Category Subscription Preferences

Allow subscribers to choose which changelog categories they want to receive notifications for.

All Articles

Category Subscription Preferences

Give your subscribers control over which changelog categories they want to receive email notifications for. This feature allows for more targeted communication and reduces unwanted emails.

Overview

Category subscription preferences allow subscribers to customize their notification experience. Instead of receiving emails for every changelog update, subscribers can choose to only be notified about specific categories that matter to them.

For example, if your changelog has categories like "New Features", "Bug Fixes", "Security Updates", and "Documentation", a subscriber might choose to only receive notifications for "Security Updates" and "New Features".

For Subscribers

When Subscribing

When subscribing to a changelog, you can optionally customize which categories you want to receive updates for:

  1. Enter your email address in the subscription form
  2. Click "Customize which categories to receive updates for" (optional)
  3. By default, "All categories" is selected - you'll receive all updates
  4. Uncheck "All categories" to select specific categories
  5. Check the categories you want to receive notifications for
  6. Submit to complete your subscription

Managing Your Preferences

You can change your category preferences at any time without needing to create an account:

  1. Open any notification email you've received from the changelog
  2. Click the "Manage preferences" link in the email footer
  3. You'll be taken to a secure preferences page
  4. Toggle "All categories" on to receive all updates
  5. Or turn it off and select specific categories
  6. Click "Save Preferences" to update your settings

Note: The preferences link is unique to your subscription and doesn't require a login. Keep your notification emails if you want to manage your preferences later.

What Happens with New Categories?

If you have "All categories" selected, you'll automatically receive notifications for any new categories the changelog owner creates in the future.

If you've selected specific categories, new categories won't be automatically added to your preferences. You can always update your preferences to include new categories.

Unsubscribing

From the preferences page, you can also completely unsubscribe from all notifications by clicking "Unsubscribe from all emails". If you change your mind, you can re-subscribe from the same page.

For Changelog Administrators

As a changelog owner, you have full visibility and control over subscriber preferences.

Viewing Subscriber Preferences

To view category preferences for your subscribers:

  1. Go to Settings > Subscribers
  2. Each subscriber row shows their category preference status
  3. "All Categories" badge means they receive all updates
  4. A count like "3 categories" shows how many specific categories they've selected
  5. Hover over to see which specific categories they're subscribed to

Editing Subscriber Preferences

You can edit any subscriber's category preferences:

  1. Find the subscriber in the list
  2. Click the tags icon (category edit button)
  3. A modal will appear with their current preferences
  4. Toggle "All categories" or select specific categories
  5. Click "Save Changes"

Bulk Category Operations

For managing preferences across multiple subscribers at once:

  1. Use the "Bulk Category Operations" section at the top of the subscribers page
  2. Select a category from the dropdown
  3. Click "Add to All" to add this category to all subscribers who have custom preferences
  4. Click "Remove from All" to remove this category from all subscribers
  5. Confirm the action when prompted

Note: Bulk operations only affect subscribers who have custom category preferences (not "All categories"). Subscribers with "All categories" selected already receive all notifications.

Unsubscribing Users

To unsubscribe a user (stop their notifications without deleting them):

  1. Find the subscriber in the list
  2. Click the bell-slash icon
  3. Their status will change to "Unsubscribed"
  4. To re-subscribe, click the bell icon

How Notifications Work

When you publish a new changelog entry:

  • The system checks which categories the entry belongs to
  • For each subscriber, it checks their preferences
  • Subscribers with "All categories" always receive the notification
  • Subscribers with specific categories only receive the notification if there's a match
  • Unsubscribed users never receive notifications

Best Practices

  • Use clear category names - Make it easy for subscribers to understand what each category contains
  • Don't create too many categories - Keep it manageable (5-10 categories is usually enough)
  • Communicate category changes - If you add or rename categories, consider letting subscribers know
  • Review preferences periodically - Check if subscribers are filtering out important categories

Next Steps