---
title: "Record a preference"
method: POST
path: "/v1/preferences"
tags: ["preferences"]
---

# Record a preference

`POST /v1/preferences`

## Request

- Base URL: `https://us1.platform.bird.com`
- URL: `https://us1.platform.bird.com/v1/preferences`
- Auth: one of:
  - HTTP bearer
  - API key in cookie `bird_session`

Records one statement, a grant or an opt-out, for a handle on one channel. Writing is an upsert: the key is the channel, handle, and optional sender scope, and a new statement replaces the key's current one.

Statements are ordered by when they were made, not when they arrive. A statement older than the key's current one is refused and returned with `applied: false` alongside the statement that survived; refusals are recorded on the key's history. Granting over a stored opt-out needs `consented_at` later than the opt-out, and a person's own opt-out (an unsubscribe, a stop keyword) cannot be overridden by a grant asserted on their behalf.

A `201` means this key had no record and one was created; a `200` returns the key's surviving record, whether this statement replaced it, repeated it, or was refused.

## Headers

- `Idempotency-Key` string
- `X-Workspace-Id` string
- `X-Organization-Id` string

## Request body

- PreferenceCreate: Records one preference statement for a handle. Writing is an upsert by key (channel, handle, sender scope, and topic), and statements are causally ordered: a statement dated older than the key's current one is refused and returned with `applied: false` rather than applied out of order.
  - `handle` string, required: Who the statement is about: an email address on the email channel, a phone number in E.164 format on SMS, WhatsApp, and Apple Messages for Business.
  - `channel` string, required: The channel a preference statement applies to. A preference addresses one channel: the handle that identifies the person differs per channel, so opting out of one channel says nothing about the others. New channels can be added over time, so a value outside this list can be returned.
  - `status` 'granted' | 'revoked', required: What the statement says: `granted` records consent to receive messages, `revoked` records an opt-out. There is no third state: a person who never stated anything simply has no preference on record.
  - `coverage` 'all' | 'non_transactional': How much traffic the statement covers. `non_transactional` covers marketing and other non-essential messages while transactional messages such as receipts and verification codes keep flowing; `all` covers every message including transactional ones. Apple Messages for Business phone invitations have no transactional exemption, so either value covers them.
  - `sender_scope` string: Limit the statement to one sender instead of the whole channel. On SMS this is the originator; on WhatsApp it identifies the business account; on Apple Messages for Business it is the Apple business ID used for invitations. Not supported on email, where preferences are always channel-wide.
  - `source` string: Free-form note on where the statement came from: a form name, an import batch, a campaign. Stored verbatim and returned on the preference.
  - `consented_at` string, date-time: When the person consented, on a `granted` statement. Required evidence when granting over a stored opt-out: the grant applies only if this is later than the opt-out it reverses. May not be in the future.

## Response `200`

The key already had a record. The result says whether this statement replaced it, repeated it, or was refused as out of order.

- PreferenceWriteResult: The outcome of one preference write or delete. `applied: true` means the request took effect: either it changed the record, or an identical statement already had. `applied: false` means it was refused as older than the key's current statement; `preference` then carries the statement that survived, and `transition_id` identifies the refusal on the key's record.
  - `applied` boolean, required: Whether the request took effect. False only when it was refused as out of order; the surviving, newer statement is returned in `preference`.
  - `transition_id` string, required
  - `preference` Preference, required: One person's current stated preference for one channel: whether they have consented to or opted out of receiving messages at a handle, and how much traffic the statement covers. A key holds one current statement (a newer statement replaces it, an older one is refused), and the full history behind the current state is kept internally. `sender_scope` and `topic_id` are part of the key: a preference with both null applies channel-wide.
    - `id` string, required
    - `channel` string, required: The channel a preference statement applies to. A preference addresses one channel: the handle that identifies the person differs per channel, so opting out of one channel says nothing about the others. New channels can be added over time, so a value outside this list can be returned.
    - `handle` string, required: Who the statement is about: an email address on the email channel, a phone number in E.164 format on SMS, WhatsApp, and Apple Messages for Business.
    - `sender_scope` string, nullable, required: The sender the statement is limited to, or null when it covers the whole channel. On SMS this is the originator the person replied to; on WhatsApp it identifies the business account that messaged them; on Apple Messages for Business it is the Apple business ID used for invitations. Email preferences are always channel-wide, so it is always null there.
    - `topic_id` string, nullable, required: The topic the statement is limited to, or null when it covers every topic. Part of the key that identifies a statement, alongside `sender_scope`.
    - `status` 'granted' | 'revoked', required: What the statement says: `granted` records consent to receive messages, `revoked` records an opt-out. There is no third state: a person who never stated anything simply has no preference on record.
    - `coverage` 'all' | 'non_transactional', required: How much traffic the statement covers. `non_transactional` covers marketing and other non-essential messages while transactional messages such as receipts and verification codes keep flowing; `all` covers every message including transactional ones. Apple Messages for Business phone invitations have no transactional exemption, so either value covers them.
    - `effective_at` string, date-time, required: When the statement was made, as reported by whoever made it. This is what orders one key's statements: a write dated before this moment is refused rather than applied.
    - `origin` string, required: How the statement was made. Statements the person made themselves (`unsubscribe_link`, `unsubscribe_event`, `keyword`, `preference_page`) carry more weight than ones asserted on their behalf (`api_key`, `user`, `import`): a person's own opt-out cannot be overridden or deleted through this API. New origins can be added over time, so a value outside this list can be returned.
    - `source` string, nullable: Free-form note on where the statement came from, as supplied when it was recorded: a form name, an import batch, a campaign. Null when none was given.
    - `consented_at` string, date-time, nullable: When the person consented, as evidenced by whoever asserted the grant. Null on statements that carry no consent evidence, including every opt-out.
    - `contact_id` string
    - `created_at` string, date-time, required
    - `updated_at` string, date-time, required

## Other responses

- `201`: The key had no record; this statement created one.
- `400`: Bad request
- `401`: Authentication required
- `403`: Insufficient permissions
- `404`: Resource not found
- `422`: The request has invalid field values, violates a business rule, or carries a query parameter the endpoint does not declare. Field validation errors use `type: validation_error` and include the affected fields in `details`. Business-rule errors identify the failed rule in `type`.
- `429`: Rate limit exceeded
- `500`: Internal server error
- `503`: The service is temporarily unavailable. If `Retry-After` is present, wait for that delay before retrying; otherwise, retry with exponential backoff. Reuse the same idempotency key and request when retrying a mutation.

---

[API](https://skmtc.dev/messagebird/apis/bird-api.md) · [All operations](https://skmtc.dev/messagebird/apis/bird-api/llms.txt) · [OpenAPI document](https://skmtc.dev/messagebird/apis/bird-api/revisions/6dfce1179799?raw)