How to stop unwanted emails from Nextdoor?

Key findings

• Unsubscribe complexity: Nextdoor's email preference pages are often criticized for being overly complicated, presenting numerous sections and requiring individual selections to cease specific types of emails. This contrasts sharply with straightforward one-click unsubscribe options.
• Persistent re-engagement: Users who had previously opted out or stopped receiving emails from Nextdoor sometimes report that new email streams or re-engagement campaigns begin to trickle into their inboxes, despite no explicit re-subscription.
• Legal interpretation: There's a debate about whether such practices (where unsubscribing from one stream doesn't mean unsubscribing from all) comply with regulations like CAN-SPAM. While some interpret CAN-SPAM narrowly to allow for per-stream opt-outs, this can be seen as frustrating from a user perspective.
• User action: Many frustrated users resort to marking Nextdoor emails as spam, which can negatively impact the sender's reputation (or blocklist status) over time.
• GDPR and CCPA leverage: For users residing in the EU or California, privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA may offer more robust avenues to revoke data processing consent and stop unwanted communications. Nextdoor's privacy policy, available on their legal page, provides contact information for their Data Protection Officer.

Key considerations

• Unsubscribe method: To effectively stop Nextdoor emails, users should directly access their account settings on the Nextdoor website rather than solely relying on in-email unsubscribe links, which may only opt out of a single stream. You may also consult a guide to stopping Nextdoor emails.
• Account deletion: For complete cessation of emails, deleting the Nextdoor account entirely is often the most effective, albeit drastic, solution. This is because some companies may persist in sending transactional emails even after unsubscribe attempts. If you keep getting emails after unsubscribing, it may be due to these types of issues.
• Blocklisting: As a last resort, if direct unsubscribe efforts fail, users can apply a local blocklist or spam filter rule in their email client to prevent Nextdoor emails from reaching their inbox. This is a personal solution and does not address the sender's practices directly. For more information on how email blacklists actually work, review our guide to the topic.
• Legal channels: If residing in regions with strong data privacy laws, consider contacting Nextdoor's Data Protection Officer or relevant regulatory bodies (e.g., Data Protection Commissioner in the EU) to enforce your rights regarding personal data processing and email communications.

Key opinions

• User experience is paramount: Marketers emphasize the importance of a clear and simple unsubscribe process to maintain a positive user experience and avoid churn.
• Spam complaints increase: When users cannot easily unsubscribe, they resort to hitting the spam button, which directly damages a sender's reputation and can lead to emails landing in the spam folder for all recipients. Understanding how to identify spam reports is crucial.
• Reputational damage: Companies that make unsubscribing difficult risk significant damage to their brand perception and customer loyalty. This impacts overall email deliverability, as discussed in current email deliverability trends.
• Compliance gaps: While some practices might technically adhere to minimal legal requirements like CAN-SPAM, they often fall short of consumer expectations and industry best practices regarding consent and email frequency.

Key considerations

• Clear preference centers: Marketers should design preference centers that allow users to easily manage all their subscriptions from one place, rather than segmenting them across multiple pages or requiring logins for each stream. Gmail's new 'Manage Subscriptions' feature highlights this need.
• Honoring unsubscribe requests: When a user unsubscribes, the request should be processed promptly and universally for all marketing communications from the sender, unless very clearly specified and consented to otherwise.
• Avoiding re-opt-ins: Introducing new email streams should not automatically re-opt-in previous unsubscribers. Explicit consent should always be obtained for new communication types.
• Transparency: Maintain transparency about email sending practices and how user data is used, to build trust and reduce instances of unwanted emails.

Key opinions

• CAN-SPAM limitations: Experts acknowledge that CAN-SPAM may not explicitly address the nuance of multiple email streams from a single entity, often interpreted to mean opting out of a specific email type rather than all communications from the company. This leaves room for practices that frustrate users.
• User intent vs. legal loopholes: While a company's legal team might find practices like Nextdoor's compliant, experts argue that such approaches disregard user intent to stop all unwanted mail, which ultimately leads to negative engagement metrics like spam complaints and low open rates. These directly impact email deliverability.
• GDPR and CCPA effectiveness: For residents under GDPR (EU) or CCPA (California), these regulations offer stronger consumer rights, including the right to data erasure and clear consent withdrawal, making it more feasible to compel companies to cease all communications. This is a critical aspect of complying with modern email sender requirements.
• Sender reputation risk: Allowing users to be re-engaged after opting out, or making unsubscribe difficult, increases the likelihood of being marked as spam. This can lead to IP and domain blocklisting, severely impacting all email campaigns. Learn more about what happens when your domain is blocklisted.

Key considerations

• Holistic unsubscribe: Companies should provide a single, clear option to unsubscribe from all marketing communications, regardless of how many individual streams they manage internally. This should be easily accessible, ideally with one click.
• Consent management: Review and update consent management practices to ensure they align with the spirit, not just the letter, of privacy regulations. Re-engaging past unsubscribers should require explicit re-opt-in.
• Monitoring feedback loops: Closely monitor spam complaint rates and subscriber feedback to identify and rectify issues with unwanted emails. High complaint rates are a strong indicator of problematic sending practices.
• Transparency and simplicity: Prioritize transparency in email practices and simplify preference management to foster trust and improve overall email program health. As a leading voice in deliverability, Spam Resource regularly advises on best practices for senders.

Key findings

• CAN-SPAM Act requirements: The CAN-SPAM Act mandates that commercial emails must include a clear and conspicuous way for recipients to opt out of receiving future emails, and opt-out requests must be honored promptly (within 10 business days).
• GDPR consent and withdrawal: The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU emphasizes the right to withdraw consent at any time, and that withdrawing consent should be as easy as giving it. This implies a straightforward, easily accessible unsubscribe process.
• CCPA right to opt-out: The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) grants consumers the right to opt out of the sale of their personal information, which can indirectly relate to how their data is used for email marketing purposes.
• Industry best practices: Beyond legal mandates, email service providers and industry bodies consistently recommend single-click unsubscribes and comprehensive preference centers to maintain good sender reputation and inbox placement.

Key considerations

• Unified unsubscribe: To align with user expectations and reduce friction, companies should aim to provide a single unsubscribe mechanism that ceases all non-essential communications, rather than requiring users to opt out of individual streams. Learn more about email blocklists and their impact if complaints persist.
• Transactional vs. marketing: It is generally permissible to continue sending transactional emails (e.g., account updates, order confirmations) even after a user opts out of marketing communications. However, marketing content should not be disguised as transactional. For information on compliance, consult our guide on unsolicited emails.
• User privacy policies: Companies should clearly articulate their privacy policies regarding email communications and data use, making it easy for users to understand their rights and the process for exercising them. Nextdoor's own US Privacy Policy is an example of such a document.