# Recipients and filters

## Who gets a mailing

A mailing goes to the bot's contacts from the ticked channels that match the filters. It does not include:

- contacts who have unsubscribed from mailings;
- contacts who have blocked the bot;
- contacts the bot is turned off for — for example, while an operator is talking to the person;
- the test chat on the bot's scheme;
- contacts from MAX.

The list of recipients is collected once — at launch or a minute before sending, [as chosen in the mailing](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/mailings/create#step-2-subscribers). Before sending to each recipient, the platform checks once more whether they have unsubscribed or blocked the bot.

## Filters

At the "Subscribers" step, click "Add filter" and choose a condition:

| Filter | Who matches |
|---|---|
| Contains tags | Contacts that have all the listed tags |
| Does not contain tags | Contacts that have none of the listed tags |
| Subscribed before a certain date | Contacts who first wrote to the bot earlier than the given date and time |
| Subscribed after a certain date | Contacts who first wrote to the bot later than the given date and time |
| Subscribed on certain days of the week | Contacts who first wrote to the bot on the ticked days of the week |
| Has a certain number of referrals | Contacts whose number of invited people is greater than, less than or equal to the given one. The "Count only the first line" checkbox counts only those the person invited themselves |

Dates and days of the week in filters are calculated in the mailing's time zone.

Tags are assigned to contacts by the scenario — the ["Assign tag"](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/blocks/contact-data/add-tags) block. This way you can mark up the audience in advance: for example, tag those who have placed an order and send the mailing only to them.

### Several conditions

- "Add subfilter" adds a condition inside a group.
- "Add filter" creates a new group of conditions.
- Between conditions and between groups you choose the link — "AND" or "OR".

![Filters in edit mode: a group of two conditions joined with AND, and a second group joined with OR](https://support.watbot.org/_media/en/01-chatbots/04-mailings/_images/filters.webp?v=1791781230)

"AND" binds tighter than "OR": the conditions joined by "AND" are checked first, then the results are combined by "OR". The entry "tag A **AND** tag B **OR** tag C" means: contacts with both tags A and B match, and so do all contacts with tag C.

The "Reading mode" button collapses the filters into a short entry, "Edit filters" brings back editing.

![The same filters in read mode](https://support.watbot.org/_media/en/01-chatbots/04-mailings/_images/filters-read.webp?v=1791781230)

## Subscribing and unsubscribing through a scenario

Recipients can also be added from the bot's scenario — for example, when a person has pressed the "I want to get the news" button:

- the ["Subscribe to mailing list"](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/blocks/contact-data/add-to-mailing) block adds the contact to the recipients of the chosen mailing. The mailing's filters are ignored in this case;
- the ["Unsubscribe from mailing list"](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/blocks/contact-data/remove-from-mailing) block removes the contact from the recipients of one mailing or of all at once.

Both blocks work until the mailing has started sending.

## How a person unsubscribes from mailings

If a person writes "стоп", "stop" or "/stop" to the bot, the bot unsubscribes them from mailings and tells them so. The conversation and the contact's data are kept, and the bot keeps replying to them by the scenario — only mailings stop arriving.

- To subscribe again, the person needs to write "Subscribe to newsletter" to the bot. The phrase depends on the bot language chosen in the bot settings.
- If an unsubscribed person writes "stop" once more, the bot stops and deletes their contact together with the data. The person's next message starts the conversation anew.
- A person who blocked the bot and then came back is considered subscribed again.

> [!TIP]
> Tell subscribers how to opt out of mailings: add the line "To stop getting mailings, write 'stop'" to the message, or a button that leads to the "Unsubscribe from mailing list" block. VK requires an unsubscribe button in advertising and informational mailings.

Unsubscribed contacts are visible in the bot's contacts section. The scenario's [delays and timers](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/blocks/time) react to unsubscribing by their own rules.