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. Also, your account may use personalized names for each object (e.g., account instead of company). This document refers to objects by their HubSpot default names.

Manage subscriptions of individual contacts

1. In your HubSpot account, navigate to CRM > Contacts.
2. Click the name of the contact.
3. In the left sidebar, under the Communication subscriptions section, click View subscriptions.
4. In the right panel, the Subscriptions tab lists a contact's current subscriptions.
   • If you've purchased the Brands add-on and are viewing all brands, you can filter the contact's subscriptions by brand. Click the Brand dropdown menu and select a brand.
   • You can review the history of the contact's subscription activity by clicking the History tab.
5. 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.
6. If you want to manually unsubscribe a contact to subscription, hover over the subscription then click Unsubscribe.

Update subscriptions in bulk

You can subscribe or unsubscribe contacts from subscription types in bulk from the contact index page or automatically via workflows.

Please note: if a contact has previously been opted out of a subscription, that subscription can't be added using bulk actions. This includes if the contact opted out, or they were unsubscribed by a HubSpot user or workflow. Instead, you can resubscribe them from their individual record.

Update subscriptions on the contacts index page

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

1. In your HubSpot account, navigate to CRM > Contacts.
2. Select the checkboxes next to the contacts whose subscriptions you want to update.
3. Click the More dropdown menu, then select Edit communication subscriptions.
4. In the right panel:
   • If you have multiple messaging channels, select a channel:
     • Email: update the contact's email subscription preferences.
     • WhatsApp: if you've connected a WhatsApp business account to your conversations inbox, update the contact's WhatsApp subscription preferences (Marketing or Service Hub Professional and Enterprise only).
     • SMS: if you've set up SMS messaging in HubSpot, update the contact's SMS subscription preferences (Marketing Hub Professional and Enterprise only).
   • Click Next.
   • Select the desired status:
     • Subscribe: the contact will be opted in to the selected subscriptions.
     • Not opted: the contact will be neither opted-in or out of the selected subscriptions.
     • Unsubscribe: the contact will be opted-out of the elected subscriptions.
   • Click the Communication subscription types dropdown menu, then select the checkboxes for the subscription types you'd like to update.

• • If you've turned on data privacy settings, 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 Finish.

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.

1. In your HubSpot account, navigate to Automation > Workflows.
2. Create a contact-based workflow, and set up your enrollment triggers to decide which contacts are enrolled.
3. Click the + plus icon to add your workflow actions.
4. In the left panel, click CRM to expand the section, then select Manage communication subscriptions.
5. Click the Messaging Channel dropdown menu, then select a channel:
   • Email: update the contact's email subscription preferences.
   • WhatsApp: if you've connected a WhatsApp business account to your conversations inbox, update the contact's WhatsApp subscription preferences (Marketing or Service Hub Professional and Enterprise only).
   • SMS: if you've set up SMS messaging in HubSpot, update the contact's SMS subscription preferences (Marketing Hub Professional and Enterprise only).
6. Click the Subscription status dropdown menu to select an opt status.
7. Click the Communication subscription type dropdown menu, then select a subscription type.
8. If you've turned on data privacy settings, click the legal basis for communicating with contact dropdown, then select an option. Then, provide an explanation for why you're legally allowed to communicate with the enrolled contact.
   
9. Click Save.
10. Add any additional actions to your workflow, and edit the workflow settings.
11. When you're done, in the upper right click Review and publish.

Opt a contact out of a subscription

If you turned off your data privacy settings, you can send marketing emails to a contact without explicit opt-in from them. HubSpot tracks when a contact unsubscribes themselves from your mailing list, but you can also opt a contact out manually or opt out a group of contacts via an import.

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

Use opted out of email contact properties

If data privacy settings are turned off in your account, you can check if a contact is opted out of your subscriptions using the Opted out of email properties:

1. In your HubSpot account, navigate to CRM > Contacts.
2. Click the name of the contact.
3. In the left sidebar click Actions, then select View all properties.
4. In the right panel:
   • Type Opt into the Search property names 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 One to one, 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.

Filter contacts by their subscriptions

To filter contacts based on their subscriptions, you can filter on the contacts index page by opt-out status or in segments by specific subscriptions.

Filter by opt-out status in index page views

To filter by opt-out status on the contacts index page:

1. In your HubSpot account, navigate to CRM > Contacts.
2. Click Advanced filters. Learn more about filtering records.
3. In the right panel:
   • Search Opted out of.
   • Select the Opted out of property for the subscription you want to filter by, then set your criteria.

For example, you could filter to view contacts that have opted out of marketing emails, but didn't opt out of one-to-one email communication.

1. In your HubSpot account, navigate to CRM > Contacts.
2. Click Advanced filters.
3. In the right panel:
   • Search Opted out of.
   • Click Opted out of email marketing information.
   • Click the Search dropdown menu and select Yes.
   • Click Add filter and search Opted out of.
   • Click Opted out of email: One to one.
   • Click the Search dropdown menu and select No.
   • In the upper right, click the X.

Filter by subscriptions in segments

To create a segment to filter contacts by their subscriptions:

1. In your HubSpot account, navigate to CRM > Segments.
2. Create or edit a contact-based active segment.
3. Click Add filter.
4. Select Email subscriptions as the filter category. 
5. Select an option: Contact has opted into all of, Contact has opted out of all of, or Contact has not opted into all of.
6. Click the Search dropdown menu, then select the checkboxes of the subscriptions to filter by.
7. Click Review and save.
8. Configure your segment settings.
9. When you're finished, click Save and process segment.

For example, you could add contacts to a segment if they have opted in to both your marketing emails and your one-to-one emails. Learn more about setting segment criteria for email subscriptions.

1. In your HubSpot account, navigate to CRM > Segments.
2. Create or edit a contact-based active segment.
3. Click Add filter.
4. Select Email subscriptions as the filter category. 
5. Select Contact has opted into all of.
6. Click the Search dropdown menu, then select the checkboxes for Marketing Information and One to One.
7. Click Review and save.
8. Configure your segment settings.
9. When you're finished, click Save and process segment.