# Email

Let visitors subscribe to email on your status dashboard.

Source: https://statusdashboard.com/docs/status-dashboards/subscriptions/email

This page covers the public **Subscribe** and manage flows for email on your status dashboard. For org-wide subscriber admin, bulk import, and admin-managed (locked) addresses, see [Email subscribers](/docs/subscriptions/email). For HTML format, delivery logs, and the suppression list, see [Email notifications](/docs/notifications/email).

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## What visitors see
Email subscriptions let visitors choose which components to watch and receive notifications when matching events are created or updated.

On `/subscribe`, visitors with the email channel enabled see an **Email** tab where they:

1. Enter their email address.
2. Select one or more **components** from your dashboard (grouped when component groups are enabled).
3. Complete the **reCAPTCHA** check when the dashboard is public (SSO off).
4. Click **Subscribe**.

They must select at least one component to complete a new subscription. On public dashboards, **Subscribe** stays disabled until reCAPTCHA is completed.

Below the subscribe form, an **Already subscribed?** section lets returning visitors enter their email and click **Manage** to receive a link for updating preferences. The manage-request form also requires reCAPTCHA on public dashboards.

## Double opt-in (verification)
Email subscriptions use **double opt-in**:

1. The visitor submits the subscribe form.
2. StatusDashboard stores a **pending** subscriber record and sends a verification email.
3. The visitor clicks the link in the email (`/subscribe/verify?token=…`).
4. The subscription is **activated** and the visitor is redirected to a management page.

Verification links expire after **24 hours**. If a link expires, the visitor can submit the subscribe form again with the same email (while still unverified).

## Managing preferences
After verification — or after requesting a manage link — visitors land on `/subscribe/manage?token=…`. The management token in the URL (valid for **1 hour**) authorizes read and update operations on that email's subscription. SSO does not replace this token — it only controls whether the visitor may reach the page in the first place.

On the manage page, visitors can:

* See their email address (read-only).
* Add or remove component selections.
* **Clear all components and save** — they stop receiving notifications but remain subscribed until they change selections again or their manage link expires.
* Return later via **Manage** on the subscribe page to receive a fresh link.

Each new verification or manage-link email **revokes** any previous management link for that subscriber, so only the latest link is valid.

## Subscriber limits
Your plan sets a maximum number of **unique email addresses** across your **organization** — not per dashboard. **Pending and verified** subscriptions both count when an address is new to your org (first public signup, admin add, or import).

* Each **new** unique address consumes one slot at sign-up time (before verification completes).
* The same email subscribing on a **second** status dashboard does **not** use an additional slot.
* When the org-wide limit is reached, **new** addresses receive an error at submit time. Addresses **already in your organization** may still subscribe on other dashboards.
* The **Subscribe** link remains visible; capacity is enforced when visitors submit the form.

If a visitor never completes verification, the pending record expires after **24 hours** and the quota slot is released automatically. It may take up to an additional **48 hours** for removal to process — during that window a slot may still appear used in the admin quota bar. See [Quota bar](/docs/subscriptions/email#quota-bar).

## What admins control vs. what visitors control
| Setting                                 | Controlled by                                                                                        |
| --------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Whether email subscriptions are offered | Plan + dashboard **Subscriptions** tab toggle                                                        |
| Which components a visitor watches      | Visitor (at subscribe or on manage page), unless the subscription is **admin-managed (locked)** |
| Subscriber capacity                     | Plan quota                                                                                           |
| Admin-managed (locked) subscriptions    | Admin only — see [Email subscribers](/docs/subscriptions/email#admin-managed-locked-subscribers)     |

**Admin-managed** addresses (for example distribution lists) are locked by admins. Locked subscribers continue to receive notifications but cannot use the public subscribe or manage flows.

## Security notes
* When SSO is enabled, visitors must authenticate through your IdP before using subscribe or manage APIs — the same gate as the rest of the dashboard. reCAPTCHA is not shown on SSO-protected dashboards.
* On **public** dashboards (SSO off), subscribe and manage-request forms require reCAPTCHA. This applies even when an IP allowlist is configured — allowed IPs must still pass the check.
* Subscription actions are always scoped to an email address proved via verify or manage tokens; SSO identity alone does not grant access to another person's subscription.
* IP allowlist rules still apply to subscribe traffic when configured.
* Management tokens are opaque, short-lived, and passed in the URL for the active session. Treat manage links like password-reset links — do not share them.

## Email domain allowlist
When your plan includes email subscriptions and the dashboard **Email** channel is enabled, the **Subscriptions** tab shows an **Email Domain Allowlist** card.

Use it to restrict which email domains may **self-subscribe** on the public status page:

1. Add one or more domains (DNS-style FQDNs such as `company.com` or `mail.company.com`).
2. Enable the allowlist toggle.

**Rules:**

* **Exact match only** — listing `company.com` does **not** allow `mail.company.com` unless you add that subdomain explicitly.
* **Empty list + enabled** blocks all public email signups (same behavior as an empty IP allowlist).
* Domain count per status dashboard is capped; the admin console shows your organization's limit when you edit the allowlist.
* Turning off the dashboard **Email** channel hides the card; your domain list is preserved when you re-enable email.

**Does not apply to:**

* Subscribers you add in the admin console (including bulk import).
* Manage-link or verification flows for subscribers already in your organization.

See [Email subscribers](/docs/subscriptions/email) for admin-managed addresses.