Why is a subscribed user not receiving a specific message (like a newsletter) but still receiving other communications?

When a subscribed user doesn't receive one specific message, such as a newsletter, but keeps receiving your other emails, there are two likely causes: their email category preferences, or the segmentation rules of that particular message.

1. Check email category subscriptions (most common for newsletters)

If you use the email subscription preference center, subscribers can opt out of individual categories (newsletters, promotions, product updates) while staying subscribed to everything else.

• Pushwoosh stores these choices in the Subscribed Email Categories tag, which lists the categories the subscriber currently receives. If the newsletter's category is not in that list, that campaign is not delivered to them — while other categories still are.
• Check the value of this tag on the affected user's profile in User Explorer.
• Email categories apply only to campaigns created after the feature was enabled; campaigns created before category setup ignore user preferences entirely.
• A full opt-out is stored separately, in the Unsubscribed Emails tag set to true, which stops all marketing emails.

See Set up the email subscription preference center.

2. Check the message's segmentation

1. Segmentation criteria: newsletters and targeted campaigns are frequently sent to specific segments defined by tags or user attributes. If the user doesn't meet those criteria at the time the message is sent, they won't receive it.
2. Check message segmentation: review the setup of the specific message or campaign and identify the required tags or attributes for the target segment.
3. Check user profile: in User Explorer, verify the affected user actually has the necessary tags or attributes.
4. Timing is key: the user must match the segment criteria when the send is initiated. If a required tag was missing at that moment, they were excluded from that send even if the tag was added later.

3. Why other communications still arrive

The messages the user is receiving are likely a different type (transactional emails, a different category, or a different campaign/segment) for which they do meet the criteria, or are sent to broader audiences without the same segmentation rules.