Links must not pass through multi-hop redirects
The requirementstatement
A URL in message content must not chain through multiple redirects that hide the eventual destination.
- Severityseverity
- HighHIGHRejected by at least one carrier or provider, and a common cause of failure at the rest.
- When it bitesphase
- Gates approvalapprovalGet this wrong and the brand or campaign is refused at registration.
- What is checkedobject
- campaign.sample[] link destinations
- Where it liveslayer
- Message contentMESSAGE_CONTENT
- How Ekas settles itdetectability
- AI · formAI_FORM
- A semantic question about what you wrote: whether a description matches a use case, whether a name looks like a filed entity. Judged by a model against written criteria.
- What the fix involvesfailureClass
- Fix the fieldRETRY_FIELD
- A better value in the form fixes it. Ekas can rewrite it and re-check.
- Who requires itauthorities
- CTIATCRT-Mobile
- When it appliesapplicabilityText
- Applies to every 10DLC registration.
Why this rule existsrationale
Redirect chains defeat the transparency the URL rules exist to create — the consumer, and the carrier, cannot know where the link ends up. It is also the standard technique for laundering a blocked destination through a clean-looking first hop.
How to fix itremediation
Link the final destination directly. Where click tracking is required, use a first-party tracking path on your own domain that redirects once.
A compliant exampleexample
https://acmecoffee.com/sale (direct) rather than a tracking chain through three third-party hosts.
Rules you will hit next
One other rule reads campaign.sample[] link destinations. Fixing one field to satisfy a single rule is how a resubmission trades one rejection for another, so read these before you change anything.
MSG-104Link destinations must identify their ownerHighHIGHMSG-020MMS sample images must not be placeholder or stock artworkHighHIGHMSG-049Opt-out instructions must name a recognised keywordHighHIGHMSG-060The opt-in confirmation must be the first message sentHighHIGHMSG-095Any shortener used must be dedicated to this senderHighHIGHMSG-117A sample must contain a phone number when embeddedPhone is declaredHighHIGH
MSG-098 is one of 122 message content rules in the 915-rule 10DLC registry. Free to cite under CC BY 4.0.