The unsubscribe link: where it appears and where it does not
A login code sent by SMS should not carry an unsubscribe link. Your weekly issue must. Here is how the link behaves in each kind of sending, who can remove it, and when unsubscribing by email also stops your SMS.
At a glance
| Kind of sending | Unsubscribe link | Who controls it |
|---|---|---|
| Email, every send | Always there | Removing it takes a request to our support team |
| SMS campaign | On by default | A tick box in the message editor |
| Single SMS through the API | Not added | No built-in link; the message may be a login code |
Email: the link is always there
Every email sent from your account carries an unsubscribe link, including transactional mail. There is no switch for it in the interface.
Sometimes it does not belong, and the usual case is a login code sent by email: someone trying to sign in should not be able to unsubscribe from their own codes. For that, send us a request naming the account and the type of message, and we remove the link from those messages only. This is deliberately not something you can switch off yourself.
If you send more than one kind of mailing, the link can lead to a preference center, where the reader chooses to leave one list or stop everything.
SMS through the API: no link
The function that sends a single SMS is also used for one-time codes, alerts and service updates. An unsubscribe link there is meaningless at best, and it uses up characters. So the system does not add one to SMS sent through the API. If you use the API for promotional SMS rather than for codes and alerts, you are responsible for including a way to opt out.
SMS campaigns: on by default, and you can remove it
In the SMS campaign editor there is an Add unsubscribe link box, ticked by default, with the text that comes before the link next to it. The preview shows how the message will look on the phone.
Removing the link is your decision and your responsibility. It suits operational messages, not promotional campaigns.
Email and SMS: when unsubscribing covers both
Unsubscribing crosses channels only on the same record. If a contact holds both an email address and a phone number, unsubscribing marks both, and that person stops getting email and SMS from you.
The trouble starts when the same person is in your account as two separate contacts, for example a phone number uploaded to one list and an email address to another. To the system they are two unrelated contacts, so unsubscribing the email does not stop the SMS, and the other way round.
| How the details are stored | What unsubscribing does |
|---|---|
| Email and phone on one contact | Both channels are marked unsubscribed |
| Email in one file, phone in another | Only the channel used to unsubscribe; the other keeps receiving |
| Single API send to someone not on your lists | Only the address or number the message went to |
If you send both email and SMS to the same readers, import them so both details land on one contact. If duplicates already exist, ask us to check merging them. A reader who asked to stop and keeps hearing from you on the other channel is a complaint waiting to happen.
Questions
Can I remove the unsubscribe link from an email?
Not in the interface. Send us a request naming the account and the type of message, for example a login code sent by email, and we remove the link from those messages only.
Why is there no unsubscribe link in an SMS sent through the API?
The same function sends one-time codes, alerts and service updates, where an unsubscribe link makes no sense and uses up characters. If you use it for promotional SMS, include a way to opt out yourself.
Can I turn off the unsubscribe link in an SMS campaign?
Yes. The Add unsubscribe link box in the message editor is ticked by default and you can untick it. For promotional campaigns, keep it: the law expects an easy way to opt out.
Does the unsubscribe link count toward the SMS length?
Yes. The character counter in the editor includes it, so it can push a message into an extra segment. Shorten the text before the link if you are close to the limit.
A reader unsubscribed by email. Why do they still get my SMS?
They are probably in your account twice, as two separate contacts: an email in one and a phone number in another. Unsubscribing applies to the record it was done on. It covers both channels only when the email and phone are on the same contact.
Need the link removed from login codes?
Send us the account number and the type of message, and we will remove it from those messages only.
Email support