---
title: Understanding contact permissions
description: Understanding contact permissions
---
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# Understanding contact permissions
## Understand the different permission statuses that determine who you can contact in Mobiz, and how consent is handled when you add or unsubscribe contacts.
Understanding contact permissions is essential when adding to and managing your contact database.
**In this article:**
1. [The three permission types](https://help.getmobiz.com/understanding-contact-permissions#the-three-permission-types)
2. [Permissions when adding contacts](https://help.getmobiz.com/understanding-contact-permissions#permissions-when-adding-contacts)
3. [Permissions when using Text to Join](https://help.getmobiz.com/understanding-contact-permissions#permissions-when-using-text-to-join)
4. [How to unsubscribe a contact](https://help.getmobiz.com/understanding-contact-permissions#how-to-unsubscribe-a-contact)
5. [A note on unsubscribed contact](https://help.getmobiz.com/understanding-contact-permissions#a-note-on-unsubscribed-contacts)
### The three permission types
- **Subscribed** — The contact has given explicit consent to be contacted by you and can be reached through Mobiz.
- **Pending** — The contact hasn't yet given explicit consent (or is awaiting approval) and can't be contacted through Mobiz.
- **Unsubscribed** — The contact has withdrawn their consent and can't be contacted through Mobiz.
### Permissions when adding contacts
#### Bulk contact uploads
When uploading via CSV, you'll need to request an import so our team can confirm all contacts have given explicit consent. This helps ensure compliance with US rules and regulations.
Once you submit your import request, the support team reviews it. When it's approved, your import button changes to **Import contacts**.
**Pro tip:** To speed up approval, remove any contacts who haven't given permission to be contacted before uploading.
After your upload is approved, the first step will again ask you to confirm that every contact in the file has given your company explicit consent to be contacted.
For a detailed walkthrough, see our [How to import contacts into Mobiz](https://u.getmobiz.com/how-to-import-contacts-into-mobiz?hsLang=en) article.
#### Adding an individual contact
The same consent standards apply when adding contacts one at a time. You can only add contacts who have given explicit consent, and you'll need to confirm this during the process.
Depending on your permissions, an SMS may be sent to the contact to confirm their consent or to let them know they've been subscribed to your SMS list. If a contact needs to confirm consent, they're added as **pending** and can't be contacted until they reply **YES** to the SMS.
### Permissions when using Text to Join
Text to Join helps you gather promotional permissions as you build your SMS subscriber list. You can be confident that the customers you gain through the feature are compliant and can be marketed to in future.
Learn more about this growth tool in [Creating Text to Join keywords](https://u.getmobiz.com/creating-text-to-join-keywords?hsLang=en).
### How to unsubscribe a contact
Sometimes you'll need to unsubscribe a contact yourself — for example, if they email or call your call centre to request it. To do this manually:
1. Go to the Contacts screen from the top navigation bar.
2. Open the All contacts tab and select the contact you want to update.
3. Click **Edit** — the contact's detail panel opens on the right.
4. Click **Actions** in the top right-hand corner, then click **Unsubscribe**.
5. Confirm the unsubscribe. Please note: this can't be undone.
### A note on unsubscribed contacts
Previously subscribed contacts who have been unsubscribed — whether by replying **STOP** or manually via the method above — remain in your database unless you delete them.
Their status shows as unsubscribed, and they're removed from all lists and from the contact counts used to estimate campaign costs. You won't be able to contact them.
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