Globally Unsubscribed?

[Andy2019]

I have had several clients mysteriously become "Unsubscribed" from their own lists. Now I know why. I myself recently unsubscribed from an unrelated emailing list that apparently was being sent out through Constant Contact. But instead of simply unsubscribing myself from THAT list, it apparently unsubscribed me from ALL Constant Contact mailings. I had been removed from my own outgoing lists. Resubscribing myself was easy. That's not the issue. But it seems inconceivable that just because someone wants to unsubscribe from a mailing list for, say, a restaurant in Toledo, that such action results in them being unknowingly unsubscribed from every Constant Contact list they're on, even the ones they very much want to continue receiving. Big flaw that needs to be corrected.

[William_A]

Hello @Andy2019 ,

When a contact unsubscribes from you through us, they are automatically removed from all lists. They cannot be actively sent to until they explicitly opt into receiving your emails again.

Using the Update Profile system, you can include this as an alternative link in your email footer, which contacts can select to update their list membership, based on the lists you make viewable and editable. If multiple list options are available in your UP form, those options will also appear on the unsubscription confirmation page, as an alternative for contacts that click the unsub link in the footer.

Remember that not all lists need to be included in the UP / unsub setup. Contacts will only be able to manipulate their list membership for the ones you've explicitly selected to be available, viewable options. Contacts will simply see those available lists' names on the UP form / unsub confirmation page, and be able to decide if they'd prefer one of those.

[Andy2019]

Seems to me that tool is only relevant for people who are unsubscribing from the emails I send out. If someone unsubscribes from a totally unrelated company's mailing - and that mailing happens to also have been generated by Constant Contact, then they're unknowingly being unsubscribed from my list too. That's the problem I described.

[William_A]

That's not how it works at all. Unsubscribes only apply when accessed through the coded links in those emails (specific to email), a contact spam reports and submits an unsubscribe request through their email program (specific to the email), or they email us demanding that we unsubscribe them from a specific customer's contacts.

The only other "global unsubscribe" that I can think you might be alluding to, is when someone explicitly requests to be added to our Global Block List, which is where the contact will always bounce as a blocked contact if their email address is on that list. An email address is only added to the GBL by explicit request, and only removed by explicit request.

[Andy2019]

OK. What you describe is exactly how I would expect it works. So I'm confused as to why I personally unsubscribed from an email list that has nothing to do with me, and suddenly found my address unsubscribed from my own programs. 

[William_A]

You unsubscribing from someone else would not impact your subscription to your own account at all.

Have you checked to see if your emails are set to auto-forward o someone else, or forward to a distribution list? Or would anyone you know be entering and confirming your email for unsubscription from your account by accident? 

Are you using any integrations that would sync unsubscribed contacts to your Constant Contact account, and your email address is among those?