Why Email Unsubscribe Rates Are on the Rise

The email subscriber inbox has undergone some fairly drastic changes in the last year or so. From the introduction of tabs in the popular Apple mail solution to AI summaries across a number of mailbox providers (MBPs) such as Gmail, Yahoo, Apple and Android mail, it’s been hard for some marketers to keep up with all the changes.

Now, in yet another move by mailbox providers that’s meant to improve the end user experience, some businesses are finding elevated email unsubscribe rates occurring across their campaigns. Let’s take a look at what’s driving higher “unsub” rates, discuss some best practice tips to help bring them down and why an unsub is better than a complaint.

Why email unsubscribe rates are up across the board

Some senders have experienced spikes in unsub volume nearly twice their average numbers since mid-June of 2025. One reason why is Gmail’s phased roll out a new Subscription Center feature which started in June/July 2025 that makes it easy for their users to see how many emails they are getting from a company/sender (sorted by the highest number of emails), and with a couple of clicks, the user can elect to unsubscribe from that sender without ever having to open a message.

This most recent update comes on the heels of Gmail, Yahoo and other mailbox providers moving to enforce long-recommended best practices around domain authentication in 2024 and implementing inactive mailbox policies in 2023 that resulted in mass deletion of abandoned Gmail accounts.

*Image shows unsub rate increase across top 100 senders by volume on the Marketing Cloud Engagement platform between February and August 2025

It’s not only easier to unsubscribe from mailing lists than ever before, but the process being used by the mailbox providers generates a higher rate of unsub requests. When Gmail and Yahoo rolled out their Sender Guidelines for bulk senders, one of the key elements was the required inclusion of a list-unsubscribe header in every marketing message. This is because the mailbox providers need an easy unsub link to grab from the email header as opposed to having to parse the body of each individual message. 

When Gmail shows a user in their subscription center that Brand X has sent them 15 messages in the last few weeks, and the user elects to unsubscribe, that’s 15 unique list-unsubscribe requests that are sent back to the email service provider (ESP). 

Multiple unsub requests from single subscribers are accounting for anywhere from 20% to 50+% of daily unsub rates for some larger senders. It’s worth noting that the data shows this trend is impacting U.S.-based senders much more than international senders due to composition of their subscriber bases. Many international senders seem to have unsub rates holding steady, or in some cases decreasing over the same observed timeframe.

So what’s the end goal? The industry has been moving toward an improved and more secure inbox experience. What we’re seeing is the MBPs now forcing action they’ve suggested marketers take on their own for years. If you are a company that sends to your entire list indiscriminately with minimal thought given to personalization or the subscriber experience, Gmail is effectively calling your bluff here by showing their user just how much mail you are sending and then giving them an easy way to put a stop to it.

What can marketers do to minimize the impact of email unsubscribe rates?

Our partners at Inbox Monster have some tips in their article on the Gmail Subscription Center that are essential for anyone concerned about increases in their unsub rates:

• Make sure that your brand is sending emails that your subscribers know they’ve subscribed to and actually want.
• Be clear and communicative about what your subscribers are signing up for.
• Practice list hygiene and segmentation to remove inactive users and focus on those who engage with your emails.
• Ensure that your one-click unsubscribe mechanism is embedded in your email and ready to go. (You can check this in the Google Postmaster Tool Compliance Dashboard.)
• Authenticate and implement SPF, DKIM & DMARC within your program.
• Honor those users who unsubscribed from your email program. (Google will know.)
• Remember, don’t fear the unsubscribe button. The subscription manager will reduce the amount of spam complaints and provide a healthier way to unsubscribe from unwanted emails. This keeps everyone happy.

The bottom line is you need a clear opt-in process (what is the subscriber signing up for and how often will they hear from you?) and a proactive list hygiene policy that doesn’t involve continuing to send mail to subscribers who aren’t engaging with your content. If you’re not already enrolled in Google’s Postmaster Tools solution, you can find instructions on how to do so here.

Remember: Unsubs are better than complaints

If your unsub rates are up, don’t worry, it’s not the end of the world. Given Gmail’s Subscription Center rollout is still actively occurring and Yahoo offers a subscription center (in Beta) for senders who qualify, unsub rates are likely to stay elevated for the foreseeable future. Other MBPs are likely to follow their lead and introduce similar solutions in the coming years. Taking the recommended actions above can help drive down your unsub rate, but most important, following MBP recommended best practices will help keep your complaint rates down as well.

While unsubs and complaints are typically both viewed as negative indicators against a sender’s reputation, they don’t hold the same weight of severity. An unsub suggests the following:

• consent was given
• sender follows best practices of including easy-to- access unsub link(s)/ list unsubcribe header
• can count as a click (positive reputation indicator)

While a complaint suggests the following:

• no consent given or consent abused
• sender may not be following best practices with an easy to access unsub link(s)/ list-unsubscribe header
• along with bounces, tracked by MBPs as a heavy indicator of negative reputation

Consider each unsub request as a suggestion that something may be off with the overall health or flow of your program. Use the feedback as a reminder to review the opt-in process for transparency and consider changes that put power back in the subscriber’s hands. Allowing the choice of type of content received, frequency of emails and making it easy to update preferences are healthy ways to build trust with your subscribers and keep both unsubs and complaints to a minimum.