---
title: Enabling double opt-in for newsletters
related:
  - https://docs.kentico.com/k11/on-line-marketing-features/managing-your-on-line-marketing-features/email-marketing/creating-newsletters.md
---

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>
> - [sitemap.md](https://docs.kentico.com/sitemap.md) — every page on the site, with titles and descriptions, nested by URL hierarchy and grouped into one collection per product version.
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Double opt-in functionality, also referred to as confirmed opt-in or closed-loop opt-in, adds an additional security layer to the newsletter subscription.

When double opt-in is disabled for a newsletter, anyone may simply submit an email address for subscription, without any steps to ensure that the address actually belongs to that contact. With double opt‑in, new recipients are not immediately activated and do not receive emails. Instead, the system sends an automatic email containing an activation link. After clicking the link, contacts are redirected to a special page and their subscription is confirmed.

The main advantages of double opt-in are:

- Confirming that the email addresses of recipients actually exist
- Preventing contacts from being unknowingly subscribed to a newsletter by someone else (either intentionally or by mistake)

## Enabling double opt-in

To configure a newsletter to use double opt-in:

1. Open the **Email marketing** application on the **Email feeds** tab.
2. **Edit** () a newsletter.
3. Switch to the **Configuration** tab.
4. Select the _Enable double opt-in_ option in the **Double opt-in** category.
5. Set the following properties:

   | Property                        | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
   | ------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
   | Double opt-in email template    | Selects the template used for the subscription activation emails that are sent to contacts. You can only select templates of the _Double opt-in_ type.<br>The template must contain a subscription confirmation link with a URL generated by the _{% EmailFeed.SubscriptionConfirmationUrl %}_ macro.<br>See also: [Preparing email templates](https://docs.kentico.com/k11/on-line-marketing-features/configuring-and-customizing-your-on-line-marketing-features/configuring-email-marketing/preparing-email-templates.md)                                       |
   | Approval page URL               | Sets the URL of the page where contacts can confirm their subscription to the newsletter.<br>The **Subscription approval** web part must be placed on the specified page to ensure the required functionality. This URL is used by the _Activation link_ field, which is typically inserted into the _Double opt-in_ template. If left empty, the value of the **Settings -> On‑line marketing -> Email marketing -> Double opt-in approval page URL** setting is used. If the setting value is also empty, approval link sends contacts to a default system page. |
   | Send double opt-in confirmation | If checked, the system sends a confirmation email to recipients after they successfully activate their subscription to the newsletter.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             |
6. Click **Save** to confirm the changes.

Now any contacts who subscribe to the newsletter will receive an email.

When a contact clicks the **Confirm the subscription** link, they are redirected to the default **\~/CMSModules/Newsletters/CMSPages/SubscriptionApproval.aspx** page, where the system displays a confirmation message and activates the subscription. The identifier of the exact subscription is passed to the page as a parameter in the query string of the URL in the activation link.

> **Note:** **Note**
>
> Contacts can only approve their subscription during a limited time interval (12 hours by default). If a contact does not activate their subscription within the specified number of hours, the link in the confirmation email expires, and the contact needs to subscribe again.
>
> You can set the length of this time interval for all email campaigns through the **Settings -> On‑line marketing -> **Email marketing** -> Double opt-in interval** setting.

## Creating custom subscription approval pages

If you wish to use a custom subscription activation page:

1. In the **Pages** application, create a new page on your website with the required design.
2. [Place](https://docs.kentico.com/k11/developing-websites/developing-websites-using-the-portal-engine/using-and-configuring-web-parts.md) the **Subscription approval** web part onto the page.
3. Assign the custom approval page to newsletters by entering its URL into:
   - The **Approval page URL**property of the individual newsletters
   - Globally in the **Double opt-in approval page URL**website setting in **Settings -> On-line marketing -> Email marketing**(assigns the page to all newsletters that do not have an approval page specified)

The double opt-in confirmation links now send contacts to your custom page.