# Editing Contacts

Update contact details, custom fields and subscription status.

Every contact in SendBeam has a profile page where you can view all of their information and
an edit page where you update it. Whether you need to correct a misspelled name, fill in a
custom field, or manually adjust a subscription status, this is where you do it.

## Opening a contact profile

You can reach a contact's profile from several places in SendBeam:

- From the **Contacts** list: click the contact's name or email to open their
  profile.
- From a **list's page**: contacts listed as members link to their profile.
- From the **Dashboard**: the Recent Contacts panel links to each profile.

The profile shows the contact's details, tags, lists, custom fields and activity. To edit the contact:

1. Click the **Edit** button at the top of the profile page. The edit page opens
  with the current values filled in.
2. Make your changes to any of the fields. You can update several fields before saving.
3. Click **Save**. You are returned to the profile with the new values.
4. To discard your changes without saving, use the back arrow instead.

> Changes to a contact take effect immediately. Segments are evaluated when they are used, so
> a campaign sent after the edit sees the updated data.
> 

## Editable fields

The following fields can be edited from the contact's edit page:

- **Email address** — you can correct a typo or update an address. The new address
  must not already belong to another contact in the workspace.
- **First name** — used in `{"{{first_name}}"}` merge tags throughout
  your campaigns.
- **Last name** — used in `{"{{last_name}}"}` merge tags.
- **Status** — Subscribed, Unsubscribed, Bounced or Complained. See below.
- **Custom fields** — one input per field declared under Settings → Custom fields,
  matching its type: a date picker for a Date field, Yes/No for a yes/no field, a list for a
  dropdown, a number box for a number. A value that no longer fits its field's type is shown as
  it is with a *Does not fit* mark and must be corrected or cleared to save. Each field is
  available as a `{"{{custom_fields.key}}"}` merge tag and in segment rules —
  see [Custom fields](https://sendbeam.io/docs/contacts/custom-fields).

Tags and list memberships are not edited here. Add or remove tags from the
[Contacts list](https://sendbeam.io/docs/tags/tagging-contacts) (select the contact, then Add tag or
Remove tag), and manage list membership from the [list's page](https://sendbeam.io/docs/lists/managing-members). The profile shows the contact's current tags and lists, with a link to each list.

> The **Source**, **Created**, **Subscribed** and
> **Unsubscribed** timestamps shown on the profile are set automatically and
> cannot be edited.
> 

## Changing subscription status

A contact's status controls whether they can receive emails from you. You can change it by
hand when necessary — for example, to re-subscribe someone who unsubscribed by mistake, or to
mark a contact as unsubscribed at their request.

To change the status:

1. Open the contact profile and click **Edit**.
2. Choose the new value in the **Status** dropdown.
3. Choosing **Unsubscribed** reveals **Also block this address so it can never be re-added**, ticked by default. Leave it ticked unless you have a reason not to (see below).
4. Click **Save**. The status updates immediately and applies to every list this
  contact belongs to — only **Subscribed** contacts receive campaigns and
  automation emails.

### Marked versus blocked

**Unsubscribed** on its own is a status: it keeps the contact out of every campaign
and automation, but nothing stops the address coming back. A later CSV import that lists it as
subscribed, an API call, or the person filling in one of your signup forms would make it a
subscriber again. **Blocking** puts the address on the workspace's
[suppression list](https://sendbeam.io/docs/contacts/suppressions), which every one of those paths
checks: an import brings it in as unsubscribed, the API refuses with `409`, and only
the person themselves — opting in again through a form — can lift it.

The contact profile shows which of the two you have. A blocked address carries a
**Suppressed** badge next to its status, with the reason (`unsubscribed`,
`bounced`, `complained` or `deleted`). A contact that is
unsubscribed but not blocked says so, with a **Block this address** link that does it
in one click. Untick the box only when the unsubscribe is temporary — a pause you expect to undo
yourself, say.

The same choice exists everywhere a status is set: the bulk **Unsubscribe** action on
the Contacts page offers the box for the whole selection, and the API takes
`suppress: true` alongside `status: "unsubscribed"` (off unless you send it —
see the [API reference](https://sendbeam.io/docs/api#patch-api-v1-contacts-id)).

### Re-subscribing a blocked contact

Setting a blocked contact back to **Subscribed** is refused unless the block is an
`unsubscribed` one and you tick **They asked to be re-subscribed — lift the block**, which appears under the Status field when you choose Subscribed. Tick it only when
the person has told you they want your emails again; saving removes the address from the
suppression list and sets the status. A `bounced`, `complained` or
`deleted` block cannot be lifted this way — the address is dead, the person reported you,
or the record was removed — and the page says which (a workspace admin can lift a
`deleted` block from the [Suppressions page](https://sendbeam.io/docs/contacts/suppressions#lift)).
Changing a contact's email address to one that is blocked follows the same rule.

> Re-subscribing a contact who previously marked your email as spam (**Complained**
> status) is strongly discouraged. Sending to complaint contacts significantly increases the
> risk of further spam reports, which can damage your deliverability and can get the
> workspace's sending paused.
> 

## Viewing engagement history

The **Activity Timeline** on the right of every contact profile lists the campaigns
the contact has been sent, newest first. Each entry shows the campaign name and subject, the
delivery status, and whether the contact opened or clicked. This gives you a quick picture of
how engaged the contact is.

The timeline is read-only. For a full per-message log across the workspace, including
automation emails, see the **Log** tab under [Reports](https://sendbeam.io/docs/analytics).

## Archive, delete or erase

Three ways to take a contact out of your audience, each doing something different to the
address. The profile's buttons say which is which before anything happens.

- **Archive** — the contact leaves the working list: hidden from the Contacts
  page (choose the *Archived* status filter to see them), never mailed, not counted
  against your plan. The address is *not* blocked. **Restore** brings the
  contact back with the status it had; a signup, an import or `POST /api/v1/contacts`
  at the same address restores it too. Use this for "out of the way, might come back" — a
  test contact, a paused customer, a duplicate you are not sure about.
- **Delete** — the record and its send history are removed (the email log keeps
  an anonymous placeholder). The address goes on the suppression list as `deleted`,
  so a later import or API call cannot quietly add it back as subscribed. A workspace admin can
  lift that block from the [Suppressions page](https://sendbeam.io/docs/contacts/suppressions#lift) if
  the deletion was a mistake, and the person can always return through a signup form.
- **Erase** — for a request to be forgotten. The same removal, but the suppression
  row keeps a one-way hash alone (no masked form, no domain) and can never be lifted from the
  app. Only the person can return, by subscribing again themselves.

Through the API, `DELETE /api/v1/contacts/{id}` is a delete,
`?mode=erase` an erasure, and `PATCH` with `status: "archived"`
an archive; the bulk endpoint takes `archive`, `restore`,
`delete` and `erase`. Deleting or erasing frees the contact's slot in your
plan's limit; so does archiving, since only subscribed contacts count.

---
Source: https://sendbeam.io/docs/contacts/editing