What happens when someone unsubscribes

Every marketing email Mailbo sends includes an unsubscribe link in the footer — this is required by law, and Mailbo adds it automatically. Here's what happens when someone clicks it.

What happens

1. The contact lands on a hosted preference/unsubscribe page.
2. They confirm, and their status changes to Unsubscribed.
3. From that moment, they are automatically excluded from every campaign, sequence and automation. You don't have to do anything.

The contact isn't deleted — they stay in your list with an Unsubscribed status, so you keep an accurate record and won't accidentally re-add them.

Why you should welcome unsubscribes

It feels bad to lose a subscriber, but a clean list is a healthy list:

• People who don't want your email but can't easily leave will mark it as spam instead — and spam complaints hurt your deliverability far more than an unsubscribe.
• Sending to uninterested people drags down your open rates, which mailbox providers use to decide whether to inbox or junk you.

What you must not do

• Never re-subscribe someone who opted out without their clear permission. It's against the law and against Mailbo's rules.
• Never remove or hide the unsubscribe link.

Bounces are different

A bounce is when an email can't be delivered (e.g. the address doesn't exist). Hard-bounced contacts are also auto-excluded from future sends to protect your reputation. See your provider/bounce settings under Settings → Bounce handling.

Next: What is double opt-in?