Salesforce Marketing Cloud Data Views: _Unsubscribe

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The _Unsubscribe data view in Salesforce Marketing Cloud (SFMC) helps you monitor when and how subscribers opt out of your email communications. This data is vital for maintaining compliance, managing engagement, and ensuring proper list hygiene.

In this blog, we’ll explore the structure of the _Unsubscribe data view, explain each field, provide common use cases, and share actionable SQL queries to help you manage and analyze unsubscribe events effectively.

What is the _Unsubscribe Data View?

The _Unsubscribe data view captures every unsubscribe event related to your email sends, whether through list-unsubscribe headers or manual preference center submissions. It retains data for up to six months.

Key Benefits of _Unsubscribe Data View

  • Compliance Tracking: Ensure adherence to privacy laws like GDPR, CAN-SPAM, etc.
  • Engagement Monitoring: Understand disengagement trends.
  • List Hygiene: Maintain up-to-date contact lists.
  • Targeting Improvements: Adjust content strategy based on opt-out signals.

Fields in _Unsubscribe Data View & Their Uses

FieldTypeDescription & Use Case
AccountIDNumberUnique ID for the SFMC account. Important for enterprise-level reporting.
OYBAccountIDNumberParent account ID in enterprise accounts. Useful for identifying organizational-level data.
JobIDNumberUnique ID of the email send. Joinable with _Sent, _Click, etc.
ListIDNumberThe list ID used in the send. Helpful in analyzing unsubscribe behavior across different audiences.
BatchIDNumberIdentifies the batch in which the subscriber was sent the email. Used for granular reporting.
SubscriberIDNumberSystem-generated ID of the subscriber.
SubscriberKeyText(254)Unique external ID for the subscriber. Often the email address or customer ID.
EventDateDateThe timestamp of the unsubscribe event. Useful for time-based trends.
IsUniqueBooleanIndicates whether the unsubscribe event was unique for the job. Used to eliminate duplicates in reporting.
DomainText(128)Email domain of the subscriber (e.g., gmail.com). Useful for domain-level engagement analysis.

When and Why to Use _Unsubscribe Data View?

When to Use?

  • After each campaign to track opt-out behavior.
  • When conducting list hygiene and cleanup.
  • When analyzing domain-based engagement trends.
  • For building re-engagement or suppression segments.

Why Use It?

  • Protect Sender Reputation: Unsubscribes help avoid spam complaints.
  • Comply with Privacy Laws: Ensure opted-out users are removed.
  • Understand Churn: Spot trends that lead to disengagement.
  • Improve Relevance: Tailor content to reduce future unsubscribes.

10 Example Scenarios and Queries

1. Retrieve All Unsubscribes in the Last 30 Days

SELECT SubscriberKey, EventDate, Domain 
FROM _Unsubscribe 
WHERE EventDate >= DATEADD(day, -30, GETDATE())

Use Case: Monthly churn analysis.

2. Count Total Unsubscribes by Domain

SELECT Domain, COUNT(*) AS UnsubscribeCount 
FROM _Unsubscribe 
GROUP BY Domain

Use Case: Identify domain-specific opt-out trends.

3. List of Unique Unsubscribers

SELECT DISTINCT SubscriberKey 
FROM _Unsubscribe

Use Case: Create a suppression list.

4. Unsubscribes for a Specific Campaign (JobID)

SELECT SubscriberKey, EventDate 
FROM _Unsubscribe 
WHERE JobID = 789012

Use Case: Track impact of specific email content.

5. Identify High-Unsubscribe Lists

SELECT ListID, COUNT(*) AS Unsubscribes 
FROM _Unsubscribe 
GROUP BY ListID 
ORDER BY Unsubscribes DESC

Use Case: Optimize or retire poor-performing lists.

6. Time-Based Unsubscribe Trends

SELECT CAST(EventDate AS DATE) AS DateOnly, COUNT(*) AS Unsubscribes 
FROM _Unsubscribe 
GROUP BY CAST(EventDate AS DATE)

Use Case: Visualize opt-out behavior over time.

7. Retrieve Unsubscribes from Specific Domain

SELECT SubscriberKey, EventDate 
FROM _Unsubscribe 
WHERE Domain = 'gmail.com'

Use Case: Analyze Gmail subscriber engagement.

8. Unique vs Repeated Unsubscribes

SELECT IsUnique, COUNT(*) AS Count 
FROM _Unsubscribe 
GROUP BY IsUnique

Use Case: Understand if unsubscribes are one-time or recurring.

9. Subscribers Who Unsubscribed Multiple Times

SELECT SubscriberKey, COUNT(*) AS Total 
FROM _Unsubscribe 
GROUP BY SubscriberKey 
HAVING COUNT(*) > 1

Use Case: Identify chronic unsubscribers.

10. Join with _Sent to Analyze Pre-Unsubscribe Behavior

SELECT s.SubscriberKey, s.EventDate AS SentDate, u.EventDate AS UnsubDate 
FROM _Sent s 
JOIN _Unsubscribe u 
ON s.SubscriberKey = u.SubscriberKey 
WHERE u.EventDate >= DATEADD(day, -30, GETDATE())

Use Case: Understand what emails trigger opt-outs.

Conclusion

The _Unsubscribe data view in Salesforce Marketing Cloud is critical for tracking disengagement and maintaining a healthy subscriber list. By monitoring opt-out activity, marketers can refine their content strategy, improve audience targeting, and ensure compliance.

Use _Unsubscribe in combination with _Sent, _Open, _Click, and _Bounce to gain full visibility into subscriber lifecycle and engagement trends.

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