Double opt-in newsletter

Mandatory double opt-in has been enshrined in law in Europe since October 2019, but does not apply in Switzerland. So why is it still advisable to use this procedure in Switzerland?

The double opt-in obligation has applied to the distribution of newsletters in Europe since October 2019.

What’s a double opt-in registration?

With double opt-in registration, the subscriber receives an e-mail immediately after registering for a newsletter.

In the e-mail, the potential subscriber is requested to confirm their registration by clicking on the link.

This registration prevents third parties from subscribing to unwanted newsletters for other people.

Example: my colleague gets on my nerves so much by being such a bighead that I wanted to waste some of his time. So I went onto various websites and registered him as a newsletter subscriber all over the place.

Now he receives countless unwanted newsletters and has to go to the effort of unsubscribing from every single one.

Does this regulation also apply to Switzerland?

No, it doesn’t currently apply in Switzerland.

But as our data protection laws are being revised and lots of EU legislation will be adopted, it may also suddenly become an issue for us too.

So is using this type of registration in Switzerland recommended?

Yes, definitely!

Even if all your newsletter subscribers currently live in Switzerland, the double opt-in registration is still recommended to avoid having to make wholesale changes overnight if data protection law were to be amended.

What if I have subscribers in the EU?

If your newsletter is already being sent to people residing in the EU, then double opt-in registration must be used now.

If the newsletter doesn’t yet comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), it’s essential to rectified this as quickly as possible.

PLEASE NOTE: confirmation must be obtained retrospectively from existing newsletter subscribers.

The easiest and most secure way is to send them a link which they can use to quickly confirm they wish to continue receiving the newsletter.

You may lose a few subscribers, but they are presumably inactive or disinterested readers anyway as they don’t wish to continue receiving the newsletter.

Any more good advice?

Using double opt-in registration is strongly recommended. This can minimize the newsletter bounce rate to some extent. As subscribers have to confirm consent again separately by clicking on the link, they tend to really think about whether they wish to unsubscribe from the newsletter than if just one click in the newsletter were required.