Suppress Globally Unsubscribed Contacts

Suppress Globally Unsubscribed Contacts

Purpose

Contacts who have globally unsubscribed cannot legally be sent marketing emails under CAN-SPAM, GDPR, or CASL. Despite this, they may still be classified as "marketing contacts" in HubSpot, meaning the organization is paying for contacts it cannot and must not email. This skill identifies all globally unsubscribed contacts, analyzes their lifecycle distribution, and guides suppression.

Prerequisites

• A HubSpot private app access token with crm.objects.contacts.read and crm.lists.read/crm.lists.write scopes
• Python 3.10+ with uv for package management
• A .env file containing HUBSPOT_ACCESS_TOKEN
• Super Admin or Marketing Hub Admin permissions for the manual UI suppression step

Key Constraint

hs_marketable_status is read-only via the API. The API handles discovery and audit. Actual suppression must happen in the HubSpot UI.

Execution Pattern

This skill follows a 4-stage execution pattern: Plan -> Before State -> Execute -> After State.

Stage 1: Plan

Before writing any code, confirm with the user:

1. Do not re-subscribe anyone. Even if the unsubscribe pattern looks like a batch import error, re-subscribing contacts without explicit consent violates CAN-SPAM and GDPR.
2. Billing impact: Non-marketing status changes take effect at the start of the next billing cycle.
3. Investigate uniform patterns: If all subscription types show nearly identical unsubscribe counts, this suggests a batch event (migration, import error, compliance sweep) rather than organic opt-outs. Understanding the origin prevents recurrence.

Stage 2: Before State

Count globally unsubscribed contacts, break down by lifecycle stage, and generate an audit CSV.

"""
Before State: Count globally unsubscribed contacts.
Note: >10K results means the Search API pagination limit may apply.
Uses count-only queries and segmented exports.
"""
import os
import csv
import time
import requests
from dotenv import load_dotenv

load_dotenv()

TOKEN = os.environ["HUBSPOT_ACCESS_TOKEN"]
BASE = "https://api.hubapi.com"
headers = {
    "Authorization": f"Bearer {TOKEN}",
    "Content-Type": "application/​json",
}

url = f"{BASE}/​crm/​v3/​objects/​contacts/​search"

# --- Step 1: Total count ---
resp = requests.post(url, headers=headers, json={
    "filterGroups": [{"filters": [
        {"propertyName": "hs_email_optout", "operator": "EQ", "value": "true"}
    ]}],
    "limit": 1,
})
resp.raise_for_status()
total_unsubscribed = resp.json().get("total", 0)
print(f"Total globally unsubscribed: {total_unsubscribed}")

# --- Step 2: How many are still marketing? ---
resp2 = requests.post(url, headers=headers, json={
    "filterGroups": [{"filters": [
        {"propertyName": "hs_email_optout", "operator": "EQ", "value": "true"},
        {"propertyName": "hs_marketable_status", "operator": "EQ", "value": "true"},
    ]}],
    "limit": 1,
})
resp2.raise_for_status()
still_marketing = resp2.json().get("total", 0)
already_non_marketing = total_unsubscribed - still_marketing

print(f"Still marketing (need suppression): {still_marketing}")
print(f"Already non-marketing: {already_non_marketing}")

# --- Step 3: Lifecycle stage breakdown ---
print("\nLifecycle stage breakdown:")
stages = [
    "lead", "subscriber", "marketingqualifiedlead",
    "salesqualifiedlead", "opportunity", "customer",
    "evangelist", "other",
]

for stage in stages:
    resp_s = requests.post(url, headers=headers, json={
        "filterGroups": [{"filters": [
            {"propertyName": "hs_email_optout", "operator": "EQ", "value": "true"},
            {"propertyName": "lifecyclestage", "operator": "EQ", "value": stage},
        ]}],
        "limit": 1,
    })
    if resp_s.status_code == 200:
        count = resp_s.json().get("total", 0)
        if count > 0:
            print(f"  {stage}: {count}")
    time.sleep(0.1)

