Handle opt-outs Live

What happens automatically when a contact opts out by SMS or email, how to add manual suppressions, and why opted-out contacts stay out.

Updated 2 min readMaintained by Landing Zone

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When a contact says stop, Landing Zone stops for you — automatically. Opt-outs are detected, recorded, confirmed to the contact, and enforced on every future send. Your job is to understand what happens, add manual suppressions when someone opts out through another channel, and never work around the list.

Before you start

  • Active outreach on SMS or email — opt-out handling operates on the replies and clicks your sends generate.
  • Access to Settings → Blocklist for manual suppression additions.

Steps

  1. Know what triggers an automatic SMS opt-out. Reply keywords like STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE, QUIT, and CANCEL are detected — and so is free-form revocation language, so a contact who writes "please don't text me again" is treated as opted out too. Every first outbound SMS to a contact automatically appends "Reply STOP to opt out."
  2. Understand what happens automatically. The contact is added to your suppression list, their consent status is set to revoked, a confirmation reply is sent to them, and an audit entry records the event. See Opt-outs and STOP keywords.
  3. Check email opt-outs. Every batch email includes a one-click unsubscribe link, and opt-outs are tracked per batch — no reply needed.
  4. Add manual suppressions in Settings → Blocklist. When someone opts out in person, on a call, or through any other channel, add them yourself so the suppression list reflects reality.
  5. Confirm exclusions before your next send. The batch preview shows suppression exclusions, so you can verify opted-out contacts are being removed — see Create an SMS batch.
  6. Never re-add opted-out contacts. Don't re-import, re-tag, or otherwise work a suppressed contact back into an audience. The suppression list exists to keep your outreach honest.

Limitations

  • Opt-out handling is deliberately one-way: suppression plus revoked consent keeps the contact out of future sends, and there is no supported way to bulk-restore opted-out contacts.
  • Automatic detection covers SMS replies and email unsubscribe clicks. Opt-outs that happen outside the platform — a phone call, a conversation — are yours to record manually in Settings → Blocklist.
  • Suppression records are compliance records: they persist by design, even if the contact record itself is deleted. See Delete records.