> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.watx.in/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Opt-outs and consent

> What Watx does when a customer asks to stop marketing, how to confirm it with an automation, and the two steps that opt a contact out or back in.

This page is for anyone sending campaigns: what happens when a customer says STOP, what
it stops and what it does not, and how to send the confirmation they expect.

## What Watx does on its own

On WhatsApp, Instagram and the website chat, an incoming message that is **exactly** one
of these words opts the contact out of marketing. Case and surrounding punctuation are
ignored, so `STOP!` counts.

| Opts out | Opts back in |
| - | - |
| `stop`, `unsubscribe`, `unsub`, `optout`, `opt out`, `cancel`, `quit`, `end`, `stopall`, `band karo`, `band karein`, `रोको`, `बंद करो` | `start`, `unstop`, `subscribe`, `resubscribe`, `optin`, `opt in`, `yes` |

A message that only *contains* one of the words is not an opt-out: "please stop sending
me the wrong size" is a complaint, not a request to unsubscribe.

A tap on a quick-reply button is read more loosely, because you wrote the label and the
customer chose it. A button whose label **starts with** `stop`, `unsubscribe`, `unsub`,
`opt out`, `optout`, `no more`, `mute`, `band karo`, `बंद करो` or `रोको` opts the contact
out — so **Stop promotions**, **Stop alerts** and **Stop updates** all work. A label
starting with `resubscribe`, `subscribe`, `start`, `opt in` or `optin` opts them back in.

<Warning>
  Because the match is on the whole message, a customer who replies with just `cancel`,
  `end` or `quit` is opted out of marketing, and one who replies with just `yes` is opted
  back in. Keep that in mind when you write buttons and questions that invite one-word
  answers.
</Warning>

When it happens:

* The contact is marked as opted out, and the first time they asked is kept — a repeat
  does not move the date. The contact's **Overview** tab shows **Opted out** with when and
  how. See [Contacts](/contacts/overview).
* Watx sends **no reply** of its own. The message still reaches your automations, flows
  and AI agents like any other.

## What opting out stops

Opting out stops **campaigns and broadcasts**: an opted-out contact is skipped from every
audience. See [Broadcasts](/whatsapp/broadcasts).

It does **not** stop replies, order updates or receipts. A customer who opts out and then
asks where their parcel is still gets an answer, from your team, an automation or an AI
agent.

The flag belongs to the person, not the channel. Somebody who says STOP in your website
chat is not sent WhatsApp campaigns either.

## Confirm the opt-out with an automation

A customer who taps **Stop promotions** and hears nothing cannot tell whether it worked,
and tends to try again. The **Consent & opt-outs** category of the
[template gallery](/automations/templates-and-ai) has two ready-made automations for
this:

| Template | Trigger | What it does |
| - | - | - |
| **Handle "Stop promotions"** | **Keyword match**, **Is exactly the keyword**: `stop`, `stop promotions`, `stop alerts`, `stop updates`, `unsubscribe`, `opt out` | Runs **Opt out of marketing**, then replies that they are unsubscribed, can still message you about an order, and can reply START to come back. |
| **Handle "START" to resubscribe** | **Keyword match**, **Is exactly the keyword**: `start`, `subscribe`, `resubscribe`, `opt in` | Runs **Opt back in to marketing**, then confirms and says how to stop again. |

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the template">
    **Automations → Templates**, filter by **Consent & opt-outs**, and pick one.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check the keywords">
    Add the exact labels of any opt-out buttons your own templates use. Leave the match on
    **Is exactly the keyword**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Edit the reply and save">
    The reply goes out as an ordinary message. The customer has just written to you, so
    it is inside WhatsApp's 24-hour window.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Switch it on">
    Turn **Active** on in the editor toolbar.
  </Step>
</Steps>

An active automation whose keywords match the message also stops an AI agent replying to
that same message, so the customer gets your confirmation and not a second answer. See
[Why is my agent silent?](/ai-agents/readiness).

## The two steps

Use the steps directly when consent is decided by something other than a keyword — a
form answer, a button with your own wording, or a condition on an earlier step.

| Step | What it does |
| - | - |
| **Opt out of marketing** | Marks the contact as opted out. Running it again keeps the original date. |
| **Opt back in to marketing** | Clears the opt-out. |

Both are in the **Contact** category of the add menu, have no settings, need a contact,
and work on every channel. The opt-out is recorded as made by an automation, so the
contact's record shows how it happened. See [Steps](/automations/steps#contact).

<Tip>
  Building your own keyword automation? Always use **Is exactly the keyword**. With
  **Contains the keyword**, `stop` fires on any sentence with the word in it and
  unsubscribes customers who were asking for help.
</Tip>


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