Why Outbound SMS Is Temporarily Unavailable on Glacier Devices

Outbound SMS (text messaging) is currently unavailable on Glacier devices. This change is not due to a technical failure, but rather the result of new U.S. telecom compliance requirements that fundamentally conflict with how secure communication platforms like Glacier operate.

We want to be transparent about what’s happening, why it matters, and what we’re doing about it.

What Changed: Understanding 10DLC

U.S. carriers have introduced a framework known as 10DLC (10-Digit Long Code) to regulate application-to-person (A2P) messaging. In simple terms, this system is designed to prevent spam, phishing, and abusive messaging by requiring:

• Message sender registration (who is sending messages and why)
• Campaign approval (what type of messages are being sent)
• Recipient opt-in (explicit consent from every phone number receiving messages)

On the surface, this makes sense. The goal is to clean up the SMS ecosystem and protect everyday users from unwanted or malicious texts.

However, the implementation assumes a very specific model of communication—one that does not align with secure, privacy-first platforms.

Where 10DLC Breaks Down

10DLC is built around the idea that:

• Messages are sent from identifiable businesses
• Recipients knowingly opt in ahead of time
• Messaging use cases are predictable and categorized

This model works for:

• Marketing campaigns
• Appointment reminders
• Two-factor authentication (in controlled environments)

It does not work well for: