Quiet hours restrict when certain messages are sent to your subscribers. By default, quiet hours are set to 8 PM–12 PM, based on general consumer preference and to account for time zone differences.
Change Quiet hours for your brand
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Go to Settings > Company > Messaging.
Note: If you send messages to multiple regions from a single account, quiet hours are set up per region in Settings > Company > Regions > Messaging. See Manage your international messaging program for more information. - Scroll to Quiet hours, and use the dropdowns to select quiet hours start and end times.
- When you’re done, click Save settings at the bottom of the screen.
Message Sending Time Zone Logic
Attentive uses a layered approach to determine the appropriate time zone for sending messages.
Primary Time Zone Determination
Attentive first attempts to determine the subscriber's location using primary methods:
- IP Address-Based Location: Derived from actions like clicking a message link or interacting with an on-site sign-up unit.
- Area Code Fallback: If a subscriber's location cannot be determined by the primary IP address methods, the system automatically uses the US Area Code associated with the subscriber's phone number to identify their local time zone.
Message Type Specific Rules
The time zone determination differs based on whether the message is a journey message or a campaign message.
| Message Type | Time Zone Rule |
| Journey Messages | Always use the subscriber's identified local time zone (via primary methods or the Area Code fallback). If local time zone cannot be determined, your send time will default to your company's time zone. |
| Campaign Messages |
Send at the time you specified. You can choose to send in the subscriber’s local time or at a specific time of day so all recipients receive the message around the same time. Example: |
Note: Sending Times for Subscribers with Unknown Time Zones
For subscribers whose location data is unavailable, campaign messages send at the following times.
All reference times are based on the company's official time zone
| Time Slot (Based on Company Time) | Send Time Zone Applied | Rationale |
| Before 12:00 PM (Noon) | Pacific Time (PT) | To avoid delivering the message too early in the morning for subscribers further West. |
| After 5:00 PM | Eastern Time (ET) | To avoid delivering the message too late in the evening for subscribers further East. |
| Between 12:00 PM and 5:00 PM | Company's Time Zone | This is considered the safe, middle-of-the-day window, so the message is sent directly using the company's standard time. |
How Quiet Hours Apply to Messages
Quiet hours apply differently depending on the type of message:
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Journey Messages: You can choose whether individual journey messages respect your quiet hours settings. Messages set to respect quiet hours aren't sent during your quiet hours, using these time zone rules. These messages are queued and will be sent when quiet hours end. Messages you elect to not observe quiet hours will send during your quiet hours. Additionally, certain journey messages sent in direct response to a subscriber’s request or action are sent during quiet hours, when the subscriber’s request triggers them (legal and welcome messages, opt-out confirmations, and auto-replies).
Note: In journeys that include both email and text message steps, email messages will follow the quiet hours behavior defined by text message steps. - Campaign Messages: Quiet hours don’t apply to scheduled campaigns, so your message will send at the time you choose. If your campaign is set to send during your quiet hours, or during any state-specific quiet hours (if you have enabled State Quiet Hours), you’ll see a friendly reminder letting you know before it goes out.
- Transactional Messages: These follow standard quiet hours rules when quiet hours are turned on. Transactional messages you elect to not observe quiet hours will send during your quiet hours. Additionally, if a subscriber sends you a message during quiet hours, your autoresponse message is sent to the subscriber regardless of how Smart Sending or quiet hours are configured.
If you’re using Send Time AI, see this article to learn how it works with Quiet Hours.
State-Specific Quiet Hours (Effective November 13, 2025)
The federal TCPA prohibits “telephone solicitations” before 8 AM or after 9 PM (local time of recipient). However, certain states have additional restrictions around send times.
To help you manage compliance with new and existing state-level regulations, Attentive has introduced a feature that allows you to enforce stricter quiet hours for subscribers in specific locations, including Texas (TX), Florida (FL), and Oklahoma (OK).
State Quiet Hour Rules
When the State Quiet Hours feature is enabled (see below to learn how!), the following rules are enforced for recipients in these states. Please note that the hours in the table below indicate when messages will NOT be sent.:
| State(s) | Quiet Hours Start | Quiet Hours End | Days Affected |
| Florida (FL), Oklahoma (OK), Maryland (MD), Washington (WA) | 8 PM (20:00) | 8 AM (08:00) | All Days |
| Texas (TX) | 9 PM (21:00) | 9 AM (09:00) | Monday–Saturday |
| Texas (TX) | 9 PM (21:00) | 12 PM (Noon) (12:00) | Sunday |
| Connecticut (CT) | 8 PM (20:00) | 9 AM (09:00) | All Days |
Note: Information regarding the amendments to Oregon’s Telephone Solicitation statute, including quiet hours, can be found here.
Managing State Quiet Hours
The State Quiet Hours feature is managed via a dedicated checkbox in your Messaging settings. To change your state quiet hours settings:
- Go to Settings > Company > Messaging.
- Scroll to the State Quiet Hours section and use the checkbox to turn the feature ON or OFF.
- Click Save settings at the bottom of the screen.