Following the rise of WhatsApp, Telegram, and Facebook Messenger, SMS is hardly used for texting anymore. Everyone these days has access to mobile internet and it makes little sense to subscribe to an SMS package.
Nevertheless, we still get an endless amount of SMS spam on our phones from telemarketers, telcos, ISPs, random pest control firms, and the list goes on. No one is a fan of unwanted texts and having to block every single one of them can be time-consuming.
Thankfully, however, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has finally brought us good news.
Thanks to newly introduced regulations from PTA, telemarketers will only be able to send promotional SMS texts to people who opt for it. All promotional messages will also have an option to unsubscribe from SMS ads. PTA also clarifies that sending SMS without consent is a violation of its regulations and hence it is a reportable offense.
Here is an example of what promotional messages will look like from now on.
As you can see, the promotional message from Nayatel has an option to unsubscribe from the service. You can simply send an SMS with “Reg” to 3627 to stop receiving ads.
You can also report telemarketers that continue to spam you with texts without consent.