Portal Email Preference Links and Unsubscribe

Help customers understand email footer links, preference tokens, unsubscribe choices, and why required transactional emails may still be sent.

Preference links are token-scoped A preference link from an email is meant to update email choices without exposing the customer’s broader account history. If the customer already has a portal session, the page may appear inside the portal shell, but the preference token should still only affect that recipient’s email choices.

Use Manage Email Preferences

Customer email footers may include Manage email preferences. That link opens a public preference page with seller branding, recipient email, email categories, locked transactional rows, optional template toggles, and a save bar when changes are pending.

Token preference links are for email choices only. They do not create a full portal session.

• Always sent: operational emails that stay locked on.
• Optional toggles: non-required reminders or updates the customer can change.
• Save preferences: changes are recorded only after saving.
• Unsubscribe from all: customers can move from preferences to the unsubscribe page when the link supports that action.

Use The Unsubscribe Page

The unsubscribe link opens a focused page for the recipient and template from the email. The customer can unsubscribe from that email type or from all optional emails from the seller. The page confirms the email address and company before the customer chooses.

The unsubscribe page is intentionally narrow. It does not show account history, documents, orders, or payment data.

What Happens After Unsubscribe

When the customer confirms, Arcus records an opt-out for that email address and seller. Future eligible sends check that preference before sending. The confirmation page also offers a re-subscribe action for customers who clicked by mistake.

The confirmation tells the customer what changed and gives them a safe way to reverse the action.

Do not promise that every email stops Unsubscribe and preference toggles apply to optional or allowed customer emails. Required transactional messages, such as receipts, shipment confirmations, password resets, or legally required notices, may still be sent when needed.

Preference Edge States

State	What it means	Staff response
Optional email disabled	Customer opted out of an optional template or category.	Future eligible sends should be skipped for that recipient and seller.
Optional email re-enabled	Customer resubscribed or staff restored the preference.	Confirm the recipient understands future optional emails may resume.
Transactional email locked	The template is required for operations or compliance.	Explain that required messages may still send even after unsubscribe.
Link expired	The preference token is no longer valid.	Resend a current email or update account preferences from staff tools.
Forwarded link	The customer sees a different recipient email.	Do not use the forwarded link. Update the intended recipient from the account record.
Portal notification toggle changed	Customer or staff changed a broader portal preference.	Confirm whether the request applies to portal notices, email templates, or both.

Staff Checklist

1. Confirm the customer clicked a recent email link, not an old forwarded link.
2. Confirm the recipient email address is the one the customer wants changed.
3. Use the email log to verify which template produced the footer link.
4. Explain the difference between optional email preferences and required transactional emails.
5. For broad removal requests, confirm whether the customer wants only marketing updates stopped or all optional messages stopped.

Use account communications for staff-led changes If a customer cannot use the link, update the account communication preference from the account record or document the request for the team that owns email settings.

Common Blocks

• Link is expired or invalid: resend a current customer email or update the preference from the account record.
• Customer sees the wrong email: verify the email was not forwarded from another recipient.
• Customer still receives receipts: explain that required transactional emails can still be sent.
• Customer wants portal access: send the portal login or registration flow instead of a preference link.
• Customer unsubscribed by mistake: use the re-subscribe action when available, or update account communication preferences from Arcus.

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