Omnisend helps you stay compliant with SMS regulations by providing multiple ways for recipients to unsubscribe from your messages. For US and CA contacts, including opt-out instructions in every promotional SMS is a legal requirement under TCPA. For contacts in other regions, it is a best practice that builds trust and supports deliverability.
This guide explains how to enable and manage SMS opt-out options in Omnisend.
Before You Begin
Unsubscribing from SMS does not affect Email subscriptions. Contacts must opt out of each channel separately. Learn how to manage Email unsubscribes.
This feature is available on all eCommerce platforms and integration types.
US/CA SMS marketing must comply with TCPA requirements. Learn more about TCPA compliance.
Transactional messages (Order Confirmation, Shipping Confirmation, Cancellation Confirmation) can be sent to subscribed contacts only in the US. For EU and other regions, transactional SMS can be sent regardless of subscription status. Learn more about SMS compliance.
💡 The table below shows which SMS Automation messages can be sent to contacts based on their subscription status:
SMS Channel | Subscribed | Non-Subscribed | Unsubscribed |
Campaigns | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
Welcome Automation | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
Birthday Automation | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
Abandoned Cart Automation | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
Product Abandoned Automation | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
Browse Abandoned Automation | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
Order Confirmation Automation to EU and all countries except the USA | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Order Confirmation Automation to the USA | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
Shipping Confirmation Automation to EU and all countries except the USA | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Shipping Confirmation Automation to the USA | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
Cancellation Confirmation Automation to EU and all countries except the USA | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Cancellation Confirmation Automation to the USA | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
Order Follow-up and Cross-Sell Automation | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
Customer Reactivation Automation | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
Custom Workflow | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
How SMS Unsubscribe Options Work
Omnisend offers two SMS unsubscribe methods to comply with regional regulations:
STOP keyword replies (required for US/CA) — Contacts text STOP to unsubscribe. Omnisend sends an auto-response and updates their subscription status.
Unsubscribe links (optional for non-US/CA, required for US/CA) — Contacts click a unique short link that opens a subscription preferences page.
You can enable both options or just one, depending on your audience's location
For US recipients, Omnisend automatically detects unsubscribe intent in natural-language replies, even if they don't use the exact STOP keyword (e.g., 'Please stop messaging me')." Once detected, the contact is automatically unsubscribed.
Set Up Unsubscribe Options
Step 1. Choose Which Method to Enable
US/CA contacts: You must include either "Reply STOP to opt-out" text or an unsubscribe link. Both options are TCPA-compliant.
Non-US/CA contacts: Adding an unsubscribe link is optional but highly recommended.
Transactional messages: Only Order Confirmation, Shipping Confirmation, and Cancellation Confirmation SMS can be sent to US/CA contacts without opt-out instructions.
Step 2. Enable Opt-Out Instructions in Campaigns or Automations
The setup process differs between SMS Campaigns and Automation:
Important Notes:
For US/CA recipients, you can edit the unsubscribe text if needed, but use only the recognized keywords from this list.
Unsubscribe option must remain checked for US/CA recipients to comply with TCPA.
We recommend keeping the unsubscribe option for non-US/CA recipients as well for better compliance and deliverability.
Character limit: Opt-out text counts toward your 160-character SMS limit.
For SMS Campaigns:
Open your SMS Campaign → In the SMS editor, you'll see pre-filled text fields at the bottom with opt-out instructions:
Unsubscribe instructions (US/CA): The opt-out text is required. You can edit the wording or keywords, but you cannot remove it.
Unsubscribe instructions for non-US/CA recipients: Opt-out instructions are pre-filled but optional. You can remove the text from the field if you don't want to include it.
Preview your message to see how the opt-out instructions appear.
Note: For every new SMS Campaign you create, opt-out instructions are pre-filled by default. You can customize the text each time.
For SMS in Automation:
Open your Automation Workflow → Click on the SMS message block in your workflow → Scroll to the bottom of the SMS editor → You'll see two separate checkboxes, both pre-selected by default:
Add unsubscribe option for US/CA recipients: Pre-selected with text field: "Reply STOP to opt-out".
Add unsubscribe option for non-US/CA recipients: Pre-selected with text field: "Unsubscribe [[unsubscribe_link]]".
Preview your message to see how the opt-out instructions appear.
