Klaviyo Sunset Flow: Step-by-Step Setup

Short answer. Build a Klaviyo sunset flow from a segment that identifies sustained inactivity across email, site, checkout, and purchase behavior. Trigger a short final flow, use profile filters so anyone who engages no longer reaches the last step, tag remaining profiles with a property such as Unengaged = true, then review and bulk suppress the current members of that tag-based segment. Klaviyo does not currently offer a native suppress-profile flow action.

A sunset flow is not simply “six months without an open.” Apple Mail Privacy Protection can create false opens, purchase cycles vary, and missing integrations can hide real customer behavior. The implementation needs a defensible inactivity definition before it sends a final message or changes marketing eligibility.

This guide covers the Klaviyo build. For the broader relationship between customer winback, subscriber sunset, and retention policy, read Winback and sunset flows.

The current Klaviyo sunset architecture

Multi-signal inactivity segment
  -> Segment-triggered flow
  -> 1 to 3 final messages
  -> Profile filters recheck engagement before each action
  -> Grace period
  -> Update profile property: Unengaged = true
  -> Tag-based suppression segment
  -> Human review
  -> Suppress current members

This workflow follows Klaviyo's official sunset flow guide, updated March 11, 2026 and verified July 16, 2026.

1. Decide which inactive cohort you mean

There are at least two valid sunset cohorts, and they should not share a definition without review.

Never-engaged profiles

These profiles entered the account long enough ago, received several messages, and never produced measurable email, site, checkout, or purchase activity. They are the clearest candidates for Klaviyo's prebuilt Sunset (Email) segment.

Previously engaged but now lapsed profiles

These profiles clicked, browsed, or purchased in the past, but have been inactive for a meaningful period. Their threshold should reflect:

• the normal purchase cycle;
• email frequency and number of send opportunities;
• seasonal buying patterns;
• customer value and recent service activity;
• completeness of ecommerce, POS, and site tracking;
• Apple MPP effects on opens.

Do not combine a never-engaged lead from two years ago with a seasonal high-value customer merely because neither opened last month's campaigns.

2. Validate data before creating the segment

Audit the signals the sunset definition will use.

For Shopify, Viewed Product and Active on Site depend on the Klaviyo onsite implementation and an identifiable visitor. Zero events can mean no activity, but it can also mean a tracking gap. Complete a known-profile test before treating the absence as evidence. Klaviyo's Shopify data reference documents the current event sources and behavior.

3. Build the inactivity segment

Go to Audience > Lists & segments, select Create New > Create segment, and choose one of the following approaches.

Option A: start from Klaviyo's prebuilt Sunset (Email) segment

Klaviyo's current strict definition uses these conditions:

Person can receive email marketing
AND Created is at least 180 days ago
AND Received Email at least 5 in the last 72 weeks
AND Opened Email 0 times over all time
AND Clicked Email 0 times over all time
AND Active on Site 0 times over all time
AND Viewed Product 0 times over all time
AND Checkout Started 0 times over all time
AND Placed Order 0 times over all time

This is a never-engaged definition. It is intentionally narrow and matches the logic Klaviyo uses for its sunset segment and related suppression recommendations.

Option B: build a lapsed-engagement segment

For a profile that once engaged, use rolling windows and stronger safeguards. A starting framework is:

Person can receive email marketing because person subscribed
AND Created is before [minimum account-age date]
AND Received Email at least [minimum opportunities] in [window]
AND Clicked Email 0 times in [inactivity window]
AND Active on Site 0 times in [inactivity window]
AND Viewed Product 0 times in [inactivity window]
AND Checkout Started 0 times in [inactivity window]
AND Placed Order 0 times in [customer-protection window]

Choose the windows from your business, not this example. Add a separate protection for known recent customers or long-cycle seasonal buyers when their behavior warrants it.

Handle Apple opens explicitly

Apple Mail Privacy Protection preloads tracking pixels and can create an open without intentional human action. Klaviyo includes an Apple Privacy Open event property.

For a lapsed segment, either:

• use clicks and business activity as primary evidence;
• include only opens where Apple Privacy Open = false;
• or treat opens as a secondary signal and review the result.

Klaviyo's MPP guide explains how to identify affected opens in segments and reports.

4. QA the segment before connecting a flow

Inspect at least these profile types:

• never-engaged subscriber;
• former clicker who has been inactive for the full window;
• recent purchaser who should be protected;
• seasonal customer with a long purchase cycle;
• Apple Privacy opener with no click;
• profile with activity from another store or source;
• employee, seed, or internal test profile.

