Why it matters
Opt-out handling protects customer trust and helps teams avoid messaging people who should not receive outreach. Users need to know both where to review a contact's preferences and where admins configure STOP reply behavior.
Key Concepts
Communication preferences: Contact-level settings that show whether a contact can receive messages through available channels and locations.
Unsubscribe contact: A contact action used to unsubscribe a contact from messaging.
Block contact: A contact action used when a contact should be blocked from sending messages into the inbox.
Opt-out setting: The organization setting under Settings > Messaging that controls how widely a STOP reply unsubscribes a contact.
Opt-out scope: The level affected by an opt-out, such as only the channel messaged, all channels of the same type, or every channel in the organization.
Step-by-Step: Review contact opt-out status
Open Contacts from the main sidebar.
Search for and open the contact.
Review the contact's communication preferences.
Open the contact actions menu when the contact needs to be unsubscribed, blocked, unblocked, merged, deleted, or added to a sequence.
Select Unsubscribe contact if the contact should no longer receive messages.
Select Block contact if the contact should be blocked from sending messages into your inbox.
Select Unblock contact if a blocked contact should be allowed again.
Open Settings > Messaging when an admin needs to review STOP reply behavior.
In the Opt-out preferences area, choose how widely STOP replies should unsubscribe contacts.
Save the setting and communicate the behavior to teams that send messages.
Step-by-Step: Bulk unsubscribe contacts
Open Contacts from the main sidebar.
Select All contacts.
Search or filter to the contacts you need to update.
Select the contacts in the table.
Open the bulk actions menu.
Choose the unsubscribe action.
Review the selected audience before confirming.
Confirm the action only when the selected contacts should be unsubscribed.
Tips and Best Practices
Check communication preferences before adding a contact to messaging workflows.
Use Block contact for abusive or unwanted inbound messages, not as a substitute for normal opt-out handling.
Choose the opt-out scope that matches the organization's compliance and customer experience requirements.
Be clear with internal teams about what happens when a contact replies STOP.
Use bulk unsubscribe carefully because it can affect many contacts at once.
Troubleshooting
Issue | Possible Cause | Fix |
A contact did not receive a message | The contact may be unsubscribed, blocked, missing a valid destination, or excluded by channel preferences | Open the contact and review communication preferences, blocked status, and destination fields |
A STOP reply unsubscribed more channels than expected | The organization opt-out scope is set broadly | Review Settings > Messaging > Opt-out preferences |
Users are unsure which opt-out rule applies | The organization setting has not been documented for the team | Confirm the current setting in Settings > Messaging and update internal guidance |