The Subscription Restriction feature allows you to limit which users can subscribe to certain topics. This is helpful when you create a topic for communicating sensitive or proprietary information. For example, you might create a topic to send updates to employees within your organization and restrict the topic to subscribers with your organization's email domain.


Restricting who can subscribe to a topic is a two step process. First, you define the restriction (create rules for who can subscribe), and then you apply that restriction to a topic. Subscribers that do not fit the criteria will not see the restricted topic on the Quick Subscribe page.

Creating a Subscription Restriction

Only Account Administrators can create subscription restrictions.

To create a restriction:

  1. Click your user name in the upper right corner of the site.
  2. From the drop-down user menu, click Account Settings.
  3. On the page menu to the right, click Subscriber Restrictions.
  4. Click Create Restriction.
    create_subscriber_restriction.png
  5. Enter a Name for the restriction.
  6. Enter the Restricted Values to restrict what subscribers can subscribe to the topic. (For example, *@yahoo.com, *@.gov, *@state)
    Note: These values are inclusive--they describe who CAN subscribe to a topic using this restriction; anyone not meeting this criteria will not be able to subscribe.
  7. Click Save.

Modifying Subscriber Restrictions

To modify an existing Subscriber Restriction:

  1. Click your user name in the upper right corner of the site.
  2. From the drop-down user menu, click Account Settings.
  3. On the page menu to the right, click Subscriber Restrictions.
  4. Click on the restriction that you want to modify.
  5. Edit the restriction.
  6. Click Save.

Deleting a Subscriber Restriction

To delete a Subscriber Restriction:

  1. Click your user name in the upper right corner of the site.
  2. From the drop-down user menu, click Account Settings.
  3. On the page menu to the right, click Subscriber Restrictions.
  4. Check the box next to the restriction(s) you want to delete.
  5. Click Delete Restriction(s).
  6. Confirm the deletion. Click OK.

Applying a Subscription Restriction to a Topic

Once you have created a Subscription Restriction, you need to apply the restriction to the appropriate topic. Account Administrators and Group Administrators can do this.

To apply a restriction to a topic:

  1. In the left navigation menu, click Topics.
  2. Click on the topic name to apply the restriction to an existing topic or click Create Topic to create a new topic.
  3. In the Subscription Management section, select the appropriate restriction from the Subscription Restrictions field.
    sub_restrictions.png
  4. Click Save.

Subscription Restrictions F.A.Q.

Q: Can I apply more than one restriction to a topic?

A: No. Each topic can have only one designated restriction. However, a restriction can have multiple criteria. For example, you can require that subscribers either have a *@.mil email address or *@.edu.

Q: If a subscriber restriction has multiple restricted values, does the subscriber have to meet each or the criteria or only one of the criteria?

A: The restricted values are "or" statements, meaning that subscribers must meet one or more of the criteria.

Q: If I apply a restriction to a topic that has existing subscribers, does govDelivery apply the subscriber restriction to the existing subscribers?

A: No, the subscriber restriction only applies to new subscribers. If you want all subscribers to adhere to the restriction, you would have to manually clean up your subscriber list.

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