How should unsubscribes and complaints interact?

Unsubscribes and complaints should both result in suppression but are tracked separately. An unsubscribe is a controlled opt out; a complaint indicates dissatisfaction that may affect reputation. Both addresses should not receive future mail.

Best practice is maintaining unified suppression that covers both sources while recording the reason. This prevents accidentally re adding complainers from other lists or sources while maintaining audit trails.

Some senders treat complaints as stronger signals requiring investigation. While unsubscribes may reflect changing interests, complaints suggest something went wrong. Patterns in complaints warrant content or targeting review that unsubscribe patterns might not trigger.