Skip Navigation

911 Disclosure Notices

If you are located in the US, please read the "US 911 Disclosure Notice"

If you are located in Canada, please read the "Canada 911 Disclosure Notice"

Capitalized but undefined terms used herein have the meanings assigned to those terms in the TextNow Terms of Use.

US 911 Disclosure Notice

‍Description: VoIP services allow you to make or receive telephone calls over the Internet to or from the public switched telephone network. The nature of VoIP telephone calls, while appearing similar to traditional telephone calling services, create unique limitations and circumstances, and you acknowledge and agree that differences exist between traditional telephone service and VoIP telephone services, including the lack of traditional 9-1-1 emergency services.

9-1-1 service: Because a VoIP call can be made anywhere You have an Internet connection, emergency calls through the VoIP service will be handled differently than traditional phone service. The following provisions describe the differences and limitations of 9-1-1 emergency calls, and you hereby acknowledge and understand the differences between traditional 9-1-1 service and VoIP 9-1-1 service with TextNow as described below.

Placing 9-1-1 calls: Your telephone number will not necessarily correspond with Your physical location, so when You make an emergency call, TextNow may direct the 911 call to the native calling functionality on Your Device. If Your Device does not have calling capability or functionality, TextNow (and/or a third party service provider) will attempt to automatically route Your call to the designated emergency callcenter based on location information available from Your Device, as long as You have given consent for TextNow to access and use that location information. If you do not consent to TextNow’s use of location information on Your Device or if Your call cannot be routed to the designated emergency call center for any reason, Your emergency call will be routed to a specialized call center. You may be required to provide a name, address, and telephone number to the specialized call center.

How your information is provided: TextNow will attempt to automatically provide the emergency callcenter dispatcher or emergency service operator with Your location, if it is available, and the telephone number associated with Your account. It is possible that the dispatcher receiving the call may not beable to capture or retain this information. Therefore, when making an emergency call, You should always immediately inform the dispatcher of Your location (or the location of the emergency, if different). If You are unable to speak, the dispatcher may not be able to locate You.

Disconnections: You should remain on any emergency call until told to disconnect by the dispatcher, as the dispatcher may not have Your number or contact information. If You are disconnected, You should call back immediately.

9-1-1 calls may not function: Emergency calling from Your VoIP service will not work in certain circumstances:

  • If the equipment You use to make VoIP calls fails or is not configured correctly
  • If You are experiencing a power outage
  • If You are experiencing an outage, suspension, or disconnection of Your Internet service
  • If Your VoIP service has been terminated or suspended.

If You are not comfortable with the limitations of emergency calls made using a VoIP service, TextNow recommends that You consider an alternate means for accessing traditional emergency calling services.

Limitations of Liability with Respect to VOIP 9-1-1 Service

TEXTNOW DISCLAIMS ALL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THECONDUCT OF LOCAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE CENTERS, THIRD PARTIES ENGAGED BY YOU TO FACILITATE EMERGENCY RESPONSE LOCATION OR OTHER ADDRESS UPDATES, AND ALL OTHER THIRD PARTIES INVOLVED IN THE PROVISION OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE SERVICES. AS PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, YOU HEREBY RELEASE, DISCHARGE, AND HOLD HARMLESS TEXTNOW (INCLUDING ITS DIRECTORS,OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS, LICENSORS, AND AGENTS) FROM AND AGAINST ANY LIABILITY RELATING TO OR ARISING FROM (1) ANY ACTS OR OMISSIONS OF SUCH THIRD PARTIES OR OTHER THIRD PARTIES INVOLVED IN THE HANDLING OF OR RESPONSE TO ANY EMERGENCY CALL, (2) YOUR INABILITY TO CONTACT EMERGENCY SERVICES BECAUSE OF A FAILURE OF YOUR DEVICE OR YOUR INTERNET OR DATA CONNECTION, OR (3) YOUR FAILURE TO MAKE ADDITIONAL ARRANGEMENTS TO ACCESS EMERGENCY SERVICE.

‍

Canada 911 Disclosure Notice

‍Description: VoIP services allow you to make or receive telephone calls over the Internet to or from the public switched telephone network. The nature of VoIP telephone calls, while appearing similar to traditional telephone calling services, create unique limitations and circumstances, and you acknowledge and agree that differences exist between traditional telephone service and VoIP telephone services, including the lack of traditional 9-1-1 emergency services.‍

9-1-1 service: Because of the unique nature of VoIP telephone calls, emergency calls to 9-1-1 through your VoIP service will be handled differently than traditional phone service. The following provisions describe the differences and limitations of 9-1-1 emergency calls, and you hereby acknowledge and understand the differences between traditional 9-1-1 service and VoIP calls with respect to 9-1-1 calls placed to emergency services from your account as described below.‍

Placing 9-1-1 calls: When you make a 9-1-1 emergency call using an IP address located in Canada, the VoIP service will forward your call to a third-party specialized call centre that handles emergency calls. This call centre is different from the PSAP that would answer a traditional 9-1-1 call which has automatically generated your address information, and consequently, you will be required to provide your name, address, and telephone number to the call centre.

How your information is provided: When making a 9-1-1 emergency call, you must immediately inform the dispatcher of your location (or the location of the emergency, if different). If you are unable to speak, the dispatcher may not be able to locate you if your location information is not up to date. Unlike traditional wireline and other wireless phone services, we do not maintain physical location information on file and have no means, other than the IP address used to make the call, to determine if you are located in Canada when you make a call using our service. If the location of the IP address you use to make a call does not accurately identify that you are making a call in Canada (due, for example, to use of a VPN or proxy), your call may not be routed to the 9-1-1 call centre.

Disconnections: You must not disconnect the 9-1-1 emergency call until told to do so by the dispatcher, as the dispatcher may not have your number or contact information. If you are inadvertently disconnected, you must call back immediately.

Connection time: For technical reasons, including network congestion, it is possible that a 9-1-1 emergency call will produce a busy signal or will take longer to connect when compared with traditional 9-1-1 calls.

9-1-1 calls may not function: For technical reasons, the functionality of 9-1-1 VoIP emergency calls may cease or be curtailed in various circumstances, including but not limited to:

Failure of service or your service access device - if your system access equipment fails or is not configured correctly, or if your VoIP service is not functioning correctly for any reason, including power outages, VoIP service outage, suspension or disconnection of your service due to billing issues, network or Internet congestion, or network or Internet outage in the event of a power, network or Internet outage; you may need to reset or reconfigure the system access equipment before being able to use the VoIP service, including for 9-1-1 emergency calls; and changing locations - if you move your system access equipment to a location other than that described in your account information or otherwise on record with TextNow.

Alternate services: If you are not comfortable with the limitations of 9-1-1 emergency calls, TextNow recommends that you terminate the VoIP services or consider an alternate means for accessing traditional 9-1-1 emergency services.

Inform other users: You are responsible for notifying, and you agree to notify, any user or potential users of your VoIP services of the nature and limitations of 9-1-1 emergency calls on the VoIP services as described herein.

Liability: You are advised to review TextNow’s limitations of liability with respect to its Canadian 9-1-1 service.

Limitations of Liability with Respect to VOIP 9-1-1 Service

In Canada, TextNow relies on third parties to assist in routing 9-1-1 calls to emergency response centres and/or a public safety answering point. TextNow does not have any control over whether, or the manner in which, calls making 9-1-1 dialing in Canada are answered or addressed by any emergency response centre and/or public safety answering point. TextNow disclaims all responsibility for:

  • The end-user’s ability to relay the nature or location of the emergency to the emergency response center answering any 9-1-1 call;
  • the ability of the end-user’s equipment or internet or data connection to connect to an emergency response centre and/or public safety answering point when making a 9-1-1 call; and,
  • the conduct of the emergency response centre and/or the public safety answering point, including if the data used by such third party to route the call is incorrect or yields an erroneous result.

YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTAND THAT TEXTNOW, ITS AFFILIATES,DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, UNDERLYING CARRIERS AND SUPPLIERS, AND APP PROVIDERS (COLLECTIVELY, “TEXTNOW PARTIES”) WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INABILITY TO ACCESS EMERGENCY SERVICES THROUGH THE SERVICES OR OTHER TEXTNOW PROPERTIES, BY ENTERING INTO THIS AGREEMENT AND/OR USING THE SERVICES, YOU HERBY WAIVE AND RELEASE TEXTNOW, FROM, ANY ACTIONS, CLAIMS, DAMAGES, LIABILITIES, LOSSES, INJURIES, AND COSTS AND EXPENSES (INCLUDING ATTORNEYS' FEES) OF ANY KIND (COLLECTIVELY "CLAIMS") ARISING DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY OUT OF, OR RELATING IN ANY WAY TO THE NON-PROVISION OF EMERGENCY SERVICES THROUGH THE SERVICE OR TEXTNOW PROPERTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY INABILITY ON THE PART OF YOU OR OTHER USERS TO ACCESS EMERGENCY SERVICES OR TO PROVIDE LOCATION INFORMATION FOR TEXTS TO 911-EMERGENCY SERVICES, AND YOU AGREE TO INDEMNIFY AND HOLD HARMLESS THE TEXTNOW PARTIES FROM ANY CLAIMS ARISING DIRECTLY FROM THE NON-PROVISION OF 9-1-1 OR PUBLIC SAFETY ANSWERING POINT CALLING CAPABILITIES THROUGH THE SERVICES AND TEXTNOW PROPERTIES.

If TextNow end-users do not agree with the limitations on 9-1-1 service, TextNow end-users must ensure they have an alternative means of accessing traditional 9-1-1 services.