One of the challenges mailbox providers face when filtering incoming email is identifying unwanted promotional email (a user signed up for the email in the past and no longer wants to receive) versus spam (unsolicited email).
Although many senders include unsubscribe links, they are often buried in the footer or requests are ignored. If a subscriber can't find the unsubscribe link, the unsubscribe process is cumbersome, or unsubscribe requests aren't honored by the sender, they mark future messages as spam.
To help their users only receive email they want to receive, Gmail, Microsoft, and Yahoo! all created unsubscribe features. The unsubscribe features provide an easy way to unsubscribe from unwanted promotional email instead of marking them as spam.
Gmail
The unsubscribe feature appears to the subscriber when the following criteria is met:
- The subscriber hasn't opened the sender's email in 30 days or more.
- The sender includes the list-unsubscribe header with the URL option in their email.
- The sender has a good sending reputation and honors unsubscribe requests.
Yahoo!
The unsubscribe feature appears to the subscriber when the following criteria is met:
- The sender includes the list-unsubscribe header with the URL option in their email.
- The sender has a good sending reputation and honors unsubscribe requests.
Yahoo! also displays a subscriptions folder to users containing a list of active subscriptions and an unsubscribe link.
Microsoft
The unsubscribe feature appears to the subscriber when the following criteria is met:
- The sender includes the list-unsubscribe header with the mailto: option in their email.
- The sender has a good sending reputation and promptly honors unsubscribe requests.
Once unsubscribed, senders are added to the user's personal block list to ensure email is no longer received.
Clicking Unsubscribe
Clicking Manage subscriptions
How does this impact inbox placement?
Senders are not penalized for unsubscribe requests, so your inbox placement rate is unlikely to decrease as long as unsubscribe requests are honored in a timely manner. If you don't promptly honor unsubscribe requests, future messages may be marked as spam, which may lead to lower inbox placement rates.
Some senders may see inbox placement rates improve due to lower spam complaints and lower deleted without reading rates.
How does this impact my Gmail, Yahoo!, and Microsoft subscriber list?
Your unsubscribe rate at Gmail, Yahoo!, and Microsoft may be slightly higher than at other mailbox providers.
Can I prevent this from being used for my subscribers?
The only way to prevent the unsubscribe features being used is to not include a list-unsubscribe header and/or have poor sending practices. However, using the list-unsubscribe header is a best practice at all global mailbox providers and is highly recommended.
The intent of the unsubscribe features is to reduce the number of spam complaints and help senders reach users that want to receive their email. If you send your subscribers relevant, timely and valuable content, then they are unlikely to unsubscribe.
