iMessage sending limits
What the published guidance for iMessage recommends, the limits Spaces enforces on every account to stay inside it, how a newly connected account warms up, and what each held-back message means.
How the account is connected
Coming soon: Spaces will set up a dedicated iMessage number for your business. There will be nothing to sign in to.
What the guidance recommends for iMessage
- Apple publishes no limits for iMessage and a blocked number cannot be appealed, so Spaces stays far below the provider's own caps.
- Each number can reach about 50 new people a day and 15 an hour at most.
- Before someone replies, keep the first message short and plain: no links, photos, phone numbers or email addresses.
- Text people who expect to hear from you. Messages nobody answers are what get numbers blocked.
From the limits our iMessage provider publishes for each number. Spaces sets its limits at or below these.
What Spaces enforces on every account
| Time between messages | At least 10 seconds |
|---|---|
| Messages a day | 200 |
| New chats (people who have not written to you) | 5 an hour, 20 a day |
Until someone replies, a first message must be plain text under 300 characters with no links, and at most 6 messages go out. Replies to people who text you are not held back. If the person does not have iMessage, the message arrives as a normal text.
Warm-up for new accounts
| Since connecting | New chats an hour | New chats a day |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Weeks 2 to 4 | 3 | 12 |
| After that | 5 | 20 |
When a message is held back or refused
RATE_LIMITED HTTP 429
What it means: The account reached its hourly limit, or a message came too soon after the last one.
What to do: Nothing. Your agent waits the time Spaces gives it and tries again with the same message.
DAILY_CAP HTTP 429
What it means: The account reached its daily limit, or the lower limit you set yourself.
What to do: Sending starts again the next day. Raise your own limit if you set one, but never above the channel limit.
ACCOUNT_NOT_CONNECTED HTTP 409
What it means: The platform signed the account out, or asked for a security check.
What to do: Open your dashboard and reconnect the account. Sending stays paused until you do.
AGENT_PAUSED HTTP 409
What it means: You paused the agent or this conversation, or paused all sending for the workspace. The message says which, and why.
What to do: Turn it back on where you paused it when you are ready. After a workspace pause, resume sending in your dashboard: scheduled messages and automations carry on by themselves.
HANDED_OVER HTTP 409
What it means: A person on your team took over this chat, so the agent stays out of it.
What to do: Nothing. The agent stays out of this chat until it is handed back.
OUTSIDE_WORKING_HOURS HTTP 409
What it means: You set working hours for this account, and it is outside them.
What to do: The message waits until your hours start again.
CHANNEL_DISABLED HTTP 403
What it means: This channel is switched off for your workspace.
What to do: Contact us at hello@spacesos.com to switch it on.
BILLING_REQUIRED HTTP 402
What it means: The workspace has no active plan or the trial has ended.
What to do: Choose a plan or update your card in billing.
PLAN_LIMIT_REACHED HTTP 402
What it means: Your plan’s actions for this period are used up. On Starter, sending stops until the next period.
What to do: Wait for the next period or move to a plan that keeps working past its allowance.
Always refused
- The same cold message sent to many people. Spaces refuses copy-paste blasts.
- Any message to someone who said stop, unsubscribe or similar in that chat.
- Anything from an account the platform has restricted, until it is reconnected.
Developers: every refusal comes back with the code above, a message, and for limits a retry_after_seconds. See the docs.
FAQ
How many iMessage messages can Spaces send a day?
Up to 200 messages a day per account, at least 10 seconds apart. New chats with people who have not written to you are limited to 5 an hour and 20 a day.
Why is my new iMessage account slower?
New accounts warm up over four weeks, starting at 5 new chats a day. Replies to customers who message you are not held back.
How does Spaces connect to iMessage?
Coming soon: Spaces will set up a dedicated iMessage number for your business. There will be nothing to sign in to.
Other channels: WhatsApp, Instagram, LinkedIn, Messenger, X, Email. How Spaces keeps accounts safe: account safety.