SMS Messaging Terms & Opt-In Policy

1 Who We Are

GuardianStep, LLC ("GuardianStep," "we," "our," or "us") operates a cloud-based platform that helps legal guardians, power-of-attorney holders, family caregivers, and care teams organize and coordinate the care of individuals under their responsibility ("protected persons" or "wards"). Notifications by SMS are an optional feature of the platform that helps users stay aware of time-sensitive events affecting the people they are responsible for.

2 How Users Opt In

SMS messaging is strictly opt-in. GuardianStep operates two opt-in paths, both of which take place inside the authenticated GuardianStep application at https://guardianstep.com:

Path A — Account Holder (Settings → Notifications)

1. The user creates a GuardianStep account (email + password) and verifies their email address.
2. Inside the app, the user navigates to Settings → Notifications and enters their U.S. mobile phone number.
3. The user explicitly checks a consent checkbox containing the following verbatim text:
   "I agree to receive SMS notifications from GuardianStep about account activity, document and care reminders, incident alerts, and security codes related to my GuardianStep account. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to unsubscribe, HELP for help. See our SMS Messaging Terms and Privacy Policy."
4. The user clicks Save. The platform records the verbatim consent text, the timestamp, and the IP address of the request in our immutable audit log.
5. GuardianStep sends a one-time confirmation text confirming that the number is now opted in and reminding the user of STOP / HELP.

Path B — Invitee (Invite Acceptance)

1. An existing account holder generates a unique single-use invite link for a family member or care-team teammate from inside the authenticated GuardianStep application.
2. The invitee opens the invite link, enters their U.S. mobile phone number, and explicitly checks a consent checkbox containing the following verbatim text:
   "By checking this box, I agree to receive recurring SMS care alerts, appointment reminders, and incident notifications from GuardianStep at the mobile number above. Msg frequency varies. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help."
3. The invitee submits the form. The platform records the verbatim consent text, the timestamp, and the IP address of the request in our immutable audit log.
4. GuardianStep sends a one-time confirmation text confirming that the number is now opted in and reminding the invitee of STOP / HELP.

We never purchase, rent, import, or otherwise acquire phone numbers from third parties. A phone number cannot be added to GuardianStep SMS by anyone other than the verified user themselves through one of the two paths above. SMS opt-in consent is never shared with, sold to, or transferred to any third party or affiliate for their own messaging purposes.

3 What Messages We Send

All GuardianStep SMS are transactional account notifications tied to a specific user's account activity. We do not send promotional or marketing messages. The categories we send are:

• Document expiration reminders — when documents associated with a protected person are nearing or past their expiration date.
• Incident alerts — when a care incident has been logged on a protected person the user is responsible for.
• Temporary access notifications — when temporary medical or financial access has been granted to a third party on the user's behalf.
• Account security codes & verification — one-time codes used during sign-in step-up or sensitive-action verification.
• Opt-in confirmation — the single welcome message a user receives the first time they opt in.

4 Sample Messages

The following are representative examples of the messages we send.

5 Message Frequency

Message frequency varies and depends on activity in the user's GuardianStep account. A typical user receives between 0 and 8 messages per month. There is no recurring schedule; messages are only sent in response to events on the user's account.

6 Costs

GuardianStep does not charge for SMS notifications. However, message and data rates may apply from the recipient's mobile carrier depending on the user's plan.

7 Opting Out (STOP) and Getting Help (HELP)

Recipients may opt out of GuardianStep SMS at any time by replying STOP (or any of the carrier-recognized variants: STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, QUIT) to any GuardianStep message. The recipient will receive a final confirmation that they have been opted out and will not receive any further GuardianStep SMS unless they explicitly opt back in by repeating the opt-in flow described in Section 2.

Recipients may reply HELP at any time to receive a message with support contact information.

8 Carrier Disclaimer

Wireless carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. GuardianStep cannot guarantee message delivery through any specific carrier or to any specific device.

9 Privacy of Phone Numbers and SMS Data

Phone numbers collected for SMS are used solely to send the transactional notifications described in Section 3. We do not sell, rent, or share phone numbers, opt-in records, or SMS-related personal information with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

No mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. All categories of personal information described in our Privacy Policy exclude mobile opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties. Mobile phone numbers are shared only with our SMS service provider (Twilio Inc.) for the sole purpose of transmitting the messages described above, under a data processing agreement. SMS opt-in consent is not transferable between affiliates or third parties.

For full details on how we handle personal information, see our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Service.

10 Eligible Numbers

GuardianStep SMS notifications are available only to mobile numbers in the United States (country code +1). Landlines, VoIP numbers that do not accept SMS, and numbers outside the United States are not eligible.

11 Contact

Questions about GuardianStep SMS messaging can be sent to:

• Customer service: customerservice@guardianstep.com
• Privacy & HIPAA: privacy@guardianstep.com
• Website: guardianstep.com