Understanding how opting in and out works in Text In Church helps you stay compliant and communicate effectively with your members.
Contacts can opt out of text messages or emails at any time, and your team can also manage opt-in and opt-out status manually from within the account. If a contact appears marked as opted out when they did not intend to be, this article explains why that happens and how to fix it.
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How Opting In and Out Works in Text In Church
Any contact can text the word STOP to your Text In Church number to opt out of all text messages from your account. They will no longer receive texts from any Group or workflow connected to that number.
To opt back in, the contact must text START to the same number they texted STOP to. Admins and users cannot manually re-opt a contact back in if the contact texted STOP — the contact must send START themselves. This is required for carrier compliance.
If a contact wants to stop receiving messages from one specific Group without opting out entirely, you can remove them from that Group. Go to the Group, check the box next to their name, click Select Action, and choose Remove Members.
How to Manually Opt Someone Out in Text In Church
There are two ways to manually opt a contact out of text messages:
Option 1 — Edit their profile:
Find the contact in the People section.
Click the pencil icon in the top right to edit their profile, then uncheck the permission to text or email them.
Note: Manually opting a contact back in does not apply to contacts who texted STOP. Those contacts must text START to re-subscribe.
Option 2 — From the conversation history:
Open the conversation with the contact.
Click the three vertical dots and select Opt-Out of Further Communications.
How to Check Opt-Out Status in Text In Church
In the People tab, each contact displays a green or red circle next to their message and email icons. A green circle means they are opted in. A red circle means they are opted out.
When viewing a conversation, the reply field will not appear if the contact has opted out.
If a contact is marked as opted out but did not intend to opt out, check whether they accidentally texted STOP. If so, they need to text START to the number they texted STOP to. If they opted out of emails accidentally, an admin can manually toggle them back in from their profile after confirming they want to receive emails.
Ways to Opt In to Text Messages
Texting a Keyword to your designated number (for contacts who have not already opted out of SMS)
Scanning a QR code that links to a Connect Card
Filling out a paper contact card — note that sharing contact information should come with a clear statement that the person will receive communications from your church, including a rough estimate of message frequency
Using a website widget — see our guide to creating a Connect Widget
Importing existing contacts via CSV, if those contacts have given prior approval
Texting START to your number (for contacts who previously texted STOP)
Contacts opt out of text messages by texting STOP to your number. This opts them out account-wide from all text messages.
Ways to Opt In to (or Out of) Emails
Contacts can opt in to emails through the same methods listed above (Keyword, QR code, paper card, widget, or CSV import).
To opt out of emails, a contact can click the Unsubscribe link at the bottom of any email sent through Text In Church, or they can let you know directly and you can update their preferences manually.
To manually opt a contact out of emails:
Find the contact in People and click their name.
Click the three-dot icon in the top right, above their name.
Choose Edit.
Toggle off Yes, I have permission to email this person.
Click Save changes.
Reporting and Exporting Opt-Out Data
To get a report of opted-out contacts from the People tab:
Go to the People tab.
Use the filter icon to filter by text or email opt-out status.
Select the filtered contacts, click Action, and choose Export.
To export opt-out data including opt-out dates from the Tools tab:
Go to Tools.
Optionally select a specific Group from the dropdown. Leave blank to export all contacts.
Click Select Fields.
Choose SMS Opt Out and SMS Opt Out Date (or the email equivalents). Include First Name, Last Name, Email, and Phone Number for a complete report.
Click Export. You will receive a .CSV by email and can also find it in the Exports folder under the Tools tab.
Opt-Out FAQs
A contact texted STOP and then texted START, but they are still opted out. Why?
The contact must text START to the same number they texted STOP to. If they texted a different number, the opt-in will not apply. Have them text START to the correct number.
Why is a contact being automatically unsubscribed from emails?
Some email providers, such as Microsoft, scan emails for links to prevent phishing. This automated scan can trigger one-click unsubscribe links, causing the contact to be unsubscribed without intending to.
To fix this, admins can create exclusion policies in the Microsoft Defender portal to bypass scanning for trusted URLs. If you are not using Microsoft, check for any other link-scanning tools that could be triggering the unsubscribe.
Can someone opt out of messages from one number and still receive messages from another number?
Not currently. When a contact is opted out of SMS, they are opted out account-wide and cannot receive texts from any number on your account until they opt back in.
Have questions? Email support@textinchurch.com or chat with us from the Resources tab in your account.
