One-click unsubscribe
Unsubscribing with a single action in the mail program, implemented with the List-Unsubscribe and List-Unsubscribe-Post headers of RFC 8058; Gmail and Yahoo require it of bulk senders.
What it means
On the sender's side there are three parts: a List-Unsubscribe header with an https URL unique to the recipient, a List-Unsubscribe-Post header reading List-Unsubscribe=One-Click, and a DKIM signature covering both. When the reader uses the mail program's unsubscribe control, the program sends a POST to that URL, and the sender's server removes the address with no further step; Yahoo asks that the process not require the user to log in.
Google's requirements for senders of more than 5,000 messages a day to Gmail accounts, in force since February 2024, include one-click unsubscribe for marketing and subscribed messages; senders that already had an unsubscribe link were given until 1 June 2024. Google's FAQ excludes transactional messages, such as password resets and reservation confirmations, and says mailto and plain link unsubscribes do not meet its requirement. Yahoo asks bulk senders for a List-Unsubscribe header that supports one-click, recommending the POST method of RFC 8058. Both expect a visible unsubscribe link in the body as well.
Related terms
On this site
Sources
What this definition rests on. The wording is ours; the facts are theirs.
- RFC 8058: Signaling One-Click Functionality for List Email Headersrfc-editor.org
- Google, Gmail Help: Email sender guidelinessupport.google.com
- Google, Gmail Help: Email sender guidelines FAQsupport.google.com
- Yahoo Sender Hub: Sender best practicessenders.yahooinc.com
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