Step 3. Customize Auto-Response Messages (Optional)
You can customize the auto-response message that contacts receive after replying STOP or UNSTOP, except for US contacts, where the network provider sends a fixed auto-response.
To edit auto-response messages, go to Store Settings → Language and translations. Scroll to the SMS section → Edit the "Auto-response SMS for keyword STOP" message → Click Save text.
Note: US contacts receive a network provider auto-response for STOP that you cannot edit. Non-US contacts receive your custom message.
How It Works for Recipients
Option 1: Unsubscribe Keyword Reply
When a contact replies with STOP or other unsubscribe keywords to your SMS:
Omnisend automatically sends an opt-out confirmation message.
Their SMS subscription status changes to Unsubscribed.
They stop receiving SMS Campaigns and Automation immediately.
Important Notes:
SMS credits: Unsubscribe confirmation messages consume your SMS credits. Only automatic responses to the STOP keyword in the US are free and do not count toward your credits. Learn how to add SMS credits.
Customer costs: Most phone plans include free SMS, but some contacts may be charged standard rates by their mobile provider (same as sending a regular text).
Option 2: Unsubscribe Link
When you enable the unsubscribe link option for non-US/CA contacts, they receive an SMS message with a clickable short link.
Short link formats:
SMS Campaigns:
0snd.com/c/XXXXXXAutomation Workflows:
0snd.com/a/XXXXXX
If you use Branded SMS Short Links, the unsubscribe link uses your store domain instead (e.g., mybrandname.com/c/XXXXXX).
What happens when a contact clicks the unsubscribe link:
A subscription preferences page opens in their browser.
They click Confirm to unsubscribe.
Their SMS subscription status changes to Unsubscribed, and a confirmation message appears.
💡 To edit the text of the SMS usubscribe page, go to Store Settings → Language and translations. Scroll to the SMS unsubscribe page section.
Important Notes:
Unsubscribing from SMS removes contacts from all SMS Campaigns and Automation. However, contacts in EU and other regions (except the US) may still receive transactional SMS (Order Confirmation, Shipping Confirmation).
To prevent transactional SMS from being sent to unsubscribed contacts, use Workflow Channel Settings.
How to Resubscribe
Contacts can resubscribe to SMS by replying UNSTOP to any SMS message from your brand.
For US contacts: Omnisend sends an automatic resubscribe confirmation message.
For CA contacts: No auto-response is sent, but the UNSTOP keyword is supported. You can manually add UNSTOP instructions to your STOP auto-response message in Store Settings → Language and translations.
💡 If a contact accidentally unsubscribed, you can manually resubscribe them. Learn how to resubscribe unintentionally unsubscribed contacts.
SMS Unsubscribe Rate in Reports
Omnisend tracks SMS unsubscribe rates for contacts who unsubscribe using keyword replies (such as STOP, CANCEL, and similar phrases) or by clicking the unsubscribe link.
How it's calculated in reprots:
If you sent an SMS Campaign to 100 contacts and 5 replied STOP, your unsubscribe rate is 5%.
If the last sent message was from an Automation → the unsubscribe is attributed to that automation message.
If the last sent message was from an SMS Campaign → the unsubscribe is attributed to that campaign.
Note: If a contact has never received an SMS Campaign or an SMS Automation, the unsubscribe event is not included in reports. The contact is still unsubscribed, but the event won't appear in your campaign or automation analytics.
FAQ
How does AI-powered unsubscribe detection work?
For US recipients, Omnisend uses natural-language processing (NLP) to detect unsubscribe intent in SMS replies—even when contacts don't use exact keywords like STOP. For example, replies like "Please stop messaging me" or "I don't want these texts anymore" are automatically recognized as unsubscribe requests. Once detected, the contact is unsubscribed immediately.
What happens to unsubscribed contacts?
Unsubscribed contacts:
Do not receive SMS Campaigns or promotional Automation.
May still receive transactional SMS (Order Confirmation, Shipping Confirmation, Cancellation Confirmation) if they're in the EU or other regions. US contacts cannot receive transactional SMS after unsubscribing due to CTIA regulations.
Do not count toward your billable contact limit.
Can I prevent transactional SMS from being sent to unsubscribed contacts in EU/other regions?
Yes. Use Workflow Channel Settings to control which subscription status receives your transactional SMS messages.
If you still have any questions, please get in touch with us at [email protected] or via the in-app chat.