Suppression List

Manage email addresses that should not receive emails from your account. The suppression list helps maintain sender reputation and comply with email regulations.

Overview

The suppression list is a collection of email addresses that are blocked from receiving emails sent through your FormaMail account. Emails to suppressed addresses are automatically blocked before sending, preventing bounces, complaints, and unwanted communications.

Accessing the Suppression List

Navigate to Settings → Suppression List in the sidebar, or go directly to /settings/suppression.

Why Use a Suppression List?

Protect Sender Reputation

• Avoid sending to invalid email addresses
• Reduce hard bounce rates
• Maintain high deliverability scores

Compliance

• Honor unsubscribe requests
• Comply with email regulations (CAN-SPAM, GDPR)
• Respect recipient preferences

Cost Efficiency

• Don’t waste email credits on blocked addresses
• Reduce processing overhead
• Improve campaign performance metrics

Suppression Reasons

Emails can be added to the suppression list for various reasons:

Statistics Overview

The suppression list page displays key metrics:

• Total Suppressed: Total number of suppressed emails
• Hard Bounces: Count of permanently invalid addresses
• Complaints: Number of spam complaints
• Manual Additions: Emails manually suppressed

Adding Emails to Suppression

Single Email

1. Click Add Email button
2. Enter the email address
3. Select a reason:
   • Manual
   • Bounce (Hard or Soft)
   • Complaint
   • Unsubscribe
4. Click Add to Suppression

Bulk Import

Import multiple emails at once:

1. Click Bulk Import button
2. Enter emails in the textarea:
   • One email per line
   • Or comma-separated
   • Or semicolon-separated
3. Or upload a file:
   • Supported formats: .txt, .csv
4. Select the reason for suppression
5. Click Import

Example input:

user1@example.com
user2@example.com
user3@example.com, user4@example.com

The system validates emails and shows:

• Number of valid emails detected
• Invalid emails (if any)

Managing the Suppression List

Search and Filter

Use the search and filter options to find specific entries:

• Search: Search by email address
• Filter by Reason: Filter by bounce, complaint, manual, or unsubscribe

Viewing Details

Each suppression entry shows:

• Email address
• Reason for suppression
• Bounce type (if applicable)
• Date added
• Source (automatic, import, manual)

Removing from Suppression

To allow sending to a suppressed email again:

1. Find the email in the list
2. Click the delete/remove icon
3. Confirm removal

Warning: Removing an email from suppression will allow future sends. Be cautious with:

• Hard bounced addresses (will likely bounce again)
• Spam complaints (may damage reputation)

Bulk Removal

1. Select multiple emails using checkboxes
2. Click Remove Selected
3. Confirm the bulk removal

Automatic Suppression

FormaMail automatically adds emails to the suppression list when:

Bounces

• Hard Bounces: Automatically suppressed immediately
• Soft Bounces: Suppressed after repeated failures (configurable)

Complaints

When a recipient marks your email as spam in their email client, the complaint is reported via feedback loops and the address is automatically suppressed.

Unsubscribes

When recipients click the unsubscribe link in your emails, they are automatically added to the suppression list.

Best Practices

Regular Maintenance

• Review the suppression list periodically
• Remove outdated manual suppressions if needed
• Monitor bounce and complaint rates

Before Sending Campaigns

• Check your suppression list health
• High suppression rates may indicate list quality issues
• Clean your email lists before importing

Handling Requests

• Honor unsubscribe requests promptly (automated)
• Remove users who request data deletion (GDPR)
• Keep records for compliance

Import Best Practices

• Import known bad addresses proactively
• Add emails from previous campaigns that bounced
• Import complainers from other email services

API Integration

Manage the suppression list programmatically:

// Check if email is suppressed
const check = await api.get('/suppression/check', {
  params: { email: 'user@example.com' }
});
 
// Add to suppression
await api.post('/suppression', {
  email: 'user@example.com',
  reason: 'manual'
});
 
// Bulk add
await api.post('/suppression/bulk', {
  emails: ['user1@example.com', 'user2@example.com'],
  reason: 'bounce',
  bounceType: 'hard'
});
 
// Remove from suppression
await api.delete('/suppression/user@example.com');
 
// Get suppression stats
const stats = await api.get('/suppression/stats');

See the API Reference for complete endpoint documentation.

Troubleshooting

Email Not Being Delivered

Check if the recipient is on the suppression list:

1. Go to Suppression List
2. Search for the email address
3. If found, decide whether to remove

High Bounce Rates

If you’re seeing many bounces:

• Review your email list sources
• Use double opt-in for subscriptions
• Regularly clean your contact lists

Accidental Suppression

If an email was suppressed by mistake:

1. Find the email in the list
2. Remove from suppression
3. Resend the email if needed

Related: Settings | Sender Addresses | Email Logs