Acceptable use and anti-spam policy

01Why this policy exists

In short: stores on Vertia share the same sending infrastructure. One bad send hurts everyone. These rules protect your reputation, other stores' reputation and the people who receive the messages.

When a store emails people who did not ask for it, they mark it as spam. Mailbox providers such as Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo, and our sending provider, Amazon Web Services, track those complaints. When complaints rise, messages start landing in spam or are no longer delivered, and not only for the store that caused it. On WhatsApp, Meta does the same with reports and blocks.

That is why this policy states clearly who you may contact, what you may send and what happens when the numbers go off track. It forms part of our Terms of service, and breaching it may lead to a sending pause or account suspension.

02Who this policy applies to

In short: every store using Vertia, everyone on its team and every message sent through Vertia, manual or automated.

This policy applies to:

• the store that subscribes to Vertia, the people it invites to the account and any agency operating the account on its behalf;
• every message sent through Vertia, by email and WhatsApp: campaigns, automations, test messages and order notifications;
• contacts that enter Vertia by any route: sync with the store platform, spreadsheet import or manual entry.

The store is the sender. You are responsible for the messages sent from your account, including those prepared by someone else on your team or by an agency.

03Consent

In short: marketing messages only go to people who agreed to receive them on that channel. You keep the proof of consent.

The general rule. On Vertia, marketing messages are only sent to people with an active opt-in for that channel. An opt-in for one channel never covers another.

Cart reminder exception, email only. An abandoned-cart reminder by email may also go to people who left their contact details at checkout without opting in to marketing, on the basis of legitimate interests. The "Also send to people who did not opt in" setting is on by default in the cart automation, and you can switch it off. It never reaches anyone who unsubscribed, and every reminder includes a way to opt out. There is no exception on WhatsApp: the cart reminder only goes to people who opted in to receive your store's WhatsApp messages.

Pre-ticked boxes. In the European Union and the United Kingdom, a pre-ticked box is not valid consent. We do not recommend this format anywhere.

The proof is yours. Under Brazilian law, whoever collects consent must prove it was validly obtained (LGPD, article 8, paragraph 2), and other laws place the same burden on the sender. Vertia stores the consent status and date it receives from your platform, but that does not replace your own proof. For each contact, keep:

• when consent was given;
• where and how (page, form, checkout, physical store);
• the wording the person saw when agreeing;
• the channel agreed to.

We may ask for this proof at any time, by sampling or on suspicion. Until it arrives, we may pause sending to the contacts in question.

The law where your recipients are also applies. Some countries require more than this policy, such as rules on sending hours, age or identification. You must comply with the law that applies to each person who receives your messages.

04Spreadsheet imports

In short: when you import contacts, you confirm they agreed to hear from you and you state where the list came from. Purchased, rented or scraped lists are prohibited.

When you import a spreadsheet of contacts, you confirm that:

• every contact marked for marketing opted in to that channel, under the conditions in section 3;
• you know and state where the list came from, for example "in-store customers since 2024" or "website sign-ups";
• you can prove each contact's opt-in if we ask.

You must not import or send to:

• purchased, rented, borrowed or swapped lists, even if the seller says the people opted in;
• addresses or numbers scraped from websites, social media, groups or directories;
• partner, co-registration or third-party sweepstakes lists;
• generic business addresses (such as info@ or sales@) that never asked to hear from you;
• contacts who have already left your list, to add them back.

An imported contact with no opt-in indicated for a channel does not receive marketing on that channel. Cleaning or validating a list only shows that an address exists; it does not create consent.

Recommendation. For lists you collect yourself, we recommend double opt-in: the person receives a message and confirms they want to join. It is not required, but it reduces complaints and gives you strong proof of consent.

05Unsubscribes and requests to stop

In short: leaving your list must be quick and easy. By email, one click. On WhatsApp, just ask.

Email. Every marketing email sent through Vertia includes:

• a visible unsubscribe link in the footer, which works without logging in and asks for nothing beyond confirmation;
• one-click unsubscribe in the message headers, so people can leave directly from Gmail, Outlook or Yahoo.

