Why did a user receive an email after they unsubscribed, and how do I handle their deletion request?

It can be confusing when a user reports receiving an email after they believe they have unsubscribed. This situation often occurs if the user is registered in multiple systems, and their unsubscribe action in one system does not automatically apply to their profile in another, like Pushwoosh.

For example, a user might be newly registered in your Pushwoosh application, triggering a welcome email. When they unsubscribe from this email, their status is correctly updated within Pushwoosh, but this does not affect subscriptions managed by other services you may use. The user's report of multiple unsubscribe attempts likely refers to emails sent from those other systems.

How to Handle User Removal Requests

When a user asks to be removed from your mailing lists, you have two main options in Pushwoosh: unsubscribing them or deleting their profile.

1. Unsubscribing a User (Standard Method)

This is the most common way to handle an opt-out request.

• What it does: When a user clicks the unsubscribe link, their profile is automatically updated with the Unsubscribed Emails = true tag. They will no longer receive marketing emails sent through standard campaigns.
• Benefit: The user's profile remains in your system, preserving their interaction history, but they are correctly excluded from future mailings.

2. Deleting a User Profile (Permanent Removal)

This action should be taken when a user explicitly requests total data deletion (e.g., under GDPR).

• What it does: This permanently removes the user's profile and all associated data from your application's User Explorer.
• How to delete a user:
  1. Navigate to User Explorer in your Pushwoosh Control Panel.
  2. Search for the user by their email address or User ID.
  3. Open their user profile.
  4. Click the Delete button to permanently remove their record.

Important: If you delete a user's profile and they later re-register for your services, they will be treated as a brand new user with default subscription settings. This means they could start receiving emails again if they opt-in during the new registration process. In many cases, leaving the user in an unsubscribed state is a more reliable way to ensure they are not contacted again.