Deleting Contacts vs Opting Out Contacts

Removing contacts will help you stay organized and also save credits! First, it is important to know the difference between opting out contacts and deleting them.

What's the difference?

• Opting Out: blocks the contact from receiving messages unless they opt back in by texting in your keyword
• Deleting: removes the contact from your list but you have the option of adding them back manually

How to Opt out Contacts

If a contact is opted out, they will blocked from receiving text messages from your short code. Even if you try to upload their contact again, the system saves this information so you won't have to!

There are few ways to opt out a contact, or they have the option of opting out themselves 

• Giving your contact the option to opt out on their own saves you time. We recommend that our you use our auto-append reply STOP to end at the end of your text messages. When a contact replies STOP to your text, they will automatically be opted from your contact list which saves you time! Other automatic opt out words include remove, cancel or take me off your list.
  
  TIP: This is an industry best practice and not an EZ requirement. However it is suggested by major phone carriers and the CTIA.
  
  
  
• Delivery Report - Your Outbox shares valuable information about what messages were received and what may have bounced. To view a report, click on the message you last sent to a group of contacts in your Outbox. Click directly onto the word Bounced in your report for example. To the right, you will see the option to "Opt out these contacts". Again, contacts will not have the option to receive texts from you unless they opt in by texting your keyword to the short code phone number on your account. 
  
  TIP: Use the Carrier Lookup Tool to see what carrier the user has or if the number is landline that cannot receive texts. Check out the list of networks we cover.
  
  
• Under Contacts, search the contact by first name, last name or number and check the box next to contact you wish to opt out. You will see an Opt Out button appear at the top 
  
• Inbox -  You may have some individuals you notice in your inbox that don't use the automatic opt out words and say something instead like., "I don't want any." If you see their contact in your inbox, you can check the box next to that contact's message and select Contact > Optout.
  

To view which contacts are opted out, use the filter on the contacts page and select the "Opted Out" status:

How to Delete Contacts

Deleting contacts allows you to have the option of adding contacts back manually if you decide that you want to keep their number. This is entirely different from opting out since the contact will not have to use the keyword to opt back in to be added back to your list.

Here are some ways to delete contacts:

• Contacts page - Search for the contact and check the box next to the contact you wish to delete
  
  TIP: check the top box next to "Phone Number" to select all contacts on the page at once and or toggle the "Rows per page" option to display more contacts on one page.

Advanced Tips

Removing Contacts in multiple groups: There may be a time where you want to delete contacts that are overlapping into another group. You could go to your delivery report and click on Bounced for example where you will see an option to "Export these contacts". If you export contacts from a report and upload them to a new group, you can delete all contacts in that new group to remove them from your database.

Click here to learn how contacts can opt back in by using your keyword.