The Ghost Rate Index 2026

Key findings

• The unsubscribe buttons worked; what happened next did not. Every unsubscribe was confirmed by the brand's own server.
• For 7 of the 11 ghosts, one signup had quietly become several mailing lists. Leaving through the brand's own unsubscribe ended one list and left the others running.
• Publishers and deal sites ghosted most: 6 of 16 (37.5%), against 5 of 94 brands selling their own goods (5.3%; 6.4% by day 60) and none of 17 service brands.
• Two brands could not be left at all (2 of 129): one advertised one-click unsubscribe but refused every attempt; the other offered no way out.
• By day 60 the Ghost Rate was 9.4% (12 of 127). Caraway sent nothing for the first 30 days, then started again. 6 of the 12 ghosts were still sending in the last week of the 60 days.

The 12 brands, in four situations

1. The same list kept sending

2. One signup, several lists

We signed up once. Our unsubscribe ended the list it came from and left the others running. We agreed to one newsletter; pressing unsubscribe should end what that signup started.

By day 60, MasterClass had sent 17 emails. One of them, on 4 October (day 56), carried the plain "MasterClass" name of the list we had left; all its mail comes from the same address, so we cannot say which list sent it.

3. After day 30

Nothing for the first 30 days after we unsubscribed, then marketing email again before day 60, and more after our 60-day window closed. These brands count at day 60 but not at day 30.

4. Not a ghost: TIME

TIME's signup box enrolled us in four named newsletters. We left one; the other three carried on, as TIME said they would. It is counted in the 11, and in the 12 at day 60, because the rules were fixed before the results, but it is not an offender.

Brand responses

The 11 brands that ghosted by day 30, apart from TIME, were contacted on 6 October 2026 with the evidence for their own result and 14 days to respond.

Caraway, which became a ghost only at day 60, was contacted on 15 October 2026.

• Groupon (Groupon Goods and LivingSocial): contacted on 6 October, had not responded by publication.

• Sur La Table: contacted on 6 October, had not responded by publication.

• American Eagle: contacted on 6 October, had not responded by publication.

• BÉIS: contacted on 6 October, had not responded by publication.

• Business Insider: replied on 15 October. Their reply, in full:

  Thank you for reaching out. Based on our review, the unsubscribe action described in your email was successful. It unsubscribed exactly in the manner it described.

  Specifically, the one-click unsubscribe mechanism available through the List-Unsubscribe header on the Business Insider Today email unsubscribed the address from that email category, and our records indicate that no further emails were sent from that category (Business Insider Today) after the unsubscribe was processed.

  The one-click unsubscribe functionality available through the List-Unsubscribe header clearly and simply states that it is specific to that email type and that it is not intended to unsubscribe a recipient from all Business Insider emails. To quote it: "You'll still receive other Business Insider emails you're subscribed to."

  Users who wish to stop receiving all Business Insider marketing and newsletter emails have two options:

  Visit our Newsletter Preference Center at https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/newsletter and select "Unsubscribe from all." This preference center is available directly by clicking on the bottom of the email by clicking on "Manage your email preferences."

  Use the unsubscribe link in the footer of each newsletter category they receive to unsubscribe from those additional categories.

  Selecting "Unsubscribe from all" will unsubscribe the user from all Business Insider marketing and newsletter emails. Users may still receive essential account, billing, security, and other legally required service communications, as applicable.

  Accordingly, your observations reflect the difference between unsubscribing from a single email category and unsubscribing from all Business Insider marketing emails, rather than a failure of the unsubscribe request that was submitted.

  We checked this against our records and agree: no Business Insider Today email arrived after the unsubscribe. We moved Business Insider from "same list kept sending" to "one signup, several lists" as a result.

• MasterClass: contacted on 6 October, had not responded by publication.

• The Atlantic: contacted on 6 October, had not responded by publication.

• Revolve: contacted on 6 October, had not responded by publication.

• Tracksmith: replied on 20 October. Its account of what happened and what it changed, in full:

  Set up for unsubscribe/suppression prior to 10/13

  When a user unsubscribed they were removed from a specific list, not globally unsubscribed.

  Language on the page included: "If you'd like to re-subscribe to this list, use the link below."

  User in question was unsubscribed from the "Tracksmith" list on 8/9, but was not globally unsubscribed.

  After unsubscribing, they no longer received emails that were sent to Tracksmith list

  They continued to receive emails for campaigns- as those were different lists

  Update on 10/8: We suppressed user from ALL tracksmith emails, regardless of list they are on

  Next steps:

  Adjusted our process so that when a consumer unsubscribes they are removed from all lists globally and will not recieve emails - Done

  Any user that has unsubscribed from a list, and not since resubscribed, as been supressed from all emails - Done

  Reviewing and adjusting our unsubscribe page to be clear on what the user is unsubscribing from and to provide the ability to choose which content to receive - In progress. To be completed by 10/13- 10/23

  We checked this against our records. The unsubscribe was made from a welcome-series email; every email after it was a campaign, and no campaign had reached us before it. The emails do not say which list they came from, so we cannot confirm the separate list ourselves, but nothing contradicts it, and nothing has arrived since 6 October. We moved Tracksmith from "same list kept sending" to "one signup, several lists", and we report its fix.

• Caraway: contacted on 15 October, had not responded by publication.

Results by type of sender

Groups fixed before the results were read. UK vs US is an observation, not a pre-planned comparison.

How we did it

1. A unique address per brand on a neutral lab domain. No real person's inbox was used.
2. 552 brands targeted; 181 signups made on 29 to 31 July 2026. CAPTCHA-protected forms were skipped.
3. A brand counts only if it sent marketing email in its first week: 127 did, and were validly unsubscribed.
4. Every later email classified three times against a written rule; any disagreement favours the brand.
5. Every rule written down before the numbers were read, with a dated changelog.

Limitations

• We unsubscribed from one list per brand; 2027 will leave every list a signup creates.
• Two of three classifications were by one reviewer; the third was an AI check.
• One ghost rests on an email from a domain the brand had not used before.
• 33 UK brands and 16 media and deals brands are small samples.