Every subscriber has a status that decides whether they receive your email. Statuses protect your deliverability: the platform enforces them on every send, so you can never accidentally email someone who opted out or whose address bounces.
The statuses
| Status | Meaning | Receives email? |
|---|---|---|
| Active | Opted in and deliverable | Yes |
| Pending | Signed up but has not clicked the double opt-in confirmation yet | No |
| Inactive | Manually deactivated | No |
| Unsubscribed | Clicked unsubscribe or was imported as unsubscribed | No |
| Blacklisted | On your account blacklist | No |
| Complained | Marked one of your emails as spam | No |
How statuses change
- Signup: forms and API signups become active, or pending when double opt-in is on
- Confirmation: pending becomes active when the confirmation link is clicked
- Unsubscribe: every email contains an
{{unsubscribe}}link; one click sets the status account-wide - Bounces: when a mailbox provider permanently rejects an address (hard bounce), sending to it stops automatically
- Complaints: spam button presses come back through the feedback loop and set the status to complained
- Manually: you can set a status when adding or editing a subscriber, and imports can map a status column
What you should and should not do
- Do keep unsubscribed and complained statuses when importing from another platform - map the status column
- Do not flip unsubscribed or complained people back to active without a fresh, documented opt-in. It is illegal in most markets and mailbox providers notice immediately.
- Do not delete unsubscribed subscribers to "clean up" - the record is what prevents accidental re-adding on your next import
Where you see them
Statuses are shown on the subscriber list with filters, on each profile, and in campaign statistics where bounces and unsubscribes from a send are counted. The blacklist has its own page under the dashboard for addresses and domains you never want to email.