Vertia adds these automatically and you cannot remove them. Unsubscribes are applied as soon as they reach us and, in any case, within 2 days.

WhatsApp. Anyone who replies "STOP" or otherwise asks not to receive more messages stops receiving your WhatsApp marketing messages. Tell people in your messages how they can opt out.

Requests through other routes. If someone asks to leave by another route, such as replying to an email, a social media message or a phone call, you must honor the request by recording the opt-out in your platform or in Vertia.

After someone leaves.

• Do not send them more marketing on that channel, not even a message confirming they left.
• Do not add them back by import, through another platform or by manual entry.
• They only receive messages again if they opt in again, on their own initiative.

06Sender identification

In short: recipients need to know who is writing and how to reach the store.

Email. Every email sent through Vertia:

• is sent from your store's own domain, authenticated with the DNS records Vertia provides. Free mailbox domains, such as gmail.com or hotmail.com, cannot be used as senders;
• shows a sender name that identifies your store;
• shows in the footer your store's name, why the person is receiving the message and your store's postal address. United States law (CAN-SPAM) and Canadian law (CASL) require a valid physical address in every commercial message.

You must keep your store's address accurate and up to date. If a required DNS record stops resolving, Vertia pauses your store's sending until it is back.

Honest subject lines and content. The subject line and sender must not mislead about who is sending or what the message contains. Do not disguise a commercial message as a personal message, an order notification or a message from another company.

WhatsApp. Your WhatsApp Business profile must show your store's name and at least one customer support contact: email, website or phone number. Do not impersonate another business or person.

07WhatsApp-specific rules

In short: Meta's rules apply on top of this policy. The main ones are listed here.

When you use WhatsApp through Vertia, you comply with the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy, the WhatsApp Business Terms of Service and the other Meta terms listed in our Terms of service. Among Meta's rules:

• outside the 24-hour window opened by the customer's last message, only Meta-approved templates may be sent, and only for their approved purpose;
• if you use automated replies, provide a clear path to reach a person;
• do not ask for or send full payment card, bank account or identity document numbers;
• do not pass on what one customer said in a chat to another customer;
• messages about products Meta only allows in some countries must respect the recipient's minimum age and country.

Meta may limit, pause or block your number based on recipients' reports and blocks. These decisions are Meta's.

08Prohibited content and businesses

In short: some things may not be sent on any channel. On WhatsApp, Meta also prohibits further product categories.

Prohibited on every channel. You may not use Vertia to send, promote or facilitate:

• illegal or fraudulent activity, including scams, pyramid schemes and "get rich quick" schemes;
• phishing, meaning messages that try to obtain passwords, card details or personal data by impersonating someone else;
• viruses, malware or links to them;
• infringement of third-party rights, such as counterfeit goods, piracy, unauthorized use of trademarks and disclosure of other people's personal data;
• threats, incitement or support for violence, terrorism or other serious harm;
• any content that promotes the sexual exploitation or abuse of children;
• discrimination based on race, ethnicity, color, national origin, citizenship, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability or health condition;
• content impersonating another business, a public body or a person;
• products and services whose advertising is restricted by law, outside the limits and conditions the law sets.

Also prohibited on WhatsApp. Meta does not allow WhatsApp Business to be used to buy, sell or promote:

• firearms;
• alcohol and tobacco;
• drugs, whether prescription, recreational or otherwise;
• medical and healthcare products;
• endangered species (wildlife and plants);
• live animals, other than livestock;
• hazardous goods and materials;
• real, virtual or fake currency, including initial coin offerings (ICOs) and binary options;
• body parts or fluids;
• business models, goods or services that Meta determines are fraudulent, misleading, offensive, exploitative or exert undue pressure on targeted groups;
• real money gambling and gaming;
• adult products and services;
• dating services;
• multi-level marketing;
• payday loans, paycheck advances, peer-to-peer lending, debt collection and bail bonds.

Meta allows limited exceptions, by country, for some of these, such as alcohol and over-the-counter medicines, subject to age and licensing rules. The current text of the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy always prevails. Messages must also not contain sexually explicit content or nudity, and Meta does not allow political parties, candidates or campaigns to use WhatsApp Business.

