Difference between Quarantined and Blacklisted Addresses

[Sanjana12]

Hello, what is the difference between quarantined and blacklisted addresses? 

[Shubham_Goyal__ · Accepted solution]

Hi @Sanjana12 ,

Following the difference between Quarantine addresses and Denylist (Blacklisted) addresses in adobe campaign:

Quarantine applies only to an address (email or phone number, etc.), not to the recipient profile itself. For example, a profile whose email address is quarantined can be targeted via phone number also if they update their profile and enter a new email address, and could then be targeted by delivery actions again. Likewise, if two profiles happen to have the same phone number, they will both be affected if the number is quarantined.

The quarantined addresses or phone numbers are displayed in the exclusion logs (for a delivery) or in the quarantine list (for the entire platform).

Being on the denylist, on the other hand, will result in the profile no longer being targeted by the delivery, such as after an unsubscription (opt-out), for a given channel. For example, if a profile on the denylist for the email channel has two email addresses, both addresses will be excluded from delivery.

Source: https://experienceleague.adobe.com/docs/campaign-classic/using/sending-messages/monitoring-deliverie... 

Br,

Shubham

[Ganesh5067]

In Adobe Campaign Classic, quarantined addresses refer to email addresses that have been flagged as potentially problematic, such as addresses that have bounced or generated a lot of unsubscribe requests. These addresses are generally temporarily suspended from receiving any further emails but can be removed from quarantine and re-activated at a later time.

Blacklisted addresses, on the other hand, are email addresses that have been permanently removed from the mailing list. These addresses are typically added to the blacklist due to repeated violations, such as spam complaints or bounces, and will not receive any further emails.

The main difference between quarantined and blacklisted addresses is that quarantined addresses can be reactivated while blacklisted addresses cannot.

[Sanjana12]

If an user opts out, will that profile be blacklisted?

[Ganesh5067]

In Adobe Campaign Classic, when a recipient opts out of receiving email communications, their profile will typically be marked as unsubscribed or "do not mail" and will be removed from the active recipient list.

The exact process of handling opt-outs may vary depending on the specific implementation, but generally, when a user unsubscribes from a campaign, their email address will be added to a suppression list, which is a list of email addresses that should not receive any further communications.

The suppression list is different from the blacklist, which is a list of email addresses that are permanently blocked from receiving any emails. In most cases, when a user unsubscribes, their email address will be added to the suppression list and will not be blacklisted.

However, it is important to note that in some cases, an email address that generates a large number of unsubscribes or complaints may be blacklisted. In such cases, it is a best practice to suppress the email address and not allow it to receive any further communications.

It is also important to comply with laws and regulations regarding email marketing and to provide a clear and easy way for recipients to unsubscribe from your communications.

[Sanjana12]

So quarantined addresses are basically those addresses that are added to the suppression list?

[Ganesh5067]

Yes, that's correct. Quarantined addresses are email addresses that have been added to a suppression list in Adobe Campaign Classic, typically due to reasons such as bounced emails, unsubscribes, or marking emails as spam. This helps to prevent sending emails to addresses that are unlikely to receive or engage with the emails, improving email deliverability and engagement rates.

[Sanjana12]

My confusion still remains. What is the difference between opting out and unsubscribing then? Addresses are sent to quarantine after they unsubscribe and similarly profiles are put on denylist after they opt-out. Am I correct?

[ParthaSarathy]

Hi @Sanjana12 ,

Blacklist / Opt-out / Denylist:

If a recipient unsubscribe from a channel, then he wont be quarantine, instead It will be considered as opt-out/denylisted/blacklist. So in the future communications of that particular channel, the opted out recipient wont get receive the email. Example, In case of recipient schema, If a recipient unsubscribe from email, No longer contact by email (@BlackListEmail) flag will get updated. So in future email communications, this recipient wont receive any emails until he opt-in again.

Quarantine:

Quarantine is not based on optout / unsubscribe. It is based on delivery failure type and the reason (Hard error/ Soft error) assigned during error messages qualification. For example, when the mailbox is full or if the address does not exist.

Hard error: the corresponding email address is immediately sent to quarantine.

Soft error: soft errors do not send immediately an address to quarantine, but they increment an error counter.

Hope this clarifies your doubt!