Is it a common practice to request extra info like captcha when unsubscribing from email lists?

Email marketer from Reply.io discusses the implications of CAN-SPAM and how email marketers can avoid legal troubles by ensuring they follow its guidelines - one of the main ones is that they allow users to opt-out from future emails.

Email marketer from Reddit u/jane mentions a one-click unsubscribe is always appreciated, but worries about accidental clicks and the challenges of ensuring users are really unsubscribing.

Email marketer from MarketingProfs advises making the unsubscribe link easy to find, normally at the bottom of the email. This is because hiding the link will likely annoy users and it is better to make it easily visible.

Email marketer from Klaviyo notes that offering a one-click unsubscribe option is a best practice for email marketing. It respects the subscriber's choice and reduces the likelihood of spam complaints.

Marketer from Email Geeks shared a story of a client whose entire list was unsubscribed by a bot due to the database ID for each subscriber being passed as a variable in the URL and the address pre-filled as plain text, enabling the bot to iterate, capture, and unsubscribe.

Email marketer from GrowFlow recommends streamlining the unsubscribe process by using a one-click unsubscribe to create a better user experience. This involves reducing friction and not requiring users to log in or answer questions.

Email marketer from Litmus explains that unsubscribe links should be clearly visible and easily accessible in every marketing email. This builds trust with subscribers and helps avoid spam complaints.

Email marketer from ActiveCampaign shares insights and advice about double opt-in being beneficial in ensuring that the user is actually interested in receiving your marketing content. While not directly answering, the article does refer to CAN-SPAM for guidelines around unsubscribing.

Email marketer from SuperOffice warns against requiring too much information during the unsubscribe process. According to the GDPR, opting out should be as easy as opting in, so avoid unnecessary steps like making users log in or explain why they are unsubscribing.

Marketer from Email Geeks states that while collecting data at unsubscribe might not be illegal, it's considered sleazy and could lead to receiving bad or malicious data.

Marketer from Email Geeks shares an experience where their email was mistakenly put on a global blocklist by Hubspot, causing them to not receive support emails from a company. This caused many problems and was eventually resolved with written permission to remove it.

Email marketer from Sendinblue advises offering email preferences as an alternative to unsubscribing. This allows subscribers to tailor the types and frequency of emails they receive, potentially reducing the need to unsubscribe altogether. Sendinblue offers guides about implementing preference centres to make it easy for users to modify their email settings.

Email marketer from Reddit u/johnny notes that Captchas on unsubscribes are frustrating, but are sometimes implemented to prevent bots from unsubscribing large swaths of a contact list.

Expert from Word to the Wise writes about the different types of unsubscription that exist. They distinguish between one-click unsubs, list-unsubs, and preference centres which allow users to remain subscribed, but only for certain types of content. It does not state any information about asking the user for extra data on the unsubscription form.

Expert from Email Geeks explains that CAN-SPAM requires only the email address to be provided for unsubscribing. Requiring additional information that is not optional could be a violation.

Expert from Word to the Wise, Laura Atkins, emphasizes the importance of making unsubscribing as easy as possible. She points out that difficult unsubscribe processes lead to frustration and spam complaints, negatively impacting sender reputation. She recommends honoring all unsubscribe requests promptly and offering a one-click unsubscribe option whenever feasible.

Expert from Email Geeks shares that they have seen captchas occasionally on unsubscribe pages for a couple of years, but it is somewhat rare. They added that requiring correct first and last names is more problematic.

Documentation from Mailchimp explains that Mailchimp automatically handles unsubscribes and requires a working unsubscribe link in all campaigns. Mailchimp handles unsubscribe requests automatically and does not support requiring additional steps.

Documentation from eugdpr.org explains that under GDPR, users have the right to withdraw their consent at any time and should be easily able to do so. GDPR does not outline explicit unsubscribing guidelines, but instead suggests that you should make it as easy to unsubscribe as it was to subscribe.

Documentation from the UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) states that under GDPR, it should be as easy to withdraw consent as it is to give it. Requiring excessive information or complicated processes for unsubscribing is not compliant.

Documentation from Federal Trade Commission explains that under the CAN-SPAM Act, recipients must be able to unsubscribe easily. Senders cannot require the recipient to pay a fee, provide information other than their email address and opt-out preferences, or take any steps other than sending a reply email or visiting a single page on a website.