STOP: letting customers opt out

A customer who replies STOP is taken off your marketing list automatically. Why that protects your number, exactly which words count, what the customer sees, and how someone comes back.

#Why you want customers to be able to say stop

A customer who does not want your offers has two options: reply *stop*, or press block and report in WhatsApp. Blocks and reports are what lower your number’s quality rating, and a low rating shrinks how many people you may message. So a clear, working way out is not a loss of a customer — it is the thing that keeps your number healthy for everyone else.

The opt-out keyword is on for every account. You can switch it off on Campaigns → Settings if your business genuinely uses these words in conversation, but we recommend leaving it on.

1. 1The switch.
2. 2The words that opt a customer out, and the words that bring them back.
3. 3The numbers that opted out, with what they sent and when.

#Exactly which words count

• The word must be in capital letters, exactly as shown, and it must be the whole message — “STOP” counts; “stop”, “Stop please” and “please STOP the messages” do not. Punctuation and emoji around it are ignored.
• Only Latin words are recognised — there are no Arabic keywords, on purpose: an Arabic word for “stop” appears in ordinary conversations far too often to be a safe switch.
• It applies to WhatsApp only, and only while the switch is on.

#What the customer experiences

1. They reply STOP to one of your messages.
2. They receive one short confirmation, in the language they wrote in, saying they will no longer receive marketing messages and that START brings them back.
3. Their questions are still answered as usual — opting out silences campaigns and follow-ups, not the conversation.

In your inbox their thread carries an Opted out chip, and the Settings tab lists the number with the word they sent and the date.

#What it changes in your account

• When a campaign is prepared, opted-out numbers in the audience are skipped and counted in the summary.
• If someone opts out while a campaign is sending, their message is not sent and their row says why.
• Automatic follow-ups skip them; the activity log shows *Skipped — the customer opted out*.
• They stay in your audiences and conversations; nothing is deleted.

#Coming back

Only the customer can put themselves back, by sending START, UNSTOP or SUBSCRIBE. There is no button in the dashboard to override their choice — by design, since a number that asked to be left alone and was messaged anyway is exactly what gets reported.