Compare the segment count with an independent query or known cohort where possible. If a recent customer appears, stop and identify whether the condition, order sync, or identity resolution failed.

Klaviyo segments update dynamically, but time-only conditions are not necessarily recalculated instantly. Klaviyo documents in its segment update reference that conditions affected only by the passage of time can update on a daily cycle. Allow the segment to populate and recheck membership before launch.

5. Create the segment-triggered flow

In Klaviyo:

1. Go to Flows.
2. Choose Create flow.
3. Search for the prebuilt sunset flow or build your own.
4. Select Added to segment as the trigger.
5. Choose the reviewed inactivity segment.
6. Set re-entry deliberately.

Klaviyo's current segment-trigger model supports one-time entry, re-entry whenever a profile requalifies, or re-entry after a minimum period, subject to account rollout. For a strict sunset flow, no re-entry is a safe starting point. A profile should not repeatedly receive final-warning messages because segment membership oscillates.

Only profiles who newly qualify through a data change trigger a segment flow automatically. Editing the segment definition does not push every existing member into the flow. Use Add past profiles for existing members after reviewing volume and eligibility. See Klaviyo's segment-triggered flow guide.

6. Add engagement filters

The final profile-property step should apply only to people who remain inactive.

Use profile filters that require zero engagement since starting the flow. Adapt the exact metrics to your policy:

Opened Email zero times since starting this flow
AND Clicked Email zero times since starting this flow
AND Active on Site zero times since starting this flow
AND Viewed Product zero times since starting this flow
AND Checkout Started zero times since starting this flow
AND Placed Order zero times since starting this flow

Klaviyo's official setup specifically recommends filters for opens or clicks since flow entry. Adding purchase and site protections can make the handoff safer when those events are reliable.

Profile filters are rechecked before actionable components. If a profile no longer meets them, the action is skipped. That does not always mean the profile is visually removed from every later scheduling step, so verify Recipient Activity and skip reasons in testing.

7. Keep the sunset sequence short

Klaviyo recommends no more than three emails. One or two may be enough for an audience with sustained inactivity.

Email 1: ask for a meaningful choice

Subject concept: “Do you still want these emails?”

• Explain why the recipient is receiving the message.
• Offer a clear preference or continue-receiving option.
• Keep the normal unsubscribe link prominent.
• Avoid guilt and false deadlines.
• Use a click or explicit preference action as the signal.

Email 2: final reminder

After a reasonable delay:

• restate the deadline and consequence plainly;
• keep the message short;
• link to the preference or confirmation destination;
• do not add unrelated products and multiple CTAs.

Optional Email 3: use only when it adds clarity

A third email can restate the final choice, but it also adds pressure to an audience defined by non-engagement. Test whether it produces meaningful clicks without disproportionate complaints or unsubscribes.

Do not send an “you have been removed” marketing email after suppression. Once the profile is ineligible for ordinary marketing, the process should not depend on another promotional send.

8. Add a grace period and property update

After the final email, add a time delay that gives recipients time to click, visit, or purchase. Then add an Update profile property action.

Example:

Property: Unengaged
Type: Boolean
Value: true

Use a clearly named property with documented ownership. If the account already has Unengaged, confirm its type and meaning before reusing it. The flow filters should prevent newly active profiles from reaching this action.

The property does not suppress anyone. It creates a reviewable audience for the next operational step.

9. Suppress the final segment correctly

Create a second segment:

Properties about someone
Unengaged
is true

Then:

1. Inspect sample profiles again.
2. Confirm recent purchase and engagement protection.
3. Record the segment size and review date.
4. Open the list or segment action menu.
5. Choose Suppress current members.
6. Confirm the number of profiles in the Klaviyo modal.

Current platform limitation

As of July 16, 2026, Klaviyo states that profiles cannot be suppressed with a native flow action. Suppress current members affects only the profiles in the segment at that moment. New profiles who later receive Unengaged = true are not automatically suppressed.

Choose one operating model:

• repeat the reviewed bulk-suppression task on a schedule;
• use a workflow outside Klaviyo with an approval step;
• or have a developer implement Klaviyo's webhook and API approach with logging, error handling, access control, and rollback procedures.

Do not disguise an API suppression call as a simple profile-property update.

10. Understand suppress, unsubscribe, and delete

Suppress

Manual suppression makes the profile unable to receive marketing email and removes it from Klaviyo's active-profile billing count. The profile and history remain. Klaviyo notes that manual suppression does not necessarily change the stored consent status.