# Check contacts with no lifecycle stage
resp_empty = requests.post(url, headers=headers, json={
    "filterGroups": [{"filters": [
        {"propertyName": "hs_email_optout", "operator": "EQ", "value": "true"},
        {"propertyName": "lifecyclestage", "operator": "NOT_HAS_PROPERTY"},
    ]}],
    "limit": 1,
})
if resp_empty.status_code == 200:
    empty_count = resp_empty.json().get("total", 0)
    if empty_count > 0:
        print(f"  (no lifecycle stage): {empty_count}")

CRITICAL: API pagination limit. The HubSpot CRM Search API caps at 10,000 results per query. For larger sets, use segmented queries to get complete exports.

# --- Step 4: Export CSV using segmented queries ---
# If total > 10K, segment by lifecycle stage to bypass the pagination cap.

PROPS = [
    "email", "firstname", "lastname", "hs_email_optout",
    "hs_marketable_status", "lifecyclestage", "createdate",
]

all_contacts = []

if total_unsubscribed <= 10000:
    # Simple pagination
    segments = [(None, None)]  # No lifecycle filter needed
else:
    # Segment by lifecycle stage to keep each under 10K
    segments = [
        ("lifecyclestage", "lead"),
        ("lifecyclestage", "subscriber"),
        ("lifecyclestage", "marketingqualifiedlead"),
        ("lifecyclestage", "salesqualifiedlead"),
        ("lifecyclestage", "opportunity"),
        ("lifecyclestage", "customer"),
        ("lifecyclestage", "evangelist"),
        ("lifecyclestage", "other"),
        ("lifecyclestage", None),  # NOT_HAS_PROPERTY
    ]

for seg_prop, seg_value in segments:
    after = None
    seg_filters = [
        {"propertyName": "hs_email_optout", "operator": "EQ", "value": "true"},
    ]
    if seg_prop and seg_value:
        seg_filters.append(
            {"propertyName": seg_prop, "operator": "EQ", "value": seg_value}
        )
    elif seg_prop and seg_value is None:
        seg_filters.append(
            {"propertyName": seg_prop, "operator": "NOT_HAS_PROPERTY"}
        )

    while True:
        payload = {
            "filterGroups": [{"filters": seg_filters}],
            "properties": PROPS,
            "limit": 100,
        }
        if after:
            payload["after"] = after

        resp = requests.post(url, headers=headers, json=payload)
        if resp.status_code != 200:
            break

        data = resp.json()
        for contact in data.get("results", []):
            props = contact.get("properties", {})
            all_contacts.append({
                "id": contact["id"],
                "email": props.get("email", ""),
                "firstname": props.get("firstname", ""),
                "lastname": props.get("lastname", ""),
                "unsubscribed": props.get("hs_email_optout", ""),
                "marketable_status": props.get("hs_marketable_status", ""),
                "lifecycle_stage": props.get("lifecyclestage", ""),
                "createdate": props.get("createdate", ""),
            })

        paging = data.get("paging", {})
        after = paging.get("next", {}).get("after")
        if not after:
            break
        time.sleep(0.15)

# Save CSV
os.makedirs("data/​audit-logs", exist_ok=True)
csv_path = "data/​audit-logs/​globally-unsubscribed-contacts.csv"

with open(csv_path, "w", newline="") as f:
    writer = csv.DictWriter(f, fieldnames=[
        "id", "email", "firstname", "lastname",
        "unsubscribed", "marketable_status", "lifecycle_stage", "createdate",
    ])
    writer.writeheader()
    writer.writerows(all_contacts)

print(f"\nAudit CSV saved: {csv_path} ({len(all_contacts)} records)")
if len(all_contacts) < total_unsubscribed:
    print(f"Warning: {total_unsubscribed - len(all_contacts)} contacts "
          f"not captured (pagination limits)")

Present findings to the user before proceeding. Key data points:

• Total unsubscribed contacts
• How many are still billed as marketing (this is the actionable number)
• Lifecycle breakdown (are any customers unsubscribed? That warrants investigation)

