Category: Compliance and protection

This guide explains how to enable and customize the confirmation checkbox on your signup forms in Sender to collect explicit consent from subscribers.

Where to Find This Setting

Open any existing form from Forms in the left sidebar, then click the edit icon to enter the form builder. Select the Settings tab in the right-hand panel. The Confirmation checkbox option is located under the Options section, alongside other form-level settings like Use Google reCaptcha and Redirect after submit.

Steps to Enable and Customize the GDPR Consent Checkbox

Step 1 — Enable the Confirmation Checkbox

In the Settings tab, expand the Options section. Check Confirmation checkbox to enable it. Once enabled, two additional fields appear below: Confirmation text and Confirmation text validation message. The form preview updates immediately to show an unchecked checkbox between the form fields and the Submit button, displaying the default consent text.

Step 2 — Customize the Confirmation Text

Edit the Confirmation text field to replace the default message ("I would like to receive newsletter and promotions") with your preferred consent statement. This is the text visitors see next to the checkbox on your form. The form preview reflects your changes in real time.

Write a clear statement that describes what the subscriber is agreeing to receive.

Step 3 — Customize the Validation Message

Edit the Confirmation text validation message field to change the error message displayed when a visitor tries to submit the form without checking the consent box. The default message is "This field is required."

Replace it with a message that prompts the visitor to confirm their consent before submitting.

Step 4 — Save and Verify

Click Save and continue to save your changes. Preview the form on both desktop and mobile views using the device toggle icons in the top toolbar. Test the form by attempting to submit it without checking the consent box to confirm the validation message appears as expected.

How It Protects

Confirmation checkbox — Adds a required consent checkbox to the form that visitors must check before submitting. The form cannot be submitted until the box is checked, ensuring every subscriber has actively opted in. The consent action is recorded alongside the subscriber record.

Confirmation text — Displays a customizable consent statement next to the checkbox, making it clear to visitors what they are agreeing to. This allows you to tailor the language to match the type of communications you send.

Confirmation text validation message — Shows a configurable error message when a visitor attempts to submit without checking the consent box. This prevents accidental submissions and reinforces that consent is required.

Compliance Tips

Use specific consent language — Write confirmation text that describes the type of content subscribers will receive (e.g., newsletters, promotional offers), rather than using vague or generic phrasing.

Combine with reCAPTCHA — Enable Use Google reCaptcha under Options alongside the confirmation checkbox to add both consent collection and bot protection to the same form.

Pair with double opt-in — Use the confirmation checkbox together with double opt-in on the Publishing settings page to layer explicit consent with email verification for stronger subscriber validation.

Test after every change — Preview and test your form after editing the confirmation text or validation message to confirm the checkbox displays correctly and validation triggers as expected.

Common Issues

Checkbox not visible on the form → Confirmation checkbox is not enabled. Open the Settings tab, expand Options, and check Confirmation checkbox.

Validation message not appearing → The Confirmation text validation message field may be empty. Enter a message such as "This field is required." to ensure visitors see an error when they skip the checkbox.

Consent text reverted to default → Changes were not saved before leaving the form builder. Always click Save and continue after editing the Confirmation text or Confirmation text validation message fields.

Checkbox appears but is not required → This can occur if the form has not been saved after enabling the checkbox. Click Save and continue and re-test the form to confirm validation is active.

FAQs

Can I customize what the confirmation checkbox says?

Yes. In the Settings tab, expand the Options section, check Confirmation checkbox, and edit the Confirmation text field to display your preferred consent message.

Is the confirmation checkbox required for GDPR compliance?

Sender provides the Confirmation checkbox tool to help you collect explicit consent. Whether it is legally required depends on your specific situation and jurisdiction. Consult a legal professional for compliance advice specific to your business.

Where is consent data stored?

When a subscriber checks the confirmation checkbox and submits the form, the consent action is recorded alongside their subscriber record in Sender.

Can I use the confirmation checkbox on embedded forms?

