How to use the List Cleanup Tool in ActiveCampaign

The List Cleanup tool lets you delete contacts from your email subscriber list(s). With this tool, you can delete contacts by status (Active, Unconfirmed, Bounced, Unsubscribed) or by their email address.

Take note

• This feature is only available on ActiveCampaign accounts created before February 22, 2022
• List cleanup actions are permanent and cannot be undone. We recommend exporting all contacts before using the List Cleanup tool
• If a contact appears on multiple lists, we'll only remove their association from the list(s) you select and they will remain in your ActiveCampaign account
• If a contact only has list association(s) to the list(s) you select, they will be deleted from your ActiveCampaign account entirely. List association means the contact is on the list with any status. They cannot be restored, and this action cannot be undone

Access the List Cleanup tool

Before you use the List Cleanup tool, we recommend exporting your contacts. To do so:

1. Click Contacts to go to the Contacts Overview page. 
2. Click the ellipsis (...), then click "Export."
3. Export contacts from your account.

Once you've exported your contacts, you can use the List Cleanup tool. To do so:

1. Click Contacts, located on the left menu.
2. Click List Cleanup.
   
   The List Cleanup page will load:
   
   

Remove contacts from a list(s) by status

The "Remove Contacts by Status" option lets you delete contacts with a particular status before a specified date. For example, you can delete contacts with the following statuses for any list, multiple lists, or all lists:

• Active
• Unsubscribed
• Unconfirmed
• Bounced
• All

The "Before this Date" field will look for contacts who received the status you selected by that specific date for your list. For example, if you wish to delete contacts who bounced before August 1, 2018 for your list, you would select August 1, 2018 in the "Before this Date" field.

To remove contacts by status:

1. Click the "List" drop-down and click the list you wish to remove contacts from. To select more than one list in this step, press the shift key on your keyboard and click the additional lists in the drop-down.
2. Click the "Status" drop-down and click the status. You can only select one status in this step.
3. Click the "Before this date" field and click a date on the calendar.
4. Click the "Delete From List" button and confirm your action in the modal pop-up.

Delete specific contacts from a list(s) by email address

The "Delete Specific Contacts" option lets you delete specific email addresses from the list(s) you selected. You can use this option if you have certain contacts you wish to delete from a list(s), instead of deleting all contacts with a particular status from a list.

To delete specific contacts:

1. Type each email address you wish to delete in the "Bulk Deletion" box. Use a comma to separate multiple email addresses.
2. Click the "Select a list" drop-down and click the list(s) you wish to delete contacts from.
3. Click the "Delete From List" button and confirm your action.

Additional information

Edit contacts in bulk

Use the Bulk Edit tool to edit multiple contacts at once. For example, you can use this tool to add or remove tags, subscribe and unsubscribe contacts from lists, add contacts to other automations or end an automation, or update their contact field information.

Remove unengaged contacts from your account

Use the Engagement Management tool to delete contacts who have not engaged with your campaigns or automation emails over a period of time.

Add and remove contacts from your Exclusion List

An Exclusion List is a list of email addresses that are prevented from receiving campaigns and automation emails from you. You can add and remove full or partial email addresses from this list.