Frequently asked questions

Short answers to the questions campaign teams ask most.

Accounts and access#

Can I share one account with my assistant? No. Each person needs their own account so the audit trail shows who did what. Create an account for your assistant with only the access they need.

I lost my phone with my authenticator app. What now? Ask your organisation owner to reset your authenticator. You will set it up again at your next sign-in.

Why can't I see a ward my colleague can see? Your access is limited to the area in your role assignment. Ask your owner to widen it if your job needs it.

Supporters#

Why can't I see supporters' phone numbers? They are encrypted to protect supporters and your campaign. You can still message, call through the phone bank and verify people without seeing the numbers.

Can I download our supporter list? Not with raw contact details. Reports and exports contain masked values and totals only.

How do I add a list we collected at a rally? Agree the source and lawful basis with the Sauti data team, who load it securely. See Importing supporter lists.

Messaging#

Why did my 160-character message count as two parts? It probably contains a character outside the standard set, such as an emoji or curly quote. See Channels and costs.

Why are fewer people reached than my audience count? People who opted out, are suppressed, are not reachable on the channel, fall in quiet hours with "skip" chosen, or hit a frequency cap are excluded at send time.

Can I send at night? Promotional messages are not delivered between 21:00 and 07:00. Transactional messages such as receipts are.

Why was my send blocked? Either it needs approval, your wallet is too low, or the content screen flagged it for compliance review. The send shows the reason.

Money#

How long does an M-PESA top-up take? Usually seconds after the M-PESA confirmation SMS.

Are undelivered messages refunded? Yes, according to your plan's refund policy, once the message's final status is known.

Can I use donations to pay for messaging? Yes, if your donations settle to Sauti's channels: use Use for wallet top-up in Finance › Donations › Funds.

Field and election day#

A volunteer's phone was stolen. What do I do? Choose Sign out and wipe for that phone in Field › Field app, then pair the new phone.

An agent has no data at the station. They can report by SMS using their station code and PIN. See the Polling agent guide.