Double Opt-In

The Double Opt-In (DOI) process is crucial for ensuring that a subscriber actually owns the email address they provided and actively consents to receiving your emails. In many jurisdictions (such as under the GDPR), a strict Double Opt-In process is legally required.

With CleverReach, sending DOI emails and confirming signups via the API is fully supported and highly recommended.

Overview of the Flow

Implementing Double Opt-In via the API involves the following steps:

1. Create/Update Receiver: You add the receiver to your CleverReach list, but they are initially set to an inactive state (e.g., active: false).
2. Trigger DOI Email: You trigger a Automation Flow (which contains a DOI mailing template) to send the activation email.
3. User Action: The user clicks the activation link in the email.
4. Confirmation: CleverReach automatically confirms the subscription and sets the receiver to active = true.

Flows & DOI Mailings

Before using the API to trigger DOI emails, you must create a Form within your CleverReach account and configure the Double Opt-In Email template. You will need the Flow ID to trigger the process via the API.

Step-by-Step Implementation

1. Add Receiver (Inactive)

First, add the receiver to a specific group (list). Ensure they are added as inactive.

POST /v3/groups.json/{group_id}/receivers
Authorization: Bearer <your_access_token>
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "email": "john.doe@example.com",
  "registered": 1690000000,
  "activated": 0,
  "source": "My Custom Form",
  "global_attributes": {
    "firstname": "John",
    "lastname": "Doe"
  }
}

2. Trigger the Activation Email

Once the receiver exists (in an inactive state), you instruct CleverReach to send the DOI email. This requires a specific Flow ID.

POST /v3/flow/flow/{flow_id}/send
Authorization: Bearer <your_access_token>
Content-Type: application/json

{
    "receiver_id": "john.doe@example.com",
    "doidata": {
        "user_ip": "192.168.0.1",
        "referer": "https://www.myshop.com/newsletter-signup",
        "user_agent": "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64)..."
    }
}

DOI Data payload

The doidata object allows you to attach legal proof to the subscriber. Capturing the user's IP, browser agent, and exact sign-up URL provides an excellent audit trail should you ever need to prove consent.

Summary

1. Always prefer letting CleverReach handle the Double Opt-In mailing via POST /flow/flow/{flow_id}/send.
2. Provide doidata to maintain a robust legal audit trail.
3. Ensure you have configured a Flow and its associated DOI email template in the CleverReach Dashboard prior to making API calls.