Email Recipient Claims Unsub Link Requires Scripting to Work

[Denise_Greenbe7]

We just had an email recipient tell us that our unsubscribe link "does not work unless scripts are enabled." We have the unsubscribe link built into our footer using the system token rather than added by Marketo underneath. This is the code:

 <a href="{{system.unsubscribeLink}}" style="color: #7a797a; text-decoration: none;">Unsubscribe</a><br /> <a href="https://area1security.com/privacy/" style="color: #7a797a; text-decoration: none;">Privacy Policy</a> | <a href="https://area1security.com/dpa/" style="color: #7a797a; text-decoration: none;">DPA</a></p>

I'm not a developer so I could be wrong but there's nothing in there that looks like "scripting" to me. Am I wrong? Does the the token require "scripting" of some kind enabled on the recipient platform to work? Was our recipient confused? I'm assuming she received the HTML version. The plain text version looks like this:

Unsubscribe: {{system.unsubscribeLink}}

Would it make a difference if we just let Marketo add this?

HTML:

<p><font face="Verdana" size="1">This email was sent to {{lead.Email Address}}. If you no longer wish to receive these emails you may <a href="%mkt_opt_out_prefix%UnsubscribePage.html?mkt_unsubscribe=1&mkt_tok=##MKT_TOK##">unsubscribe</a> at any time. </font> </p>

Text:

This email was sent to {{lead.Email Address}}. If you no longer wish to receive these emails you may unsubscribe here: %mkt_opt_out_prefix%UnsubscribePage.html?mkt_unsubscribe=1&mkt_tok=##MKT_TOK##.

Thank you!

[SanfordWhiteman]

A Marketo-tracked link requires JS in order to navigate to the original target page.

So the "scripting" isn't in the email or email client but in the browser as a whole.

[Denise_Greenbe7]

Hi Sandy,

Could you elaborate on that a little? If someone uses a desktop version of, say, Outlook (e.g., it's not in a browser), or the mail app in an iPhone or Android - is JavaScript enabled by default?

Is it common for a company to disable JavaScript?

Does the default Marketo footer also require JavaScript?

This is the full message we got back from our recipient and the CEO is concerned. Any advice on what to say to him or what we should do differently?

“Your unsubscribe link does not work unless scripts are enabled; which is a highly insecure approach in these days of malware and other security risks.”

P.S. Just re-read your comment - are you saying it's the tracking that requires JavaScript? So the Unsub link is no different in that respect from all the other links in our emails? Still interested in your advice as to how to frame for the CEO.

[SanfordWhiteman]

If the link is tracked (which you can check easily by sending yourself an email) then the redirection always requires JS.

Their Unsubscribe Page doesn't require JS. Of course it could be tuned to look a lot better with scripting off, but if you fill in the Email Address and "yes" in the Unsubscribed box it posts fine. That's why I'm pretty sure they're not talking about the page itself.

 which is a highly insecure approach in these days of malware and other security risks.”

This is just inane. The overwhelming majority of modern sites assume JS is enabled. It's no more "highly insecure" than using technology at all in 2019 is "highly insecure" (which, debatably, it is...).

[Denise_Greenbe7]

Yes the link is tracked. She's talking about the email - not the page (at least that was my interpretation). Thanks!

[Josh_Hill13]

It is possible that if the tracking link was broken in some way or her browser could not resolve it, they would get an error. It is also possible the tracking link was then wrapped by Proofpoint, further complicating things.

Sandy, not sure why you say JS is required to resolve a redirect?

[SanfordWhiteman]

Sandy, not sure why you say JS is required to resolve a redirect?

Because it is... the Marketo tracking (branding) logic doesn't use (nor fall back to) an HTTP redirect. It uses a JS location redirect.