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Subscriptions represent a contact’s preference for a topic. They let the same contact opt into one category of communication while opting out of another.

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Default subscription

Every topic has a default_subscription of opt_in or opt_out. That default applies when a contact has not recorded an explicit preference for the topic. Once the contact has a topic-specific subscription, the explicit value becomes the contact’s effective preference.

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Contact-level preferences

A contact subscription can be:
  • opt_in
  • opt_out
These preferences are stored per contact and per topic, so changing one topic does not affect the contact’s preferences for other topics.

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Subscription is not segment membership

A subscription answers whether the contact wants a category of communication. Segment membership answers whether the contact is part of a target group. A recipient can therefore be selected by a segment but still be ineligible for a topic because they are opted out.

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Subscription is not global unsubscribe

Topic subscriptions are also separate from a contact’s general email unsubscribed state and from SMS consent. Think of the layers this way:
  • unsubscribed controls broad email eligibility,
  • topic subscriptions control category-level preferences,
  • SMS consent controls SMS permission,
  • segments control targeting.

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API details

For listing or updating a contact’s topic subscriptions, see the Contacts API Reference.