Twilio SMS Notifications

Broadcast status updates via SMS to your subscribers anywhere on the planet using your Twilio account.

Overview

Status.io does not charge extra for SMS messages. Instead we built integrations with Twilio and Vonage allowing you to use your own account and phone number with independent billing.

Twilio charges per SMS message. International messaging rates vary. We recommend reviewing Twilio’s pricing before enabling SMS notifications.

For security purposes, create a sub-account in Twilio for your Status.io number.

Note: Each status page requires a unique phone number for SMS. If you have multiple status pages, a new number must be created for each status page.

Provision Twilio Number

Review the SMS Account Protections before setting up SMS notifications

Log in to your Twilio account and click Buy a Number from the Phone Numbers / Manage screen.

Next change the Number type to be Toll-Free. A US Toll-Free number is required to send SMS messages internationally.

Finally choose a number and click Buy.

Configure Twilio Number

Select Active Numbers from the Phone Numbers / Manage screen and click the number you created.

Scroll to the bottom of the page and modify the webhook URL for when a message comes in.

Enter the Inbound Webhook URL:

 https://app.status.io/sms/twilio/reply

Then click Save.

Retrieve Twilio API Credentials

Copy your Account SID and Auth Token from the Twilio Console.

Connect Twilio Number to Status.io

Log in to the Status.io Dashboard.

Click Notifications->SMS.

Select Twilio from the SMS provider list.

Enter your Twilio Account SID, Auth Token, and Number.

Click Connect Twilio.

Twilio Verification

Twilio requires verification for US Toll-Free numbers.

Complete the mandatory verification:

  • Complete the Twilio verification form
  • Create a ticket in the Twilio Support Center and attach the completed verification form

Unverified Numbers: Twilio will apply the following industry-wide thresholds for messaging sent over unverified Toll-Free numbers:

  • Daily limit: 2,000 messages 
  • Weekly limit: 12,000 messages
  • Monthly limit: 25,000 messages

Note: For more information, review Twilio Verification Support

Monitor Usage

Keep track of your SMS usage directly in your Twilio dashboard.

Troubleshooting

Check the delivery status of each SMS message from the Twilio dashboard. Click the Logs tab to see the list of messages. Click the message timestamp to drill-down for more details.

Advanced Settings

Select the Advanced Settings button on the SMS tab in the Status.io Dashboard to view additional SMS settings.

International – Enable to allow SMS subscribers from non-US countries. Review Twilio’s pricing before enabling this setting. Additionally, you must set the Geographic Permissions in your Twilio account to ensure only countries you choose can be sent messages.

SMS Identifier – Identifying text included with subscriber administration messages for new subscribers and subscribers requesting the manage subscription link. This text is not included with incident or maintenance notifications.

Rate Limit – Limit the messages sent per hour for new subscribers and subscriber management. This limit does not apply to SMS notifications sent for incidents or maintenances. This setting helps to protect your account from being abused to send high rates of SMS messages.

Sender ID (U.K.) – Use an Alpha Sender ID when sending to U.K. numbers. This is a personalized sender ID (like a business or organization name). Learn more in the Twilio documentation.

SMS Account Protections

We recommend the following security precautions to prevent abuse of your SMS account

  • Set up email billing alerts in your Twilio account and monitor the emails for notifications.
  • Do not enable automatic payments or auto-reload of funds to your Twilio account.
  • Set the SMS rate limit in your Status.io account. The rate limit setting is in the Advanced Settings area on the SMS tab in the Status.io Dashboard.
  • Tune the Geographic Permissions in your Twilio account. SMS Geo-Permissions are controlled for your Twilio account in the Console on the Messaging Geographic Permissions page. For more information, see International SMS Messaging Geographic Permissions (Geo Permissions) and How They Work.

Disconnect Twilio

Click the Disconnect button from the Notifications/SMS tab in the Status.io Dashboard.