Basics

This page explains how deactivation works in Mapp Engage, including what triggers deactivation, how it affects messaging, and how deactivated contacts can be managed or reactivated.

1. When does deactivation happen?

Contacts in Mapp Engage are automatically deactivated when they generate a predefined number of email-based responses. These are returned by email providers and indicate that the contact is no longer reachable or has marked your messages as unwanted.

Typical triggers include:

• Invalid addresses (hard bounces)

• Spam complaints (via feedback loops)

Only email responses are considered. SMS and mobile push activity are not taken into account.

You can define the exact deactivation thresholds in your Deactivation Handling Configuration.

2. What happens when a contact is deactivated?

Once deactivated, a contact is automatically excluded from all communication across email, SMS, push, and in-app.

Deactivation is system-wide: if triggered in one group, it applies across all groups in your Engage environment. This ensures consistent deliverability protection.

3. Managing deactivated contacts

You can choose how Mapp Engage handles deactivated contacts, depending on your goals and contact status.

Options include:

These rules can be customized in your Deactivation Handling Settings.

4. Group-level overrides

Although deactivation is enforced system-wide by default, you can override this in your group settings.

This allows specific groups to still send to deactivated contacts, but use this option with care — bypassing deactivation may negatively impact your IP reputation and deliverability.

5. Temporary deactivation and reactivation

In some cases, deactivation may result from transient issues, such as temporary delivery failures. Mapp Engage allows you to automatically reactivate these contacts after a set number of days — for example, 14 days after a soft bounce.

These settings help ensure that valid contacts are not lost due to short-term issues.

To learn how to configure this, see: Configure Deactivation Handling

6. Export and review

You can manage deactivated contacts by:

• Exporting a list of system-wide deactivated contacts

• Reactivating individual contacts

• Removing deactivated contacts