# OPS-035 — The mandatory keywords must work over MMS too

> STOP, HELP and the rest of the mandatory keywords must be processed identically whether they arrive as SMS or MMS.

- **Rule ID:** OPS-035
- **Layer:** Operational (`OPERATIONAL`)
- **Checks:** `inbound handler, per protocol`
- **Severity:** HIGH — Rejected by at least one carrier or provider, and a common cause of failure at the rest.
- **When it bites:** Falls due after approval, once you are live and sending
- **How it is detected:** Not knowable before submission — reported with its deadline
- **Fix type:** Wait on an external system or a required interval
- **Required by:** CTIA
- **Applies:** Applies when `mmsEnabled` is true.
- **Canonical URL:** https://ekas.io/rules/10dlc/operational/ops-035/

## Why this rule exists

A consumer replying to a picture message often replies as MMS without knowing it, and many platforms route the two protocols through different inbound handlers — one of which was built for keywords and one of which was built for media. The opt-out then works or does not depending on what the consumer was replying to, which is invisible to everybody until the complaint.

## How to fix it

Point both inbound paths at the same keyword handler rather than duplicating the logic, and test an opt-out sent as a reply to an MMS. Done when the same reply suppresses whether or not it carries an attachment.

## Example of a compliant value

```text
Reply STOP to an MMS promotion → same handler, same suppression, same confirmation as an SMS reply.
```

## Check this yourself

**Does replying STOP to one of your own MMS sends suppress the number?**

1. Send yourself an MMS from the programme and reply STOP to it.
2. Confirm the same reply works with and without an attachment — many platforms route SMS and MMS through different inbound handlers.

*What wrong looks like:* The opt-out works or does not depending on what the consumer was replying to. That is invisible to everybody until the complaint.

## Notes

Two code paths, neither of them visible here. The user has to send the test themselves: reply STOP to one of their own MMS sends and confirm the number is suppressed.