About Unsubscribe

Every email and SMS you send must include a way for recipients to opt out — it's a legal requirement and a key part of maintaining a healthy sender reputation. This article explains how unsubscribing works in Apsis One, how to add unsubscribe links, how to customise the opt-out experience, and how to unsubscribe Profiles yourself.

The opt-out journey

Here's what happens when a recipient clicks an unsubscribe link:

The Profile clicks the unsubscribe link in the email or SMS.
A landing page opens in their browser, asking them to confirm the opt-out. This confirmation step prevents accidental unsubscribes.
Once they confirm, they are removed from the Subscription(s) associated with that specific email or SMS.

💡 Good to know

Some email clients (Gmail, Apple Mail, Outlook) also display a built-in "Unsubscribe" button at the top of the email. When a recipient uses this, the opt-out is processed the same way as clicking the link in the email body.

Which Subscriptions are affected?

This is one of the most common questions about unsubscribe behaviour:

Scenario	What happens
Email was sent to one Subscription	The Profile is removed from that Subscription only.
Email was sent to multiple Subscriptions (in the same Folder)	The Profile is removed from all Subscriptions that were included in that send.
Profile is subscribed to other Subscriptions not included in the send	Those Subscriptions are not affected. The Profile remains opted-in to any Subscription that wasn't part of the email they unsubscribed from.

⚠️ Important

Unsubscribing removes consent, not the Profile itself. The Profile still exists in your Audience — they just no longer have active consent in the affected Subscription(s). You can still see their data, but you cannot send to them unless they re-subscribe.

Adding an unsubscribe link in Email

If your Template doesn't already include an unsubscribe link, you need to add one manually in the editor.

In the email editor, select the text or element where you want the link (typically in the footer).
Open the link settings for that element.
Select Unsubscribe as the link type.
The link is now configured — when recipients click it, they'll be taken to the unsubscribe confirmation page.

💡 Tip: Include it in your Template

Add the unsubscribe link to your footer Asset or Template so it's automatically included in every email. This prevents the risk of accidentally sending without one.

Read more: Link settings

Adding an unsubscribe link in SMS

In SMS, you add the unsubscribe link by typing the Data tag ##unsubscribe## directly in the message content field. This renders as a clickable link when the SMS is delivered.

Read more: SMS: Content and Characters

Customising the unsubscribe page

When a recipient clicks the unsubscribe link, they see a landing page where they confirm the opt-out. You can customise this page in the Email editor settings:

In the email editor, go to Settings (bottom bar) → Unsubscribe tab.
Configure the following:

Setting	Options
Confirmation type	Message — shows a confirmation message on screen after opt-out. Redirect link — redirects the Profile to a URL of your choice (e.g. a custom "sorry to see you go" page).
Message text	The text displayed after the Profile confirms the opt-out (if using Message type).
Logo	Upload a logo for the unsubscribe page. Recommended size: 100×100px.
Logo text	Text displayed alongside the logo.
Background colour	Set the background colour to match your brand.

💡 Tip: Save these settings in your Template

Unsubscribe settings are saved with the Template. Configure them once in your main Template and they'll apply to every email you create from it.

Unsubscribing Profiles yourself

You can also remove Profiles from Subscriptions directly — for example, if a contact asks to be removed via phone or a support ticket.

One Profile at a time

Open the Profile in Audience, navigate to their consent information, and remove them from the relevant Subscription. See Edit, Delete, GDPR options for step-by-step instructions.

Bulk unsubscribe via file import

If you need to unsubscribe many Profiles at once (e.g. from an external opt-out list or a CRM sync), use the File Import wizard with the "Unsubscribe Profiles" option. See File Import: Unsubscribe Profiles for the full guide.

Best practices

Practice	Why
Make the unsubscribe link easy to find	A hidden unsubscribe link doesn't prevent opt-outs — it just pushes recipients to use the "Report spam" button instead, which damages your sender reputation far more than an unsubscribe.
Never re-subscribe opted-out Profiles	Unless a Profile explicitly re-subscribes (e.g. through a new form submission), do not add them back to a Subscription. This violates GDPR and erodes trust.
Monitor unsubscribe rates	A sudden spike in unsubscribes after a send usually signals a problem with content relevance, frequency, or audience targeting. Check the Email Report after every send.
Brand your unsubscribe page	Add your logo and brand colours. A branded, professional opt-out page leaves a better last impression than the generic default.
Consider a preference centre	If you have multiple Subscriptions, a preference centre lets Profiles choose which communications to keep rather than unsubscribing from everything. This isn't built into Apsis One natively, but you can redirect to an external preference page and send the details back with the API or use Zapier.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Cause and solution
"A Profile unsubscribed but I can still see them in Audience"	This is expected. Unsubscribing removes consent, not the Profile. The Profile still exists — they just can't be sent to via the affected Subscription.
"A Profile unsubscribed from one email but I can still send to them"	The Profile may have active consent in a different Subscription. Unsubscribing only affects the Subscription(s) associated with the specific email they opted out from.
"My email doesn't have an unsubscribe link"	Add one in the editor using the Unsubscribe link type. Better yet, include it in your Template's footer Asset so it's always present.
"The unsubscribe page looks unstyled"	Go to Settings → Unsubscribe tab in the email editor and add your logo, message text, and brand colours. Save these settings in your Template for future use.

What's next?

Email Report — Track unsubscribes and other engagement metrics after every send.
Email: Settings, Preview and Test — Configure sender details and unsubscribe settings.
Link settings — Detailed guide on link types including unsubscribe.
File Import: Unsubscribe Profiles — Bulk opt-out via file import.

Unsubscribe