Understand and use contact statuses in a few steps
If you just need the essentials, follow this:
- Review the four statuses: Active, Stopped, Blocked, Archived
- Confirm which statuses can receive outgoing messages
- Use Stopped for opt-outs and understand auto-reactivation on inbound messages
- Use Blocked to suppress unwanted traffic (incoming archived, no flows)
- Use Archived to prepare contacts for deletion (required step)
- Identify dormant contacts with Last Seen On before archiving/deleting
You’re done. You can now manage opt-outs, abuse/spam, and cleanup workflows without breaking messaging rules.
Step-by-Step Process
Each contact in RapidPro has a status that determines whether they can receive outgoing messages, whether they can send incoming messages,
and how they are treated in groups and workflows. Understanding statuses helps you manage opt-outs, spam/unwanted users, and database cleanup safely.
Available statuses: Active, Stopped, Blocked, Archived.
[CAPTURE: Contacts tab showing filters for Active, Stopped, Blocked, and Archived.]
Active contacts:
- remain in all their groups
- can receive outgoing messages
- can send incoming messages
This is the default status for contacts who are able to interact normally with your workspace.
Stopped contacts:
- have opted out of receiving messages
- are removed from all groups
- cannot receive outgoing messages
- can still send inbound messages
If a stopped contact sends a message to your workspace, they will automatically become Active again.
Blocked contacts:
- do not receive outgoing messages
- have all incoming messages automatically archived
- are removed from all groups
This status is useful for spammy behavior, abuse, or unwanted automated traffic. Blocked contacts remain in your database but are effectively ignored.
Archived contacts:
- are removed from all groups
- are ignored permanently
- are considered ready for deletion
A contact must be Archived before it can be deleted. Archiving is especially useful when cleaning up inactive contacts or preparing for bulk deletion.
Typical status lifecycle
- Active — normal interaction
- Stopped — user opts out
- Blocked — manual action for abuse/spam
- Archived — preparation for deletion
- Deleted — permanently removed from workspace
You can identify inactive contacts using the Last Seen On field and then archive them before deletion.
Example workflow
- Search for contacts where last_seen_on < “YYYY-MM-DD”.
- Create a smart group from the results.
- Use a flow to set their status to Archived and prepare them for bulk deletion.
[CAPTURE: Contact search using last_seen_on with results selected.]
Common Issues & Quick Fixes
Problem: I can’t send messages to a contact.
Fix: Check the contact’s status in their profile. Only Active contacts can receive outgoing messages; Stopped, Blocked, and Archived contacts cannot.
Problem: A blocked contact keeps sending messages.
Fix: This is expected. Blocked contacts can send messages, but all incoming messages are automatically archived and do not trigger flows.
Problem: I can’t delete a contact.
Fix: Archive the contact first, then delete. Deletion requires the contact to be in Archived status.