attempt to generate spurious messaging traffic.

To manage Geo-Permissions:

1. Log in to your Plivo console.
2. Navigate to the Messaging section.
3. Go to the Geo Permission subsection.
4. Select the account or sub-account you wish to configure.
5. Under Manage Geo Permissions and Messages Per Hour Fraud Thresholds, you can enable or disable countries as needed.

Subaccounts for which Geo Permissions have been overridden appear with a “Overridden” tag next to them in the All Accounts dropdown. To remove this override:

1. Navigate to SMS > Settings > Geo Permissions in your Plivo console.
2. Select the subaccount for which you want to remove the override.
3. Click on Remove Override.

Yes. By default, all subaccounts are configured to use the main account’s Geo Permissions preferences. For instance, if outbound messages to France are disabled for the main account, then subaccounts cannot by default send SMS traffic to France. 

As a Plivo user, you can choose to override Geo Permissions preferences at a subaccount level. To do this: 

1. Navigate to SMS > Settings > Geo Permissions in the Plivo console.
2. Select the subaccount from the All Accounts dropdown menu. 
3. Enable or disable traffic to specific countries from the list of countries provided. 
4. Save your preferences.

Subaccounts for which preferences have been overridden appear with an “Overridden” tag next to them in the All Accounts dropdown.

Plivo uses Geo-Permissions to help curb unexpected costs and protect your account from potential misuse by restricting SMS traffic to specific countries based on your business needs.

You can choose to enable or disable SMS traffic to additional countries as needed. Messages sent to countries that are not enabled in your Geo-Permissions will be blocked and will fail with error code 450. These blocked messages are not charged.

To manage your account's SMS Geo-Permissions:

1. Log in to your Plivo console.
2. Navigate to the Messaging section.
3. Go to the Geo Permission subsection.
4. Select the account or sub-account you wish to configure.
5. Under Manage Geo Permissions and Messages Per Hour Fraud Thresholds, you can enable or disable countries as needed. Use the search bar or apply filters such as risk level or continent to easily find and select the countries you want to enable or disable.

Note:

1. You can set custom Geo-Permission preferences at the sub-account level, allowing for more granular control over different segments of your business.
2. Any changes you make to Geo-Permissions are immediately enforced for new messages sent via the SMS API or for messages that are queued in Plivo's system.
3. Effective February 1, 2025, messages to disabled countries will fail with HTTP status code 403 instead of error code 450.