Opt-outs and STOP keywords: staying compliant

emu.chat helps you stay compliant by automatically stopping messages to anyone who has opted out. When a recipient texts a keyword like STOP, or when you add a number to your opt-out list, emu.chat blocks any further outbound messages to that number in your workspace. No setup is required: the default keywords are always active.

Opt-outs are scoped to each workspace and are keyed to a phone number, not to a contact record. A number can be opted out even if no contact in your workspace has that number.

How automatic opt-outs work

emu.chat checks every inbound text for opt-out and opt-in keywords. You do not need to do anything for this to happen.

• If someone replies with an opt-out keyword, their number is added to your opt-out list automatically.
• If someone later replies with an opt-in keyword, their opt-out is removed and they can receive messages again.

The default keywords are fixed and always active:

• Opt out: STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE
• Opt in: SUBSCRIBE

Matching is case-insensitive and looks at the start of the message. The reply is trimmed of surrounding spaces first, so STOP, stop, and STOP please all count as an opt-out. A keyword buried inside another word, such as PleaseStop, does not match.

An automatic opt-out from a reply is recorded with the method Reply, and the recipient's message text is kept as the reason. A Reply entry always means an automatic keyword match. You cannot create a Reply opt-out yourself.

What happens when you send to an opted-out number

Before any text is sent, emu.chat checks the recipient against your opt-out list. If the number has opted out, the message is blocked and fails. This applies to every way of sending. For more on failed sends, see Why did my message fail? (message statuses explained).

Opting a number out manually

You can add a number to the opt-out list yourself from three places. Any workspace member can do this; there is no admin restriction on managing opt-outs.

• From the Contacts page — open a contact's Actions menu and choose Opt out. Choose Opt in to reverse it. (Unavailable for a contact with no phone number.)
• From a conversation — open the conversation's Actions menu and choose Opt out. emu.chat confirms with a notification, the conversation footer updates to show the number has opted out, and any messages still queued to that number are cancelled.
• From the Opt-Outs page (open Opt-Outs from the sidebar) — select Add Opt-Out, enter the number, and optionally add a reason.

Managing the Opt-Outs page

The Opt-Outs page lists every number that has opted out, showing the number, the matching contact (if any), how it was opted out (the Method: Manual, Reply, Link, or Import), the reason, when, and who added it. Search by phone number or filter by method to find a number.

The contact match is purely by phone number. An opt-out is not tied to a contact record, so a number can appear here with no matching contact and still block all messages.

From a row's Actions menu you can Edit the number or reason, or Remove the opt-out (after confirming), which lets that number receive messages again straight away.

Importing and exporting opt-outs

To add many opt-outs at once, use Import on the Opt-Outs page and upload a CSV or XLSX with a phone-number column; you can set one reason for every imported row. Numbers are standardised to international format, and duplicates or already-opted-out numbers are skipped. For the general import flow, see Importing contacts from a CSV.

You can also Export your opt-out list as a CSV. The export is prepared in the background, and you can opt to be emailed when it is ready.

Related articles

• Creating and managing contacts
• Importing contacts from a CSV
• Sending messages