Understanding unsubscribe and Do Not Disturb (DND)
When a contact clicks the unsubscribe link in a JourneyCARE email, their email channel is automatically marked Do Not Disturb (DND). A spam complaint or a permanent email failure does the same thing. From that point on, we stop sending marketing and promotional email to that address until DND is cleared. See Understanding Do Not Disturb (DND) Status for how DND works and how to manage it on a contact record.
One unsubscribe covers the whole email channel
Unsubscribing affects the email channel as a whole, not one newsletter or one campaign. A contact who unsubscribes stops receiving all marketing and promotional email from your organization, and there is no way to unsubscribe from a single message while keeping the rest.
Three email types still deliver
Payments (Invoices), calendar notifications, and system notifications reach contacts even when their email channel is marked DND. These transactional and time-sensitive messages are not skipped for DND contacts, while marketing and promotional email continues to respect the setting. The exemption is not a blanket bypass of DND.
Other channels keep working
Each communication channel has its own DND status. Email DND does not affect SMS, phone calls, or voicemail: a contact who unsubscribed from email can still receive text messages and phone calls unless those channels are separately opted out.
How event emails are affected
Registration confirmations and reminders sent through the Events feature follow the normal DND rule: when one of these emails fails to deliver, the registrant's email channel is marked DND. Calendar notifications are the exempt type that still deliver during DND, and they are not the same thing as the Events feature. An event confirmation or reminder is subject to DND, while an appointment-type calendar notification is not. See Why are my Event Registrants being marked as DND? for how to diagnose event registrations that turned DND.
Where to see why a contact became DND
The DND section of the Contact Record shows each channel's status, so you can confirm whether email is the affected channel. In Contacts, a red warning icon appears on the last email sent to the contact, and hovering over it shows why delivery failed. Common reasons include an email address that no longer exists, a company firewall blocking delivery, or an inbox that is too full.
Activity records show how DND was enabled and by whom, with the source shown as Workflow, User, or Contact. A contact who clicked the unsubscribe link appears as having enabled it themselves.
To review everyone affected at once, create a Smart List of contacts who bounced or unsubscribed. If a contact unsubscribed on purpose, respect their preference and leave DND enabled.