# Phone formats and segments

## Phones

Send in any of these formats; responses are always E.164:

| Input | Stored as |
| --- | --- |
| `0501234567` | `+972501234567` |
| `501234567` | `+972501234567` |
| `972501234567` | `+972501234567` |
| `+972 50-123-4567` | `+972501234567` |

Spaces, dashes and parentheses are fine. International destinations (`+44…`) are sent only with `allow_international: true` and only if your account is enabled for it; they are priced per destination (default 5 credits per segment) and charged from a separate international balance.

## Segments and billing

Long messages are sent as several segments, and each segment = one credit:

| Encoding | When | Single message | Per segment (multi-part) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| GSM-7 | English, digits and basic symbols only | 160 chars | 153 |
| Unicode (UCS-2) | Any Hebrew character, emoji or special character | 70 chars | 67 |

- **A single Hebrew character makes the whole message Unicode.**
- `^ { } \ [ ~ ] | €` count as two characters in GSM.
- An emoji counts as two characters.
- Short links (~30 chars) and the unsubscribe link count toward length.
- Maximum length: 1,005 characters.

Example: a 120-character Hebrew message = 2 segments = 2 credits.

## Sender IDs

- **Phone number** (mobile or landline): verified with a code we send to it. Lets recipients reply (`inbound.received`).
- **Alphanumeric name**: 2–11 characters, Latin letters/digits/space, must include a letter. Recipients cannot reply.