# Opt-out

A WhatsApp opt-out is a person's request to stop receiving messages from a business on WhatsApp. WhatsApp's Business Messaging Policy requires businesses to respect every such request, whether it is made on WhatsApp or elsewhere.

Source: https://getkanal.com/whatsapp-marketing-glossary/opt-out  
Last updated: 2026-10-08

The policy wording is broad: a business must respect all requests, on or off WhatsApp, by a person to block, discontinue or otherwise opt out of communications, including removing that person from its contacts list. Privacy laws such as the GDPR add that withdrawing consent must be as easy as giving it.

In practice, businesses handle opt-outs with keyword detection (STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE and common variants), an explicit button in marketing templates, and a suppression list that removes the contact from future campaigns immediately. People can also stop marketing messages from a business, block it or report it from the chat itself.

A clean opt-out path protects deliverability. A customer who cannot find the exit blocks or reports the number instead, and that negative feedback lowers the quality rating of the number and of the template that was used.

In Kanal, opt-outs are handled automatically, so [WhatsApp campaigns](https://getkanal.com/whatsapp-campaigns) only reach Shopify customers who still want them.

## Kanal features

- [WhatsApp campaigns](https://getkanal.com/whatsapp-campaigns): Send marketing campaigns that actually get read

## Go deeper: articles

- [WhatsApp Opt-in Rules: GDPR Compliance for E-Commerce (2026)](https://getkanal.com/blog/whatsapp-opt-in-gdpr-ecommerce): Master WhatsApp opt-in for Shopify in 2026: Meta business policy, GDPR Article 6, double opt-in, STOP routing and 5 compliant copy examples to paste.
- [WhatsApp Broadcast: Lists, Limits and 6 Message Samples](https://getkanal.com/blog/whatsapp-broadcast-guide): WhatsApp broadcast lists hold 256 contacts, and some countries now cap the app at 35 free broadcasts a month. 6 message samples and how stores go past it.
- [WhatsApp Marketing for E-Commerce: The 2026 Playbook](https://getkanal.com/blog/whatsapp-marketing-ecommerce-guide): WhatsApp marketing for Shopify stores: cart recovery, broadcasts, AI chatbots, the metrics to track, and 12 plays that work in 2026.

## Related terms

- [Opt-in](https://getkanal.com/whatsapp-marketing-glossary/opt-in)
- [Quality rating](https://getkanal.com/whatsapp-marketing-glossary/quality-rating)