Unsubscribe Settings

Having an unsubscribe option in your emails is a legal requirement in many jurisdictions (CAN-SPAM, GDPR) and is required by most email service providers for deliverability.

Broadcast provides flexible unsubscribe settings at both the channel and email server levels.

Unsubscribe Confirmation

By default, when a subscriber clicks an unsubscribe link, they are immediately unsubscribed. However, some email security tools and link scanners can trigger accidental unsubscribes by pre-fetching links.

To prevent this, you can enable unsubscribe confirmation, which requires subscribers to click a confirmation button before being unsubscribed.

Navigate to Settings > General Settings and check the Require unsubscribe confirmation option.

When enabled: - Subscribers see a confirmation page asking “Are you sure you want to unsubscribe?” - They must click “Yes, Unsubscribe” to complete the process - Accidental unsubscribes from link scanners are prevented

Email Footer

The email footer is added to the bottom of every broadcast and sequence email. It typically contains your unsubscribe link and physical address (required for CAN-SPAM/GDPR compliance).

Navigate to Settings > Sender Details to configure your email footer.

The footer editor provides: - Enable footer toggle: Turn the footer on or off - HTML Source: Edit the footer HTML directly - Insert Unsubscribe Link: Button to insert the unsubscribe URL variable - Live Preview: See how your footer will appear

Using the Unsubscribe URL

To include an unsubscribe link in your footer, use the {{ unsubscribe_url }} variable:

<a href="{{ unsubscribe_url }}">Unsubscribe from our emails</a>

Broadcast automatically generates a unique, secure unsubscribe URL for each subscriber. The URL is cryptographically signed to prevent tampering.

Server-Specific Unsubscribe Settings

Each email server can have its own unsubscribe settings. Navigate to Settings > Email Servers and select an email server to configure:

Include Unsubscribe Header

When enabled (default), Broadcast adds RFC-standard email headers: - List-Unsubscribe: Contains the unsubscribe URL - List-Unsubscribe-Post: Enables one-click unsubscribe

These headers are required by Gmail and Yahoo for bulk senders. Disabling them may affect deliverability.

Include Unsubscribe Link

When enabled (default), the channel’s email footer is included in emails sent through this server. Disable only for servers dedicated to transactional emails where unsubscribe links aren’t appropriate.

Custom Unsubscribe Link

Some email providers (like Postmark) have their own unsubscribe link format. If you don’t use their format, they may inject duplicate links into your emails.

To use a provider-specific format:

1. Enable Customize unsubscribe link for the email server
2. Enter your custom HTML in the text area

Example for Postmark:

<a href="{{{ pm:unsubscribe }}}">Unsubscribe from our emails</a>

Postmark will recognize this format and use it instead of appending its own link.

Email Provider Injected Links

Some email providers automatically inject their own unsubscribe links. When this happens:

• The provider’s unsubscribe page is used instead of Broadcast’s
• Broadcast won’t automatically know when someone unsubscribes through the provider’s page

Solution: Set up webhooks for your email provider so Broadcast receives unsubscribe notifications. See the Email Metrics guide for webhook configuration.

Disabling Unsubscribe Features

You can disable unsubscribe links and headers for specific email servers. This is useful for servers that only send transactional emails (password resets, order confirmations, etc.).

Navigate to Settings > Email Servers, select the server, and in the Custom Unsubscribe Settings section:

• Uncheck Include unsubscribe link to remove the footer
• Uncheck Include unsubscribe header to remove the email headers

Warning: Disabling these features for marketing emails may violate email regulations and negatively impact deliverability. Only disable for servers dedicated to transactional emails.

Best Practices

1. Always include an unsubscribe link in marketing emails (broadcasts and sequences)
2. Enable unsubscribe confirmation if you experience accidental unsubscribes from link scanners
3. Keep unsubscribe headers enabled for better deliverability with Gmail and Yahoo
4. Include your physical address in the email footer for CAN-SPAM/GDPR compliance
5. Set up webhooks to sync unsubscribes from email providers back to Broadcast