The SMS opt-out list: how unsubscribing works across every send from your account

The short answer: your SMS account has an opt-out list: the numbers that asked not to receive messages. A number on it is left out of every send from the account, whether a campaign, a single message or an API request, and no credits are used. You add a number through the API or by asking our support team; to remove one, you contact support.

Why deleting the contact is not enough

Deleting a contact, or taking it out of the promotions group, takes care of the next campaign. But the number can come back by accident: in an old CSV list you import, pasted by hand into a campaign, or sent from your own system through the API. The opt-out list protects you from those slips, because the SMS Center checks it on every send.

How to add a number

Route	How
Through the API	With a key that has SMS write permission, POST /v1/sms/opt-outs adds the number. GET /v1/sms/opt-outs shows the list. See sending SMS through the API.
Through support	Send us the numbers in a support ticket from My MozOut. A good fit if you do not use the API.

To remove a number from the list, for example because the person asked to receive messages again, contact support.

What happens when you send

1	In a campaign, the number on the list does not get the message and counts as refused in the send summary. All the other numbers go ahead as normal.

2	In a single message, the send is refused with a notice that this number asked not to receive SMS.

3	Through the API, the request returns 422 with the reason number_opted_out.

4	In every case, the message does not go out and the credits stay in your balance.

How customers ask to leave

The sender cannot receive replies, so "reply STOP" does not work. Put a real contact in the message and act on every request that arrives there:

Channel	At the end of the message
Phone or WhatsApp	Opt out: [PHONE]
E-mail	No more messages? [E-MAIL]
Website	Leave the list: [WEBSITE]/optout

1	Record the request in the contact notes, with the date and the channel it came through.

2	Take the contact out of your promotions groups and, if you have nothing else to send them, delete it.

3	Add the number to the opt-out list, through the API or support, so it does not come back by mistake.

A form on your website can do this on its own. If your site is hosted with us, a simple page where customers type their number can call the API and add it to the list straight away. If you do not write code, collect the requests and send them to support in one go.

Service notices and promotions are different things. The opt-out list applies to everything the account sends. If someone only wants to stop promotions but still wants their order updates, take them out of the promotions group instead of adding the number to the list.

Want campaigns that respect people who opt out? See how SMS Marketing works.

See the SMS Marketing page

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