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Zero-Party Data: What TextingOnly Captures at Every Opt-In
Zero-Party Data:
What TextingOnly Captures
at Every Opt-In
The moment a contact taps Send on a TextingOnly SmartLink, a structured data record is created — carrier-verified phone number, geo location, consent timestamp, campaign entry point, enhanced caller ID, and every answer to every OTTO question. This is zero-party data: provided directly by the contact, captured automatically, and owned entirely by you.
Every TextingOnly opt-in creates a contact record with layers of data most businesses don’t realize they’re capturing. This article documents every field — what it is, where it comes from, and how it’s used.
What’s Captured at the Opt-In Moment
The instant a contact taps Send on the pre-filled SmartLink message, before OTTO has even responded, these fields are captured automatically:
The mobile number that sent the text — not typed by the contact, not self-reported. Confirmed by the carrier at the moment of send. This is the foundation of the contact record.
Exact date and time of the opt-in send event. This is your TCPA consent documentation timestamp — the moment the contact provided express written consent by initiating the SMS interaction.
Which collector, SmartLink, or QR code the contact entered through — “Website Header Button,” “Instagram Bio Link,” “Direct Mail QR – Baltimore Q2,” etc. Tagged to the contact record automatically.
City, region (state), and timezone captured from the contact’s carrier data. For QR code scans: the geographic data reflects where the scan occurred. For SmartLink clicks: where the mobile device was when the text was sent.
Caller ID & Enhanced Caller ID
TextingOnly performs carrier-level identity verification on every opt-in and surfaces it in the contact record under two sections:
Standard Caller ID
The name registered with the carrier for this number. May be blank for mobile numbers where the carrier doesn’t surface a registered name. More commonly populated for landlines.
CONSUMER, BUSINESS, or UNDETERMINED — identifies whether the number is registered as a personal or business line at the carrier level.
Mobile, landline, or VoIP. Mobile numbers are the target for SMS marketing — landlines and VoIP numbers cannot receive SMS and indicate a contact who may have provided an incorrect number.
The wireless carrier (Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, AT&T, etc.). Useful for understanding your list composition and for troubleshooting deliverability issues on specific carriers.
Enhanced Caller ID
Enhanced Caller ID goes deeper — providing additional identity and quality signals on the contact:
Geographic detail from the carrier record. Region = state, City = city of carrier registration (may differ from physical location), ZIP and timezone. Used for scheduling callbacks at appropriate local times.
Yes/No — indicates whether the number is a prepaid phone. Prepaid phones have higher churn and may indicate a lower-intent contact in some verticals. Useful context for lead scoring.
A carrier-level signal of the number’s fraud risk. Score of 0 indicates no detected fraud signals. Higher scores indicate numbers associated with fraudulent activity patterns — useful for filtering low-quality leads from outbound campaigns.
Whether the number has been flagged as a spammer or associated with recent abuse. These signals come from carrier-level data aggregation. Useful for filtering contacts before running re-engagement sends.
Before running a re-engagement campaign on an aged list, review the Enhanced Caller ID fields. Contacts with Fraud Score > 0, Spammer = Yes, or Number Type = VoIP/Landline should be filtered out before the send — they represent either non-deliverable numbers or low-quality contacts that inflate your list size without producing results.
OTTO Qualification Data
Every answer the contact provides in an OTTO conversation is stored as a structured field on the contact record — available for segmentation, export, and dynamic keyword personalization in outbound campaigns:
The Full Contact Journey View
If a contact interacts with multiple campaigns, collectors, or entry points over time, every interaction is logged on the same contact record. One phone number = one complete journey view across:
Every collector the contact has entered — with the date, the collector name, and a “View Lead” link to see that specific interaction’s data. Multiple collector interactions are listed chronologically.
Every bulk campaign the contact has received — campaign name, description, date sent, and a link to the campaign detail. Shows the full outbound history for that number.
Every list the contact belongs to — list name, description, status (active/inactive). A contact can appear on multiple lists simultaneously and the record shows all of them.
The most recent touchpoint with this contact — campaign send, collector interaction, or 1-to-1 message — with timestamp and a link to the specific campaign or conversation.
“One phone number. Every collector they entered, every campaign they received, every list they’re on, their carrier identity, their geo data, their fraud score, their consent timestamp. That’s the contact record.”
Compliance Documentation
The contact record is also your TCPA compliance record. Every opt-in captures:
The full picture of zero-party mobile data — why carrier-verified opt-ins produce structurally superior data compared to form fills, and what it means for your marketing stack.
Read the Insight →The geo data side of zero-party capture — QR scan locations, mobile link click locations, and the geographic map of your audience.
Read the KB Article →How TextingOnly’s opt-in capture documentation satisfies TCPA express written consent requirements — and what you’re responsible for beyond the platform.
Read the KB Article →