Overseas Companies Sending OTP SMS to China Without Real-Name Registration
Last week, my product suddenly couldn't send registration SMS to China. I was using Twilio, but later confirmed that Zavu was also down.
Both customer service representatives stated the same thing: Chinese carriers suddenly blocked all overseas shared template OTP SMS. I suspect that those engaged in illegal activities discovered this channel and began using it for SMS bombing.
Now, every developer must apply for their own sender, and only AWS and BytePlus support this reporting process.
AWS has stopped accepting new users for SMS functionality and does not publicly disclose the criteria for "new users." ByteDance is known for its internal competition, but the customer service of its overseas company BytePlus is definitely not competitive; it takes them two to three days to reply to a single message.
I have a feeling that even if I apply through BytePlus, getting the reporting materials to satisfy Chinese state-owned enterprises will inevitably involve back-and-forth discussions, and each round will take two to three days, which I cannot accept.
I could also use my Chinese company to send SMS through domestic platforms, which would immediately solve this problem. However, this overseas project has a strict requirement: it must be completely separated from any real-name registration in China.
After two weeks of effort, I finally resolved the issue yesterday. The delay was mainly due to:
- Only SMS to China was affected; other countries and email verification were not impacted.
- I am currently more laid-back. In my younger days, I would have been anxious seeing users constantly urging me, but now I just chill, bro.
- I took many detours and paid a lot of tuition. I spent a total of 1500 USD, of which 1000 USD was purely tuition, and 500 USD was useful. The TG community is indeed full of deception and intrigue. 😈