Yes. The Confirmation checkbox setting is available under Options in the Settings tab for both pop-up and embedded form types.

Does the confirmation checkbox work with reCAPTCHA?

Yes. You can enable both Confirmation checkbox and Use Google reCaptcha under Options in the Settings tab. The reCAPTCHA verification and consent checkbox function independently on the same form.

CAPTCHA helps protect your sign-up forms from spam and bot submissions by verifying that real people are subscribing to your list. This keeps your subscriber data clean and improves your email deliverability.

What is CAPTCHA?

CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart) is a security feature that challenges users to complete a task that’s easy for humans but difficult for automated bots. This prevents fake sign-ups and spam submissions.

Why use CAPTCHA?

• Prevent spam sign-ups – Block bots from submitting fake email addresses or phone numbers to your forms.
• Protect your sender reputation – Keeping spam addresses off your list helps maintain good deliverability and reduces bounce rates.
• Maintain list quality – Ensure your subscriber list contains only real, engaged users who genuinely want to receive your messages.
• Reduce costs – Avoid paying for fake subscribers or wasting resources sending messages to invalid addresses.

How to enable CAPTCHA

To add CAPTCHA protection to your sign-up forms:

• Navigate to the form you want to protect
• Go to the form’s Design section
• Click on Settings
• Mark the “Use google reCAPTCHA” option as active
• Save your changes

How Google reCAPTCHA works

Google reCAPTCHA analyzes user behavior and interactions to determine if the submission is from a real person or a bot. In most cases, it works invisibly in the background without requiring any action from the subscriber. If suspicious activity is detected, users may be asked to complete a simple challenge to verify they’re human.

Best practices

• Enable on public forms – Always use CAPTCHA on forms that are publicly accessible or shared widely online.
• Test your forms – After enabling CAPTCHA, test the sign-up process yourself to ensure it works smoothly and doesn’t create friction for legitimate subscribers.
• Monitor form submissions – Keep track of your form submission rates after enabling CAPTCHA to ensure it’s not blocking too many legitimate subscribers.
• Use on high-traffic forms – Forms that receive a lot of traffic are more likely to attract spam, making CAPTCHA especially important.

That’s it!

If you got stuck on a specific task or can’t find a way to execute a particular job, contact our support team via LiveChat or [email protected] – we’re here to help 24/7.

Set up double opt-in for your forms to verify subscriber email addresses and maintain a clean list. This simple process doesn’t require automation and helps ensure compliance with privacy regulations while improving deliverability. This tutorial will showcase you how to set it up.

Ensure you have a subscription form ready, whether it’s a pop-up or an embedded form. If you haven’t created one yet, refer to this tutorial to get started.

Once you have your form ready, access its Overview page. You can do that from the main form list:

In the Overview page, scroll to the Integration instructions section and select “Double opt-in”.

Enable the double opt-in feature, and you’ll see the option to edit the sender’s name, email address, and subject line.

Hover over the email preview and click on “Edit” button if you want to change the default email template to better suit your brand.

The email verification campaign can be edited like any other email campaign using the Drag & Drop editor. 

Make sure to include the link to confirm the verification in an easily noticeable button in the campaign: {$double-optin-link}.

To make your email campaign more personalized, you can include any custom fields collected through the subscription form. Simply add them to the email content using the custom field codes. To learn more about this process, follow this tutorial. 

The email address provided during the subscription is automatically included in the default text of the verification email.

Once happy with your verification email campaign, click “Save & continue” to lock your progress.

How does this work?

Once a customer signs up using your subscription form that has double opt-in enabled, they be added to the subscriber list but their subscription status for marketing campaigns will be non-subscribed at this point.

Once subscribed, they will immediately receive the prepared verification email campaign.

If they choose to confirm their subscription and click the link, they will be taken to success view page. 

This will also change their subscription status to Active, and you can contact them in the next email campaign.

That’s it!

If you got stuck on a specific task or can’t find a way to execute a particular job, contact our support team via LiveChat or [email protected] – we’re here to help 24/7.