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Opt-Outs and Resubscribing

When a contact shows a red Unsubscribed badge, Pulse stops sending messages to that email address or phone number. Staff can clear the flag for email at any time — but for text messages, only the customer can fully restore delivery, by texting START from their phone.

Why does a customer show as unsubscribed?​

A contact method gets marked unsubscribed in one of these ways:

  • The customer texted STOP (or a similar opt-out word) in reply to a text. This is a legal opt-out: the messaging provider blocks all further texts to that number, and the number is marked unsubscribed.
  • A staff member checked the box. Anyone editing a contact method can check "Contact has unsubscribed from communications" — for example, after a customer asks by phone not to be texted or emailed.
  • The customer asked the MaidSense assistant to stop. When a customer tells the AI assistant to stop texting them, the opt-out is recorded automatically.

To find out which one happened, hover over the red Unsubscribed badge on the contact. A note appears showing when the opt-out was recorded and by what — for example, an automatic note that reads like "opt-out via MaidSense AI" with a date, or whatever a staff member typed in the unsubscribe notes.

One important behavior for phone numbers: an SMS opt-out follows the number, not the record. If the same cell number appears on a customer record and a lead record, opting out marks both. This is a legal requirement — the person owns the consent, not the file.

What does unsubscribed actually block?​

  • Unsubscribed contacts are excluded from bulk campaigns — they don't count toward the send.
  • In the message composer, an unsubscribed email or number is shown with the badge and cannot be selected as a recipient.
  • Automated notifications (like job reminders) skip unsubscribed contacts.

A customer opted out by accident — how do I resubscribe them?​

It depends on the channel, because text messages have an extra layer of blocking that email does not.

Email: uncheck the flag​

  1. Open the customer's (or lead's) record and find their Contacts section.
  2. Click to edit the email address that shows the Unsubscribed badge.
  3. Uncheck "Contact has unsubscribed from communications."
  4. Click Update Contact.

Email sending resumes immediately. Add a note first (while the box is still checked) if you want to record why consent was restored — for example, "Customer confirmed by phone on 8/25 they want emails again."

warning

Only restore consent when the customer has clearly told you they want messages again. Re-adding someone who opted out on purpose can create spam complaints — and for texts, legal exposure.

Text messages: the customer must text START​

If the customer ever texted STOP, unchecking the box in Pulse is not enough. The STOP created a block at the phone-network level, outside of Pulse. Any text you try to send will be rejected at send time until the customer lifts that block themselves.

To restore texting:

  1. Ask the customer to text START (the words UNSTOP or SUBSCRIBE also work) from their phone to your business texting number — the number your reminders come from.
  2. That's it. When the START arrives, Pulse automatically clears the unsubscribe flag on every customer, lead, and staff record that carries that cell number in the branch that owns the texting number. No manual cleanup needed. If you run more than one branch, the customer texts START to each branch's number they want texts from again. A START never resubscribes the person with another business.
  3. Send a test text to confirm delivery.

If staff manually marked a phone number unsubscribed and the customer never actually texted STOP, unchecking the box in Pulse is sufficient — there is no network-level block in that case. If you are not sure which happened, hover the badge and read the notes; when in doubt, have the customer text START anyway. It is harmless and covers both cases.

Why does the unsubscribe keep coming back after I clear it?​

If you uncheck the flag and it later shows as unsubscribed again, something is re-recording the opt-out. Check the badge notes for the newest entry:

  • If the note shows a fresh MaidSense opt-out, the customer told the assistant to stop again — or replied STOP to a new text. Respect it.
  • If the customer replies STOP to any text after you cleared the flag, the opt-out is recorded again automatically.

The unsubscribe flag never "restores itself" without a cause — the notes on the badge tell you what wrote it last. If the notes don't explain it, contact support with the contact's name, the phone number or email, and the times you cleared the flag.

How do opt-outs differ between SMS and email?​

Text messages (SMS)Email
How customers opt outTexting STOP, or asking the assistantAsking your office (staff record it manually)
ScopeFollows the phone number across every record that carries itApplies to the specific email address on that record
Enforced byPulse and the phone network — blocked texts are rejected even if you tryPulse (the address is skipped and unselectable)
How to restoreCustomer texts START / UNSTOP / SUBSCRIBE — Pulse then clears the flag automaticallyStaff uncheck the flag on the contact
Staff can fully restore alone?No — not if the customer texted STOPYes

One email caveat: even after you clear an email unsubscribe in Pulse, an address that previously hard-bounced or reported your mail as spam may still be suppressed by the email delivery provider — sends to it show as Dropped. Pulse does not currently provide a screen to clear provider-level email suppressions; if a cleared address still shows Dropped, contact support with the address and a recent message timestamp. See Message Delivery Status.

Tips and Best Practices​

  • Always read the badge notes before resubscribing. They tell you whether the opt-out was deliberate.
  • Document consent. When a customer asks to be resubscribed, note how and when they asked.
  • Check the badge before a campaign. Unsubscribed contacts silently reduce your real audience — see Sending Bulk Messages.
  • Never work around an opt-out by texting from a personal phone or adding a second contact record with the same number. SMS opt-outs are a legal protection for the customer.