Subscribe and Unsubscribe Events

When a user subscribes to or unsubscribes from a message channel, an individual message type, or a list, Iterable sets the following fields in the user profile to a value that identifies the action that triggered the event:

• When an emailSubscribe event is triggered, Iterable adds a signupSource field.

• When an emailUnSubscribe, hostedUnsubscribeClick, or emailComplaint event is triggered, Iterable adds an unsubSource field.

# In this article

# Viewing unsubscribe and subscribe events

View information about a user's subscribe or unsubscribe events using one of the following methods:

• GET /api/export/data.csv

  • For subscribes, set the dataTypeName field to emailSubscribe and review the signupSource field in the exported data.

  • For unsubscribes, set the dataTypeName field to emailUnSubscribe and review the unsubSource field in the exported data.

• System webhooks Email Subscribe or Email Unsubscribe

  A system webhook sends data from Iterable to third-party system when particular campaign-related events are created. To learn how to set up an Email Subscribe or Email Unsubscribe system webhook, read System Webhooks.

  For the source of an subscribe or unsubscribe event, look at the signupSource or unsubSource fields in the system webhook data that's captured by the third-party system.

• The user profile page in Iterable

  To view a user's profile, navigate to Audience > Contact Lookup and enter their email address or their user ID (the search box reflects the necessary field).

  On the Event History tab, find the unsubscribe or subscribe event and look for the unsubSource or signupSource field.

  

# Types of unsubscribe events

The unsubSource field provides one of the following reasons a user was unsubscribed.

# API

An API call was made to one of these endpoints:

• DELETE /api/subscriptions/{subscriptionGroup}/{subscriptionGroupId}/byUserId/{userId}
• PUT /api/subscriptions/{subscriptionGroup}/{subscriptionGroupId}

# Complaint

The user marked an email they received as spam, so Iterable automatically unsubscribed them from all email channels.

# EmailLink

# ESP

The email service provider (ESP) has placed the user on a suppression list.

# HardBounce

An email was sent to the user, and it was returned as a hard bounce. Iterable unsubscribes users who hard bounce. To learn more, read Email Bounces.

# Import

• On the Audience > Segmentation page, an Iterable member selected the user and then clicked Other Actions > Remove Contacts from List.

• On the Audience > List page, the user was included in a list of users provided after clicking the Remove Subscribers link.

• On the Audience > List page, the user was included in a list of users provided after clicking Channel Unsubscribe Users.

# ISP

Iterable received an unsubscribe email from the ISP, triggered because the user clicked the unsubscribe link near the top of the email (perhaps in a mailto header).

# ListAPI

An API call was made to POST /api/lists/unsubscribe.

# SMS

The user replied to an SMS message with one of the following keywords:

• STOP
• CANCEL
• STOPALL
• UNSUBSCRIBE
• QUIT
• END

# UpdateSubscriptionsAPI

An API call was made to one of these endpoints:

• POST /api/users/updateSubscriptions
• POST /api/users/bulkUpdateSubscriptions

# WebApp

The unsubscribe was triggered manually on the user profile page in Iterable.

# Workflow

The user was unsubscribed because of an unsubscribe tile in a journey.

# Attributing unsubscribe events to a campaign

The following unsubscribe event types can be used to attribute an unsubscribe to a particular campaign:

• API (if the API passes the optional campaignId field)

• Complaint

• EmailLink

• ESP

• ISP

• ListAPI (if the API passes the optional campaignId field)

• SMS (if a SMS campaign is sent and the system receives an opt-out keyword response, such as STOP or NO, within three hours of the send—read more)

• UpdateSubscriptionsAPI (if the API passes the optional campaignId field)

# Types of subscribe events

The signupSource event field provides one of the following reasons a user was subscribed.

# API

An API call was made to one of these endpoints:

• PATCH /api/subscriptions/{subscriptionGroup}/{subscriptionGroupId}/user/{userEmail}
• PATCH /api/subscriptions/{subscriptionGroup}/{subscriptionGroupId}/byUserId/{userId}}
• PUT /api/subscriptions/{subscriptionGroup}/{subscriptionGroupId}

# CartAPI

An API call was made to POST /api/commerce/updateCart.

# DeviceAPI

An API call was made to POST /api/users/registerDeviceToken call from one of Iterable's mobile SDKs.

# DoubleOptInAPI

A user has confirmed their subscription to a SMS Double Opt-In message type.

Before this happens, an API call is made to POST /api/subscriptions/subscribeToDoubleOptIn. This triggers the SMS Double Opt-In subscription flow. The subscribe event is recorded when the user confirms their subscription by replying "Y" via SMS.

To learn more about SMS Double Opt-In, read SMS Double Opt-In Overview.

# Import

• On the Audience > List page, the user was included in a list of users provided after clicking the Add Subscribers / Modify List link.

• On the Audience > List page, the user was included in a list of users provided after clicking Channel Subscribe Users.

• A new static list was saved (perhaps by saving a dynamic list as a new static list or creating static list from another static list).

# ListAPI

An API call was made to POST /api/lists/subscribe.

# PurchaseAPI

An API call was made to POST /api/commerce/trackPurchase.

# ResubscribePage

The user subscribed to a message type or channel using the Resubscribe button on an unsubscribe success page.

# SendMessageAPI

An API call was made to POST /api/email/target (the user was sent a triggered campaign).

# UpdateSubscriptionsAPI

An API call was made to one of these endpoints:

• POST /api/users/updateSubscriptions

• POST /api/users/bulkUpdateSubscriptions

# WebApp

• A user was added manually on the user profile page in Iterable.

• In a userID-based project, a user was created when you sent a proof of template.

# WebForm

The user subscribed through an HTML signup form like the example shown in Building a Signup Form for Static Lists.

# Workflow

The user was added to a journey by an API call to POST /api/workflows/triggerWorkflow.

# Want to learn more?

For more information about some of the topics in this article, check out this Iterable Academy course. Iterable Academy is open to everyone — you don't need to be an Iterable customer!

• A Moment with Support: Unsubscribers