Double Opt-in
Double Opt-in adds an additional step to the email subscription opt-in process, requiring a subscriber to verify their email address and confirm interest. After signing up, the profile receives a confirmation email and must click a link to activate their consent — a simple, reliable way to confirm that the person who signed up actually owns the email address.
💡 Why use Double Opt-in?
Higher quality lists — Bots, typos, and accidental sign-ups are filtered out.
Better engagement — Confirmed subscribers tend to open and click more.
Stronger compliance — Required or recommended in many jurisdictions for marketing email.
Cleaner reporting — Your bounce rate and complaint rate stay low, protecting your sender reputation.
And all of the above leads to higher deliverability!
In this article
About Double Opt-in
Double Opt-in confirms the subscription of profiles who opt in to your communications by providing email consent. Read more here: Double opt-in Account settings | Apsis Knowledge base
When Double Opt-in is enabled, a profile that signs up via a Form's Terms & Conditions or Consent Element receives an email asking them to confirm. Clicking the confirmation link takes them to a landing page where they confirm, and then back to your website — promoting a successful Profile Merge if it happens in the same device and/or browser.
Until they confirm, the profile's email channel consent is set to Pending Opt-in — and they will not receive any of your sendings until they confirm.
Consent state | What it means | Will receive sendings? |
Confirmed Opt-in | Signed up + clicked confirmation link. | ✅ Yes |
Opt-in | Signed up via a source where Double Opt-in is not enabled (file import, API, form without Double Opt-in). | ✅ Yes |
Pending Opt-in | Signed up but hasn't yet clicked the confirmation link. | ❌ No |
Opt-out | Unsubscribed. | ❌ No |
📝 Note Profiles that opt in via a form without Double Opt-in enabled, are subscribed via File Import Wizard, or come in through other sources will gain regular Opt-in rather than Confirmed Opt-in.
When hovering over the email icon on the profile view - Status is shown as Opt-In, Pending Opt-In or Confirmed Opt-In.
Enable Double Opt-in
Double Opt-in is configured per Section. Before you can use it on a Form or Sign-up bar, complete these settings:
Head to Settings by clicking the Profile Icon in the top-right corner.
Select the Section you want to enable Double Opt-in for.
Choose the Double Opt-in tab in the left menu. Here you'll customise both the Double Opt-in email and the confirmation page.
Enter a Subject Line, Pre-Header Text, the Sender Details for the email, and the title for the confirmation page.
Once done, click Save to enable Double Opt-in.
We strongly recommend reviewing the email design and the confirmation page design before going live (see the next sections).
Tip - This is the first email subscribers receive once they sign up — make sure your sender name and email match your business address so it's recognised instantly.
Double Opt-in email
Email design
A default template is included, but we recommend customising it to match your brand.
Click Preview or Edit to take a look at your Double Opt-in email.
Create the design for your business. Learn more about the Email Editor →
The Opt-in link
⚠️ Important
For Double Opt-in to work, your confirmation email must include an Opt-in link. This is what subscribers click to reach the confirmation page. Make it visible, accessible on all devices, and easy to find.
Add an Opt-in link to most Elements in the Design Panel. Use the Element Settings or the Inline Text Editor.
Choose Opt-in from the dropdown.
Click Save.
Email preview
In Preview, toggle desktop, mobile, and text versions to make sure your email works perfectly across devices.
Confirmation page
This is the page subscribers see after clicking the link in your Double Opt-in email. By clicking the button on this page, they confirm their subscription — and gain a Confirmed Opt-in consent type.
Page details
Enter a title for the confirmation page. This is what's displayed in the browser tab.
Confirmation page design
Click Edit to adjust the page's content and design.
Create the design for your business.
Confirmation Opt-in link
⚠️ Important
Your confirmation page must include an Opt-in link — this is what subscribers click to confirm. Without it, the confirmation step won't work.
Add an Opt-in link to your chosen Element via Element Settings or the Inline Text Editor.
Choose Opt-in from the dropdown.
Click Save.
Page preview
In Preview, toggle desktop, mobile, and text versions to make sure your confirmation page looks right on all devices.
After confirmation — the redirect
Once subscribers click the confirm button on the confirmation page, two things happen:
Their consent is updated to Confirmed Opt-in in Apsis One, consent time line is updated with both Email consent and Confirmed double opt-in events.
They are redirected to a URL of your choice — and this is set on the Form, not in the Section settings.
The redirect destination is configured per form, in the Form Action step. This means you can send subscribers to different places depending on the form's purpose — a thank-you page after a newsletter sign-up, a download link after a content gating form, the registration confirmation after an event sign-up, and so on.
Setting the redirect URL
Open the form in Forms, Pages & Survey and head to the Form Action step.
Under On Submit, configure your headline and message — these are shown to the subscriber immediately after they submit the form (e.g. "Thank you — you will receive an email to confirm the subscription").
In the Where do you want to redirect when double opt-in is confirmed? field, paste the URL the subscriber should land on after they click the confirmation link in the email.
Save and continue to the next step.
💡 Match the redirect to the form's purpose
Newsletter sign-up → a welcome page with a few featured articles, related resources, or an introduction to your brand.
Content download → the gated asset itself (PDF, report, template).
Event registration → the event details page with date, location, and what to expect.
Webinar sign-up → a confirmation page including the calendar invite or join link.
Choosing the right destination keeps the experience smooth and gives subscribers immediate value for confirming their email — which strengthens the relationship from the very first interaction.
📝 Note If no redirect URL is set on the form, subscribers will be redirected again to the same message as after the form submit. We recommend always setting a redirect URL so the journey feels complete.
💡 Tip - When creating the DOI (Double Opt-in) forms, ensure to give them a name that contains DOI for easier tracking on the events on the profiles, in segment builder and in forms overview.
The key and key space for a DOI created profiles shows both system and email key space.
What's next?