Opt-in and opt-out

Opt-in is a customer agreeing to get WhatsApp messages from you. Opt-out is them taking it back. WhatsApp requires both: you may only message people who opted in, and you must give them a way to stop.

This page covers how to collect opt-ins, how customers opt in and out by replying with a keyword, and which messages still reach someone who opted out.

How consent is tracked

Every contact is either opted in or opted out.

stateDiagram-v2
    direction LR
    [*] --> OptedIn: Imported, or replies with an opt-in keyword
    OptedIn --> OptedOut: Replies with an opt-out keyword, or you mark them
    OptedOut --> OptedIn: Replies with an opt-in keyword

Imported contacts start as opted in. WhatsApp Marketing assumes everyone you upload agreed to hear from you. It has no way to check, so the consent behind every imported number is your responsibility.

Keywords change it. When a customer replies with one of your opt-out keywords, they are opted out. When they reply with an opt-in keyword, they are opted in again. Both happen on their own once you set the keywords up.

What opting out stops

Opted-out contacts are skipped for you. You do not need to filter them out of a broadcast. But opting out does not stop every message. It depends on what kind of message it is.

Utility messages still go out because an opt-out is about marketing. A customer who unsubscribes from your offers still bought something from you, and still needs to know where it is.

This is one more reason to keep order updates strictly Utility. An order update that picked up a promotional line and was approved as Marketing is treated as marketing, so it stops reaching customers who opted out, right when they are waiting for their parcel. See Template fields.

Collect opt-in before you import

The cleanest opt-in is the one a customer gives on your own store, before you ever message them. Some places to ask:

• Checkout. A checkbox such as Send me order updates and offers on WhatsApp.
• Sign-up and pop-up forms. The same checkbox, or a line under the phone number field saying you will use it for WhatsApp messages.
• Email and SMS. Ask your existing subscribers whether they would like to hear from you on WhatsApp instead.

Say plainly what they are signing up for. A customer who expects your messages reads them. A customer who does not recognise your name blocks you, and blocks lower your quality rating for every message after.

Set up opt-out keywords

1. Go to Manage → Optin Management.

2. Turn on API Campaign Opt-out.
3. Turn on the opt-out response, so customers get a message confirming they have been opted out.
4. Add your opt-out keywords. You can add up to five. A keyword can be a single word, such as STOP, or a short phrase, such as Don't send me messages.

5. To change what the confirmation says, click Configure message. Pick a message you already have, or create a new one as a regular message or a template with an image or video. Click Save Configuration.

6. Click Save Settings.

From now on, any customer who replies with one of these keywords is opted out and gets your confirmation.

Choosing opt-out keywords

Pick words that only mean stop messaging me. STOP and UNSUBSCRIBE are the standard ones, and customers already know them from SMS. With five slots, add a phrase or two your customers actually write when they want out, such as Don't send me messages.

Avoid words customers use for other things. CANCEL is the worst choice for a store. A customer replying "cancel" to an order confirmation wants to cancel the order, not their subscription. NO has the same problem with any question you ask.

Whatever you choose, tell customers. End every marketing template with a line such as Reply STOP to unsubscribe. See Template fields.

Set up opt-in keywords

Opt-in keywords let a customer subscribe, or subscribe again, by replying with a word.

1. Go to Manage → Optin Management.
2. Turn on opt-in keywords.

3. Add your opt-in keywords. You can add up to five, as words such as START or phrases such as Opt me in.
4. Click Configure to set the message customers get when they opt in. Pick an existing message or create a new one, then click Save Configuration.

5. Click Save Settings.

Make opting in one tap. Add a quick reply button whose text is your opt-in keyword, such as SUBSCRIBE, to a template. A customer who taps it sends the keyword without typing and is opted in straight away.

It works best on customers who just messaged you with a question and got a good answer. They already trust you, and one tap is all it takes.

Opt someone out by hand

If a customer asks to stop some other way, on a call, by email, or in a message that is not one of your keywords, opt them out yourself. Open their chat profile and mark them as opted out. See Remove and block contacts.

See who will actually receive a broadcast

Opted-out contacts are skipped when a broadcast goes out, so they do not need filtering out. But they still appear on the Contacts page and in your filters, so a filter can show more people than the broadcast will reach.

To see the real number before you send, add Opted in is Yes to your filter. The count that remains is who the broadcast reaches, and the number to check against your daily messaging limit.

The same filter set to No shows everyone who has opted out. If that list grows quickly after a broadcast, the broadcast is the reason: look at who you sent it to and how often you are sending.

Why this matters more than it seems

Consent is not only a rule WhatsApp enforces. It decides how well every other message performs.

People who did not ask for your messages block you. Blocks lower your quality rating. A low rating stops your daily limit from growing, and if it keeps falling, WhatsApp blocks your number. See Messaging limits and quality.

WhatsApp also limits how many marketing messages one person gets from all businesses combined, and it favours messages people engage with. A list of customers who chose to hear from you gets read, replied to and delivered. A list of people who did not is fighting WhatsApp on every send.

So the question is never how many numbers you have. It is how many of them want to hear from you.