# Understanding Double Opt-In

Double Opt-In is a **Premium-only feature** that helps ensure recipients
explicitly confirm they want to receive your emails. It adds an extra
layer of consent and improves both compliance and deliverability.

In email marketing, **single opt-in** means a user signs up and
immediately starts receiving messages. **Double opt-in**, by contrast,
requires the user to confirm their subscription by clicking a special
link sent to their inbox. This prevents accidental signups, bots, and
spam traps while ensuring every contact genuinely wants your messages.

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### Why Double Opt-In Matters

- **Better compliance** – Meets standards under laws such as GDPR and
  CAN-SPAM by confirming consent.
- **Higher engagement** – Users who confirm are more likely to read and
  interact with future emails.
- **Cleaner lists** – Filters out typos, fake addresses, and unverified
  signups before they reach your CRM.
- **Fewer spam complaints** – Reduces the risk of your domain being
  flagged as spam.

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### How It Works in Mass Email Notifications

The Double Opt-In process connects three forms:

1.  **Sign-up form** – Collects the user’s initial information.
2.  **Sending form** – Used later for sending mass email batches after
    users have confirmed.
3.  **CRM or Target form** – Stores the confirmed contact record that
    indicates the user opted in.

When a recipient submits the signup form, they receive an email
containing a merge tag link (configured on the Double Opt-In tab).
Clicking that link updates their entry on the target form to mark them
as **opted in**.

You can then filter your sending batches to include only confirmed
recipients, ensuring messages go exclusively to verified users.

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### BrightLeaf Implementation Highlights

- Fully integrated with **Mass Email Notifications for Gravity Forms**.
- Uses a designated tab on the form settings screen called **Double
  Opt-In**.
- The confirmation link is generated by special merge tags (URL or link
  form).
- Confirmation automatically checks a chosen checkbox field in your
  target form.
- A convenience option on Feed Settings lets you easily limit batches to
  confirmed users.

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### Gravity Flow Integration

For users of **Gravity Flow**, the Double Opt-In system can be deeply
integrated into your workflows.

- **Restart Workflows on Confirmation:** Automatically (re)start a workflow
  for the matching entry as soon as the user confirms. This allows you to
  trigger complex onboarding sequences immediately upon verification.
- **Delay Workflow Steps:** Pause a workflow step from proceeding until the
  user has successfully confirmed their subscription via the double opt-in link.
- **Workflow Step Management:** Manage "Mass Email Notification Batch" steps
  directly from the plugin's **Feeds** tab.

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### When to Use It

- For any signup process where consent verification is legally required.
- For newsletters, donation updates, or campaigns where trust and
  compliance are key.
- To improve data hygiene when your form collects high volumes of public
  submissions.

Double Opt-In is optional but strongly recommended for any form that
communicates with external audiences. It protects both your users and
your sender reputation.
