Writing and staying in touch
Unsubscribe from a newsletter
What you will be able to do In 5 minutes, you'll know how to stop a newsletter that's cluttering your inbox.
A newsletter arrives every week, clutters the inbox, and nobody has opened it in a long time. The law nonetheless requires a simple way to stop it: an unsubscribe link, almost always at the very bottom of the message, in small print. Some pages deliberately make this harder, with a big colorful button to stay subscribed and a tiny link to actually leave. We're going to unsubscribe together, on a screen we designed. Nothing here is real: no real newsletter is connected to this exercise, and no address is actually contacted.
Simulated screen
I practice
This screen was drawn by us. Nothing is sent, nothing is installed, and no real brand is shown.
The situationFor months, a newsletter has cluttered your inbox every Tuesday, and you never open it.
The interactive exercise needs JavaScript. The written step by step, just below, says exactly the same thing.
The written step by step
The same steps, in words, to read or print. This sheet works even without the exercise.
Spot the newsletter
Your turn Tap the message that comes back every week and that you want to stop.
The newsletter is recognized by its regularity and its automatic sender, here "This week's picks".
Spot the bottom of the message
Your turn You don't want to receive this newsletter anymore. Tap what lets you unsubscribe from it.
At the very bottom of the message, a discreet link says "Unsubscribe" or "Stop receiving these emails": that's the one to tap.
Resist the page that insists
Your turn This page tries to convince you to stay. Tap what really stops the newsletter.
No matter the color of the buttons, the small "Confirm my unsubscription" link is the one that really stops the newsletter.
What if the link is broken
Your turn The unsubscribe link doesn't work and shows an error. Tap what needs to be done.
At the bottom of the site, the "legal notice" section gives an address to write to and request that the newsletter stop, even when the link is broken.
After the request
Your turn A message confirms your unsubscription. Tap what you do now.
After confirmation, one last message may still arrive within a few days: that's normal, stopping isn't always instant.
The sheet to keep
- A newsletter is recognized by its regularity and its automatic sender.
- The unsubscribe link is almost always at the very bottom of the message, in small print.
- The law requires this link on every newsletter; using it needs no justification.
- Some pages make the "stay" button big and colorful, and the real stop link tiny: size changes nothing about your right to leave.
- If the link doesn't work, the site's "legal notice" gives an address to write to.
- Stopping completely can take a few days; one last message isn't a failure of the process.
The reflexes in this skill
I stop before I click
Urgency is the sign of a trap. A message that counts down the hours is trying to stop you from thinking. Putting your phone down for two minutes costs nothing, and it is almost always enough.
No one serious ever rushes me
No threats, no countdown, no secret to keep. And asking for help is a reflex, not a failure: saying it out loud to someone makes most scams fall apart.
Two questions to check
Nothing is graded, and nothing is saved anywhere except in your own browser.
An unsubscribe page shows a big colorful "Stay subscribed" button and a small "Confirm my unsubscription" link. What do you do?
See the answer
I tap the small link, that's the one that really stops the newsletter
The size or color of a button says nothing about its effect: here, it's the small discreet link that actually stops the newsletter.
The unsubscribe link shows an error page. What do you do?
See the answer
I look for a contact address in the site's "legal notice"
The right to stop a newsletter doesn't depend on a single link: the site's legal notice gives another address to send the request to.
I've done it
Check this box once you can do this skill on your own.
Your progress stays in your own browser.