Newsletters are strictly regulated in the EU. Germany's Unfair Competition Act only allows email advertising with prior express consent, and Art. 7(1) GDPR requires you to prove that consent. In practice that means double opt-in, a complete log and an unsubscribe that works immediately.
ridu has exactly that built in – on servers in Germany.
Double opt-in without code
For each segment you can enable a hosted signup form or embed it on your website. New contacts receive a confirmation email from your own domain and only get broadcasts after clicking. Confirmation requires a deliberate click on the confirmation page – automated link scanners in mail systems don't trigger it.
Proof of consent
For every contact ridu stores when and how consent was given:
- the signup with time, source (form, API, import) and truncated IP address,
- the exact consent wording that was accepted,
- the double opt-in confirmation,
- every unsubscribe and every topic change.
The record is kept for three years after a contact is deleted – as long as you may need it in a dispute.
Unsubscribe the way Gmail and Yahoo require
Every broadcast carries an unsubscribe link plus the List-Unsubscribe and List-Unsubscribe-Post headers for one-click unsubscribe per RFC 8058. ridu refuses to send a broadcast without an unsubscribe link. With topics, recipients can opt out of individual subjects instead of everything.
No tracking without consent
Open and click tracking access the recipient's device and need consent. At ridu both stay off until you deliberately turn them on.
Importing existing lists
When importing a CSV you state the consent source; it is stored with each contact. Bought or rented lists are excluded by our acceptable use policy – they hurt deliverability for every customer.
More on the process: Implementing double opt-in properly.