Suppression is not always permanent. Klaviyo documents resubscription and manual unsuppression paths under certain conditions. Check active profile management before writing customer-facing claims.

Unsubscribe

Unsubscribe records the recipient's marketing-consent choice. Depending on how the unsubscribe occurred, Klaviyo applies the relevant suppression behavior to prevent ordinary marketing sends. Never remove an unsubscribe merely to improve campaign reach.

Delete

Deleting a profile permanently removes its data from Klaviyo. That is a data-governance action, not a routine list-hygiene shortcut. Follow the organization's approved retention and privacy process.

11. Test the full flow

Use controlled profiles and shortened delays in a QA copy.

Use Manual status while observing real profiles if needed. Check trigger membership, message eligibility, filter skips, links, preference behavior, and the final property value before moving actions to Live.

12. Monitor after suppression

Track both operational accuracy and sending health:

• profiles entering the sunset segment;
• profiles clicking, visiting, checking out, or purchasing;
• profiles tagged Unengaged = true;
• profiles suppressed after review;
• false positives found during sampling;
• active-profile count and billing impact;
• complaints, bounces, and engagement among remaining recipients;
• domain reputation and mailbox-provider data where available.

An open-rate increase after suppression is partly expected because non-openers left the denominator. It does not prove a specific inbox-placement gain. Use the email deliverability guide to evaluate authentication, complaints, reputation, and mailbox-provider signals separately.

Common sunset mistakes

Using no opens as the entire definition

MPP makes some opens unreliable, and a customer can purchase without opening tracked marketing email. Use multiple signals.

Suppressing recent customers

This usually indicates missing purchase data, bad identity resolution, or an inactivity window that ignores the business cycle. Fix the data before continuing.

Claiming the flow suppresses automatically

The property update only tags the profile. Native flow suppression is not currently available. Bulk suppression or an API process is still required.

Repeatedly sending final warnings

Segment re-entry can make a profile receive the same sunset sequence again. Start with no re-entry and create a documented exception only when needed.

Treating suppression as deletion

Suppression keeps the profile and history. Deletion is permanent and belongs to a separate privacy process.

Launch checklist

• The cohort is explicitly never-engaged or previously engaged but lapsed.
• Every signal has passed a known-profile data test.
• Apple Privacy Opens are handled intentionally.
• Recent, seasonal, and valuable customers have protections.
• The segment count and sample profiles pass review.
• Existing members use a controlled Add past profiles process.
• Flow filters protect anyone who engages or purchases.
• The sequence has no more than three messages.
• The final step sets a documented property, not a fake suppression action.
• Bulk suppression has an owner and repeat schedule.
• API automation, if used, includes development and governance controls.
• Suppression, unsubscribe, and deletion are documented separately.

FAQ

What should trigger a Klaviyo sunset flow?

A reviewed inactivity segment should trigger it. Use sustained absence of meaningful email, site, checkout, and purchase activity, plus enough profile age and message opportunities. Do not trigger sunset from Last Open Date alone.

How many emails should a sunset flow include?

Klaviyo recommends no more than three. For a very inactive audience, one or two concise messages may be sufficient. Measure verified clicks, complaints, unsubscribes, and false-positive protection rather than maximizing sends.

Can Klaviyo suppress a profile automatically inside the flow?

Not with a native flow action as of July 16, 2026. The standard method tags profiles, creates a tag-based segment, and uses Suppress current members. Full automation requires a developer-built webhook and API process.

Does suppressing a Klaviyo profile delete it?

No. The profile and history remain, but the profile cannot receive ordinary marketing email and no longer counts as an active billable email profile. Deletion is a separate permanent action.

Can a suppressed profile subscribe again?

Klaviyo documents paths where explicit resubscription or manual unsuppression can make a profile reachable again. The exact result depends on suppression reason and consent state. Do not promise that sunset suppression is irreversible.

Should customers enter sunset after completing winback?

Only if they also meet the approved multi-signal inactivity definition. A customer who clicked, visited, or started checkout during winback may still be marketable even without purchasing. A profile with no meaningful activity can be evaluated for sunset.

Make suppression accurate and repeatable

A useful sunset flow protects active subscribers without accidentally cutting off real customers. Deliver can audit the inactivity definition, test Klaviyo signals, build the final sequence, and document the recurring suppression review.

Review your Klaviyo sunset flow with Deliver.

Continue with:

• Build the Klaviyo winback flow
• Design the full winback and sunset strategy
• Improve email deliverability

Charlotte Rodrigues, CRM Lead at Deliver. Updated July 16, 2026.