Manage your contacts' messaging subscriptions

Learn how to view and manage your contacts' subscription types. Contacts can manage their email preferences using the links in the footer of your marketing emails. You can also send contacts a link to manage their own subscription preferences.

Please note: email subscription preferences are tied to an email address, rather than to a contact. For example, if you delete a contact who opted out of email communication, a new contact created with the same email address will also be opted out.

Manage subscriptions of individual contacts

• In your HubSpot account, navigate to Contacts > Contacts.
• Click the name of the contact.
• In the left sidebar, under the Communication subscriptions section, click View subscriptions.
• In the right panel, the Subscriptions tab lists a contact's current subscriptions.
  • If you've purchased the Business Units add-on, you can filter the contact's subscriptions by business unit. Click the Business Unit dropdown menu and select a business unit.

• • You can review the history of the contact's subscription activity by clicking the History tab.

• To manually subscribe or resubscribe a contact to a specific subscription type:
  • Hover over the subscription type:
    • If the contact hasn't yet specified their preference on receiving emails for the subscription, click Subscribe.
    • If the contact had previously opted out of receiving emails for the subscription type, you can resubscribe them by clicking Resubscribe.
  • In the dialog box, click the Communication subscription types dropdown menu, then select a subscription type.
  • Select a legal basis for communicating and enter the explanation for communication consent. Additionally, you'll also need to add a legal basis to process to track and store the contact's details in your database.
  • Click Save.
• If you want to manually unsubscribe a contact to subscription, hover over the subscription then click Unsubscribe.

Update subscriptions in bulk

You can opt contacts into or out of a subscription type in bulk from the contact index page or automatically via workflows.

Please note: you cannot update the WhatsApp subscription type in bulk. Learn how to opt individual contacts into WhatsApp communication.

Update subscriptions on the contacts index page

You can update a contact's subscription type in bulk on the contact index page. You can also remove an opt-out of all email status that was added manually by a user in your HubSpot account.

• In your HubSpot account, navigate to Contacts > Contacts.
• Select the checkboxes next to the contacts whose subscriptions you want to update.
• Click the More dropdown menu, then select Edit communication subscriptions.

• In the right panel:
  • Select a messaging channel:
    • Email: update the contact's email subscription preferences.
    • WhatsApp: if you connected a WhatsApp business account to your conversations inbox, you can update their WhatsApp subscription preferences.
  • Click the Communication subscription types dropdown menu, then select the checkboxes for the subscription types you'd like to update.
  • Select the desired subscription status or if you've enabled GDPR functionality, the opt-in status for the contacts.
  • If the contacts were opted out by a HubSpot user, select the Remove opt out from all email checkbox to opt them back in.
  • If you've enabled GDPR functionality, select a legal basis for communicating with contact. You'll also need to add a legal basis to process to track and store the contact's details in your database.

• • Enter an Explanation for communication consent for these contacts.
  • Click Save.

Update the subscription status of contacts with a workflow (Professional and Enterprise only)

If your account has a Professional or Enterprise subscription, you can opt your contacts into a communication subscription type in bulk using a contact-based workflow.

Please note: if a contact has previously been opted out of a subscription, that subscription can't be added with a workflow. This includes if the contact opted out, or they were unsubscribed by a HubSpot user or workflow.

• In your HubSpot account, navigate to Automation > Workflows.
• Create a contact-based workflow, and set up your enrollment triggers to decide which contacts are enrolled.
• Click the + plus icon to add your workflow actions.
• Under Property management, select the Manage email subscription status action.
• Click the New opt status dropdown menu to select an opt status.
• Click the Communication subscription type dropdown menu, then select a subscription type.
• If you've enabled GDPR functionality, click the legal basis for communicating with contact dropdown, then select an option. 

• Click Save.

• Add any additional actions to your workflow, and edit the workflow settings.
• When you're done, in the upper right click Review and publish.

Opt a contact out of a subscription

If you disabled your GDPR functionality, you'll be able to send marketing emails to a contact without explicit opt-in from them. HubSpot will track when a contact opts out themselves from your mailing list, but you can also opt a contact out manually or opt out a list of contacts through an import.

Please note: your legal team is always the best resource to give you compliance advice for your specific situation.

Opted out contact properties

If GDPR functionality isn't enabled in your account, you can check a contact's Opted out of email properties:

• In your HubSpot account, navigate to Contacts > Contacts.
• Click the name of the contact.
• In the left panel, click View all properties.
• On the right, type Opt in Search Properties search bar. You'll see an Opted out of email property for each email type in your account, along with the Unsubscribed from all email property.
  • If a contact has unsubscribed from a particular subscription type, such as Default HubSpot blog subscription, the corresponding property will have a value of Yes.
  • If a contact has unsubscribed from all communication, the Unsubscribed from all email property will have a value of true.

Please note: if the Unsubscribed from all email contact property has a value of true, you also won't be able to call the contact without first giving a one-time legal basis for communicating with them.