Double Opt-In#

Double opt-in is the practice of asking every new subscriber to confirm their email address before they can receive campaigns. The subscriber enters their address, Pulse sends a confirmation email, and the subscriber clicks a link to verify. Only then are they added to the active list.

Double opt-in is on by default for every new list because it:

• Protects against typos — a wrong address never confirms
• Protects against bots — automated submissions rarely click the link
• Proves consent — the click is recorded as an auditable consent event
• Keeps bounce rates low — only real, reachable addresses enter the list

Some jurisdictions (for example, Germany under the BGH ruling on newsletter signups) effectively require double opt-in for marketing email.

The Flow#

1. Subscriber submits the signup form
2. Pulse creates a pending subscriber record and sends a confirmation email
3. The email contains a unique link with a short-lived token
4. Subscriber clicks the link, the token is validated, and the record flips to confirmed
5. From this point the subscriber is included in campaign sends

Pending subscribers who never confirm are automatically purged after 14 days.

Confirmation Email#

The confirmation email is a template like any other and can be fully customized per list. A typical design includes:

• A single, obvious call-to-action button
• A plain-text fallback link for email clients that block buttons
• A short explanation of what the subscriber will receive
• An address / organization name for CAN-SPAM compliance

Recording Consent#

Every confirmed subscriber record stores:

• The timestamp of submission
• The timestamp of confirmation
• The IP address of the confirming click
• The signup form or API call that created the record

This information is available through the subscriber detail page and the Admin API, and is sufficient to satisfy GDPR and CAN-SPAM audit requests.

Disabling Double Opt-In#

Single opt-in is available as a per-list setting for cases where double opt-in is not desirable — for example, importing a known, consented list from a previous system. Switching a list to single opt-in requires an administrator confirmation to prevent accidental changes.

Re-confirmation#

Pulse can send a re-confirmation campaign to inactive subscribers on demand. Recipients who do not re-confirm within a configurable window are automatically moved to an inactive segment, so you can keep your active list focused on engaged readers.