Email messaging permissions - opt in or opt out an email address

Record each worker’s consent to receive Broadstripes emails, opt email addresses in or out one at a time or in bulk, and see what happens when a worker unsubscribes.

Before you can send Broadstripes emails to workers, they need to consent, or opt in, to receive them. Each email address carries its own permission, and a worker can withdraw consent at any time by unsubscribing, which opts out the address. This article covers both.

This article only covers permissions. Check out Send email to learn how to send bulk email messages once your workers are opted in.

How email messaging permissions work

Every email address in Broadstripes carries one of four messaging permissions:

Permission	What it means	Receives emails?
Opted In	The worker agreed to receive emails at this address.	Yes
Opted Out	The worker asked not to be emailed at this address, or unsubscribed.	No
Unspecified	Nobody has recorded a permission yet. This is the default for a new address.	No
Unreachable	The address does not work, for example because it bounces.	No

When you opt an address in or out, you also record a reason: Signed paper form, Submitted online form, Clicked emailed link (or sent an email), Sent a text message, Gave verbal instructions, Is a bargaining unit member (opt in only), or Set in external system. Broadstripes stores the reason and the date next to the permission, for example “Signed paper form on 6/25/2026”, so you can always show how consent was obtained.

Besides setting permissions by hand, Broadstripes records them automatically when a worker checks the Personal email opt in or Business email opt in box on a public form (reason: Submitted online form), when you import a spreadsheet that includes messaging permission columns, and when a worker clicks the unsubscribe link in one of your emails.

Only admins and users with the Can set opt-in/opt-out permission can change messaging permissions. Everyone else can see an address’s permission but not change it. See User and membership overview for how to grant the permission.

Opt in or opt out a single worker’s email address

1. From the Search Results page, click the Quick view icon () next to the worker’s name.

   

2. In the Quick view panel, click the Contact info heading (it shows a pencil icon) to open the worker’s Contact Info dialog. Each phone number and email address appears as a card with its current permission.

   

3. To add a new address, click Add new, choose Email, and type the address. A new card opens with its permission set to Unspecified. To change an existing address, click its card to expand it.

4. Click the permission control (it shows the current permission, such as Opted In or Unspecified). To opt the address in, point to Opted In and choose the reason the worker gave you.

   

5. To opt the address out, point to Opted Out and choose the reason instead. Unspecified and Unreachable need no reason.

   

6. Click Save. The card’s badge changes to the new permission, and the reason and date appear next to it.

The same cards appear under Contact Info when you edit the worker’s record, so you can set permissions there too.

Opt in or opt out many workers at once with a Bulk Action

In this example, we’ll opt in the personal email addresses of a group of workers. Here’s how:

1. Run a search for the people whose email addresses you want to update. (If you need help running a search, check out the Search documentation.)

2. From the Search Results page, select the workers.

   

3. Open the Communications menu and choose Email messaging permissions.

   

4. In the Update Email Messaging Permissions panel, click Opted In and choose a reason. In this example, we’ll select “Gave verbal instructions”.

   

   To opt the selected workers out instead, click Opted Out and choose a reason. You can also set every selected address to Unspecified or Unreachable.

5. Choose which email addresses to update on each record: Just the primary address, or All emails of the types checked below. For this example, we’ll keep Just the primary and check only Personal, so each worker’s primary personal email is opted in.

   

6. Click Update. Broadstripes updates the records in the background and lets you know when it finishes.

A bulk update never changes an email address that is already Opted Out. The panel reminds you of this: opted-out addresses are skipped and must be opted in by hand. To opt a worker back in, edit their record as described above.

When a worker unsubscribes

Every bulk email you send from Broadstripes ends with a footer that includes your project’s unsubscribe message and link, along with your public-facing name and mailing address. You can customize the message under Outgoing email settings, but it must always include the unsubscribe link.

When a worker clicks the link, Broadstripes opens a page that asks them to confirm.

When the worker clicks Yes, Broadstripes:

• marks the email address that received the message Opted Out, with the reason “Clicked emailed link (or sent an email)”. Any other addresses on the worker’s record keep their own permission.
• counts the unsubscribe in the Unsubscribed column for that message on the Sent Email page.

What opting out changes

• Send email skips any address that is opted out. Before the message goes out, the confirmation dialog tells you how many contacts in your selection have no opted-in address and will be left out.
• Bulk permission updates and spreadsheet imports leave an opted-out address alone. Only someone editing the worker’s record can opt it back in.
• Opted-out addresses show a red Out badge in search results and a red OPTED OUT badge on the worker’s contact card.

Find out who is opted in or out

• Search for emailopt = in, emailopt = out, or emailopt = unspecified to find workers by their email permission, and emailoptinreason or emailoptoutreason to find them by reason. See the search language reference for the full list.

• Add the All Contact Info column to a layout to see an In, Out, No Opt, or Unreachable badge next to every address, or add the Opted In Emails column to list only the addresses you can email.