Managing unsubscribed contacts

Hello there ElC8 That’s an excellent and very common question!

Option 1: Leaving Unsubscribed Contacts in Your Account

If you choose to leave a contact in your account after they unsubscribe, they’ll remain in the system with the status “Unsubscribed”.

• Benefit for Compliance: this method is straightforward for compliance because the system explicitly tracks their status, and you will not be able to email them.

• Benefit for Record Keeping: if you include contacts that have previously been unsubscribed in a file import, they are added to the list you select but remain in the “unsubscribed” status. Keeping them in the account allows you to view their history and status easily.

Option 2: Deleting Unsubscribed Contacts from Your Account

If you delete an unsubscribed contact from your account, our system handles this with compliance in mind:

• System Memory: Our contact management system records that this contact previously unsubscribed and remembers this status, even if you delete them from your account.

• Preventing Future Mailings: If you later attempt to import that same email address, the contact will be added to your list but will automatically retain the "unsubscribed" status, ensuring you are still unable to email them.

Most users — and Constant Contact itself — recommend that you leave unsubscribed contacts in your account rather than deleting them.
That way, you:

• Stay compliant.

• Keep your data complete.

• Prevent accidental re-sends.