This feature is being gradually rolled out to accounts.
Marketing consent records whether a contact agreed to receive marketing emails or text messages. Subscription status determines whether the contact can currently receive them. Email and SMS consent are tracked separately.
Consent records include information such as when and how consent was collected. This information helps you understand a contact's consent and subscription history.
Consent and subscription status are related but serve different purposes:
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Consent: Records whether a contact agreed to receive marketing emails or text messages, including the source, date, and consent language.
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Subscription status: Determines whether the contact currently receives marketing emails or text messages.
When a contact gives consent, they can become subscribed to marketing emails. If they withdraw consent or unsubscribe, their subscription status changes and they no longer receive marketing emails.
You can view a contact's consent information from their Contact Profile.
How consent is collected depends on how the contact is added.
For example:
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Forms: You can add a consent checkbox to a contact form. If the contact selects the checkbox, their consent is recorded when they submit the form.
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Contact uploads: When importing contacts, you must confirm that the contacts have given consent to receive marketing communications.
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Manual contacts: When manually creating a contact, you can specify their consent status.
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Orders and bookings: An order or booking does not automatically provide marketing consent. The contact must separately opt in to receive marketing communications.
A contact receives marketing text messages only after they opt in to SMS marketing. Email consent doesn't carry over to SMS.
Contacts can opt in to SMS marketing through:
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Forms: Add a marketing consent checkbox for SMS, or for email and SMS together, to a contact form. If the contact selects the checkbox, their consent is recorded when they submit the form.
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Store checkout: Turn on the SMS marketing opt-in in your store's checkout settings. Shoppers who opt in at checkout are subscribed using the billing phone number on their order.
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Manual updates: From a contact's Contact Profile, set their SMS subscription status to Subscribed. The contact needs a phone number to receive text messages.
The following don't subscribe a contact to SMS marketing:
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Bookings: The option to receive SMS appointment reminders applies to reminders only.
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Contact uploads: Imported consent applies to email marketing only.
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Site member sign-ups: Signing up as a site member adds the contact without SMS consent.
Every marketing email includes an unsubscribe link in the footer. When a contact clicks the link, they are taken to a hosted page confirming that they have been unsubscribed.
Marketing emails also support the native unsubscribe option available in supported email clients, such as Gmail and Apple Mail.
Once unsubscribed, the contact is excluded from marketing email sends.
Every marketing text message ends with "Reply STOP to unsubscribe." When a contact replies STOP, they're unsubscribed from marketing text messages and excluded from future SMS campaigns and automations.
A contact who unsubscribed can opt back in by replying START or UNSTOP to your SMS sending number.
Contacts who aren't subscribed to SMS marketing are skipped automatically, regardless of how the campaign or automation audience was configured.
A contact's consent history records information such as:
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Status: Whether the contact consented, did not consent, or withdrew consent.
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Source: Where consent was collected, such as a form, import, manual entry, or API.
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Timestamp: When consent was given or withdrawn.
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Consent text: The consent language presented to the contact.
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Proof: Supporting information about how consent was collected, when available.
Open the contact's Contact Profile to view their consent and subscription information.