If you sell through the WhatsApp catalog, Meta's Commerce Policies also apply.

09Email reputation limits

In short: we track complaints, bounces and unsubscribes for each store. When a store crosses a limit, Vertia warns the store or pauses its email sending until a review.

We measure these rates per store, over a representative volume of recent sends, so that a store is not penalized for one small send. The limits match those used by the major mailbox providers and by our sending provider.

A pause may come sooner. Our sending provider, Amazon SES, assesses the reputation of each store and of our account as a whole, and places the account under review from a 0.1% complaint rate. It may pause a store's sending when it detects a serious problem, even below the figures in the table. We may also pause before 0.3% if the trend threatens delivery for all stores. In these cases we explain why.

Bounced and complaining addresses. People who marked an email as spam, or whose address does not exist, stop receiving email from your store, without any confirmation message.

Review. To resume sending after a pause, we show you what happened and ask you to:

1. explain where the contacts in the send that caused the problem came from;
2. remove contacts without proven opt-in or without recent engagement;
3. adjust content or frequency, if needed.

Sending is resumed manually, by us, after the review.

Staying well within the limits. Only send to people who opted in, at the frequency they expect. Stop sending to people who have not opened your emails for a long time. Say early in the message why the person is receiving it.

10How we enforce this policy

In short: we act in proportion to the problem and, whenever possible, warn you and give you a chance to fix it before pausing.

We use automated checks and human review. When we find a problem, our response is proportionate:

1. Warning. We explain what we found and what needs to change, with a deadline to fix it.
2. Channel pause. We pause your store's email or WhatsApp sending, without affecting the rest of the account.
3. Account suspension. In serious, repeated or uncorrected cases, we suspend the account.
4. Termination. For serious or repeated breaches, we terminate the agreement under section 16 of our Terms of service.

We skip steps in cases of fraud, phishing, content listed as "prohibited on every channel", a request from Meta or Amazon Web Services, or a risk to sending for all stores. In those cases a pause may be immediate, with notice shortly afterwards.

You can challenge any measure at suporte@usevertia.com. We review the decision when there is new information.

11How to report abuse

In short: received an unwanted message sent through Vertia? Write to abuse@usevertia.com.

If you received a message you did not ask for, sent by a store that uses Vertia:

• Email: use the unsubscribe link in the footer. To report it, forward the full message, with headers, to abuse@usevertia.com.
• WhatsApp: reply "STOP" or block the number in WhatsApp. To report it, send a screenshot of the conversation and the sending number to abuse@usevertia.com.

We read every report, investigate and apply this policy. We do not reveal who made the report to the store concerned.

To request access to or deletion of your data, see Data deletion or write to privacidade@usevertia.com. To report a security vulnerability, write to seguranca@usevertia.com.

12Cooperation with Meta, AWS and authorities

In short: we cooperate with the providers we depend on and with the authorities, within the law.

Vertia depends on Meta for WhatsApp and on Amazon Web Services for email. Both require Vertia to have rules and processes that prevent abuse, and both may investigate messages sent through our infrastructure. Therefore:

• if Meta asks us to, we suspend WhatsApp use by a store that Meta considers in breach of its terms or policies;
• if Amazon Web Services investigates a send, we respond with the information it needs about the store and the send;
• we give these companies the store and sending details their terms require, without disclosing customer data beyond what is necessary.

We only disclose data to authorities when the law requires it or a competent authority orders it. Access logs are only disclosed under a court order.

13Changes to this policy

In short: we give 30 days' notice by email of material changes, unless the rule comes from the law or from our providers.

We notify material changes to this policy by email and in the dashboard at least 30 days in advance. Changes required by law, by Meta, by Amazon Web Services or by the major mailbox providers may take effect sooner where their rules require it. Previous versions are kept in our legal center.

Questions about this policy: contato@usevertia.com. Abuse reports: abuse@usevertia.com.

VERT TECH TECNOLOGIA E DESENVOLVIMENTO LTDA · CNPJ 68.582.744/0001-03 · Av. Cristóvão Colombo, 2144, room 408, 3rd floor, Floresta, Porto Alegre, RS, 90560-001, Brazil.