Anonymizer

The Anonymizer allows you to automatically anonymize contact data when contacts no longer need to be actively used in your campaigns. You can create rules based on groups, such as unsubscribers, bounces, spam complaints, or your own custom groups.

The Anonymizer helps you clean up contact data without manually removing records. You decide which fields are anonymized and after how many days anonymization should take place.

When should I use the Anonymizer?

Use the Anonymizer when you no longer need to store personally identifiable information, while keeping the contact records or campaign statistics available in Spotler MailPro.

Common use cases include:

• Anonymizing contacts after they unsubscribe
• Anonymizing contacts after a hard bounce or spam complaint
• Anonymizing contacts in old or inactive groups
• Automatically anonymizing contacts after a defined retention period

You can also create a custom group for contacts who have not shown interaction for a longer period, for example no opens or clicks. Set this group to inactive and then select the group in the Anonymizer. This allows you to anonymize these contacts without marking them as bounced, unsubscribed, or spam complaints.

How does the Anonymizer work?

A contact can be anonymized once they become a member of one of the selected groups. These can be default system groups or your own custom groups.

Commonly used groups include:

• Unsubscribers
• Soft bounce (def)
• Hard bounce (def)
• Spam complaints
• Inactive groups

Spotler MailPro performs anonymization every night around midnight. All contacts that have been in the selected group(s) for longer than the configured retention period are anonymized. The Anonymizer is configured per campaign.

You can configure which fields, in addition to the contact's email address, are anonymized. Anonymized contacts receive an email address in the following format: recipient_[recipient_id]@example.com.

Important: Once a contact has been anonymized, the original email address is no longer available. Make sure contacts who unsubscribed, bounced, or submitted a spam complaint are not imported again, otherwise they will be created as new contact records and can receive emails again.

How do I use the Anonymizer?

1. When the Anonymizer feature is available, you can find it under Setup.
   
    
2. Click Insert.
3. A screen opens where you create an Anonymization rule.
   
   Groups:
   Select one or more groups whose contacts you want to anonymize. You can select both default system groups and inactive groups.
   Fields:
   Select the fields you want to anonymize. The email field is always anonymized.
   Anonymize all database fields:
   If you want to anonymize all fields, select this checkbox.
   Retention period (in days):
   Specify how many days after a contact enters the selected group(s) the contact should be anonymized.
4. Click Save.

Around midnight, the first anonymization is performed automatically.

You can also start the anonymization manually by clicking the Run button.

All contacts who have been in the selected group(s) longer than the configured retention period will then be anonymized immediately.