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Do Not Disturb (DND) for Contacts

Do Not Disturb (DND) is a per-contact setting that blocks outgoing communications, incoming messages, or both on one or more channels. It is the primary mechanism for honoring opt-outs and preventing unwanted contact.

DND settings live directly on the contact record and can also be managed through workflows for large-scale or automated opt-out handling.

Outbound vs. inbound DND

Section titled “Outbound vs. inbound DND”

DND has two independent directions:

  • Outbound DND — prevents the system from sending messages or placing calls to the contact on the specified channel. This is the most common use case and can be set per channel (Email, SMS, Calls, Facebook Messenger, Google Business Profile, WhatsApp).
  • Inbound DND — blocks incoming calls and SMS from the contact’s number. Inbound DND applies across all channels at once; it cannot be scoped to a single channel. Inbound calls are blocked directly; inbound SMS are suppressed at the system level (carrier charges may still apply).

When a contact’s DND is active for a channel, any workflow action or manual send targeting that channel is silently skipped for that contact.

Setting DND on a contact record

Section titled “Setting DND on a contact record”

The DND tab on a contact record showing per-channel toggle switches for Email, SMS, Calls, Facebook Messenger, and the All Channels global toggle

  1. Go to Contacts in the main navigation.
  2. Open the contact’s profile.
  3. Scroll to the DND section in the left column.
  4. To block all channels at once, enable the All Channels toggle.
  5. To target a specific channel, expand the channel list and toggle the individual channel on or off.
  6. For outbound DND, each channel can be toggled independently. For inbound DND, the toggle applies to calls and SMS simultaneously.

Active DND channels appear grayed out in the DND section to indicate they are blocked.

How DND is set automatically

Section titled “How DND is set automatically”

Several system events trigger DND automatically without any manual action:

Email

  • The contact unsubscribes via an email link.
  • The contact marks a message as spam.
  • A permanent delivery failure (hard bounce) is recorded.

To clear email DND after an automatic trigger, confirm the email address is valid, verify it is not on a suppression list, and then manually update the DND status on the contact record.

SMS

  • The contact replies with a standard opt-out keyword such as STOP or UNSUBSCRIBE.
  • The carrier returns specific error codes indicating the number cannot receive messages (error codes 30003, 30004, 30005, 30006).

Clearing SMS DND depends on how it was set:

  • Temporary DND can be updated directly in the contact record.
  • Permanent DND (from a carrier-level opt-out) requires the contact to re-opt-in by texting START, or your team to submit proof of opt-in to have it removed manually.

Using workflows to manage DND at scale

Section titled “Using workflows to manage DND at scale”

The contact detail page showing the DND section in the left panel with individual channels grayed out to indicate active blocking

Rather than updating DND contact by contact, workflows let you apply and clear DND consistently across your entire database.

Useful workflow triggers:

  • Contact DND — fires whenever DND is enabled or disabled on a contact; filter by channel and direction to branch your logic.
  • Trigger Link Clicked — use an unsubscribe link in an email or SMS, then route contacts who click it into a workflow that enables the appropriate per-channel DND.

Useful workflow actions:

  • DND Contact — enable or disable global or per-channel DND. Set direction to Inbound or Outbound depending on what you need to block.
  • Update Contact Field — stamp supporting fields such as opt-in timestamp or consent source at the same time.
  • Remove from Workflow / Stop Campaign — halt any in-progress sends immediately when DND becomes active.
  • Internal Notification — alert the contact owner when a high-value contact opts out.

Tracking who changed DND

Section titled “Tracking who changed DND”

Every DND status change is logged in the contact’s activity log and conversation feed. The log entry shows:

  • Whether DND was enabled or disabled.
  • Which channel was affected (or all channels).
  • The source of the change: Workflow, User (a team member), or Contact (the person themselves).

This attribution is automatic and requires no additional setup.

Frequently asked questions

Section titled “Frequently asked questions”

Does DND stop all communications to a contact? Only if global DND is active. If DND is set per channel, the contact still receives messages on channels where DND is off.

Can I enable DND for a specific channel while leaving others open? Yes, for outbound DND. Per-channel control is available for Email, SMS, Calls, Facebook Messenger, Google Business Profile, and WhatsApp. Inbound DND cannot be limited to a single channel — it applies to calls and SMS together.

How do I know if a contact is in DND? Open the contact profile and check the DND section in the left column. Blocked channels appear grayed out.

Can a workflow re-enable a channel after DND is set? Yes. The DND Contact workflow action supports both enable and disable, so you can build logic to restore communication for a contact who has re-opted-in.

If DND is on and a workflow tries to send, what happens? The send step is skipped for that contact. The workflow continues to subsequent steps; it does not error out.