6-11-2024 Microsoft Issue Announcement

The Issue: 

In June 2024, Ascent360 identified an increase in machine opens and clicks for clients sending to Microsoft B2C and Office 365 inboxes. The sudden increase is due to a security change Microsoft made to how its Safe Links feature is auto-scanning and clicking links in emails. For clients who have 1-Click Opt-Out links in their emails, this has resulted in large numbers of false "bot" opt-outs from Microsoft/Office 365-managed emails.

This affected clients on a larger scale if large, unsegmented blasts went out.

Path Forward: 

To mitigate the risk of machine opens and clicks causing false opt-outs, we released a product enhancement that will replace the auto-appended 1-click unsubscribe with a link to an auto-generated Unsubscribe Form. If you'd like to create a custom unsubscribe form that more closely aligns with your branding, we recommend creating a custom Unsubscribe Form and inserting the Unsubscribe Row into your email footer.

Questions:

• What is the difference between a 1-click opt-out link and an opt-out form?
  • A 1-click opt-out link allows subscribers to instantly opt out of mailing lists with a single click.
  • An unsubscribe form is an additional 'step' where users confirm their wish to stop receiving emails—giving them a chance to adjust their preferences or opt out completely. They must submit the form in order to 'record' their request to unsubscribe.
• When did this start happening?
  • We believe this first started happening around May 2024, although the timing of individual client impact depends on when email sends were scheduled.
• Do I need to adjust my recurring emails?
  • Yes. Once you've create an Email Unsubscribe Form, we highly recommend that you insert the 'Unsubscribe Link' row into:
    • your email template
    • any recurring/live emails
    • scheduled emails