Stage 3: Execute

Step 3a: Create a HubSpot active list via API

"""
Execute (API part): Create a HubSpot active list for unsubscribed contacts.
"""
list_payload = {
    "name": "CLEANUP: Globally Unsubscribed",
    "objectTypeId": "0-1",
    "processingType": "DYNAMIC",
    "filterBranch": {
        "filterBranchType": "OR",
        "filterBranches": [
            {
                "filterBranchType": "AND",
                "filterBranches": [],
                "filters": [
                    {
                        "filterType": "PROPERTY",
                        "property": "hs_email_optout",
                        "operation": {
                            "operationType": "ENUMERATION",
                            "operator": "IS_EQUAL_TO",
                            "value": "true",
                        },
                    }
                ],
            }
        ],
        "filters": [],
    },
}

resp = requests.post(
    f"{BASE}/​crm/​v3/​lists", headers=headers, json=list_payload,
)

if resp.status_code in (200, 201):
    list_data = resp.json()
    list_id = list_data.get("listId") or list_data.get("list", {}).get("listId")
    print(f"List created! ID: {list_id}")
elif resp.status_code == 409:
    print("List already exists (409 conflict). Use the existing list.")
else:
    print(f"Failed: {resp.status_code} — {resp.text[:300]}")

Step 3b: Suppress contacts in HubSpot UI

Instruct the user to perform these steps manually:

1. Open the list "CLEANUP: Globally Unsubscribed" in HubSpot
2. Click the checkbox in the table header row
3. Click "Select all N contacts in this list" in the blue banner
4. Click More > Set marketing contact status
5. Select Set as non-marketing contact
6. Click Confirm
7. For large lists (10K+), HubSpot may process this in batches over several minutes

Step 3c: Keep the list active permanently

Do NOT delete this list. It is DYNAMIC and will automatically capture future unsubscribes. Recommend running this suppression process monthly or setting up a HubSpot workflow:

• Trigger: Unsubscribed from all email is equal to True
• Action: Set marketing contact status to non-marketing

Stage 4: After State

Re-run the Before State marketing status query. The still_marketing count should be zero.

"""
After State: Verify unsubscribed contacts are suppressed.
"""
resp = requests.post(url, headers=headers, json={
    "filterGroups": [{"filters": [
        {"propertyName": "hs_email_optout", "operator": "EQ", "value": "true"},
        {"propertyName": "hs_marketable_status", "operator": "EQ", "value": "true"},
    ]}],
    "limit": 1,
})
resp.raise_for_status()
remaining = resp.json().get("total", 0)

if remaining == 0:
    print("SUCCESS: All globally unsubscribed contacts are non-marketing.")
else:
    print(f"WARNING: {remaining} unsubscribed contacts are still marketing.")

Safety Mechanisms

Technical Gotchas

1. API pagination limit is 10K contacts. The HubSpot CRM Search API cannot return more than 10,000 results per query, even with pagination. For datasets larger than 10K, use segmented queries -- add a secondary filter (lifecycle stage, create date range, etc.) to break the set into chunks under 10K each.

2. hs_email_optout is the correct property. The filter is hs_email_optout EQ true. Do not confuse with subscription-type-specific opt-outs (e.g., hs_email_optout_<ID>), which are per-subscription.

3. List API filter syntax differs from Search API. The Lists API uses operationType: "ENUMERATION" with operator: "IS_EQUAL_TO", while the Search API uses operator: "EQ". These are different APIs with different schemas.

4. Uniform unsubscribe patterns are suspicious. If all subscription types show nearly identical counts, it indicates a batch event (import, migration, compliance sweep) rather than organic opt-outs. Flag this for the user.

5. Do not re-subscribe contacts. Even if a batch unsubscribe was an error, the only legally compliant path is to contact them through a non-email channel and ask them to re-subscribe via an opt-in form.

6. hs_marketable_status is read-only via API. Same constraint as suppress-hard-bounced. See that skill's gotchas for the custom-property-flag workaround.

Package Setup

uv init hubspot-cleanup
cd hubspot-cleanup
uv add requests python-dotenv

Create a .env file:

HUBSPOT_ACCESS_TOKEN=pat-na1-xxxxxxxx