> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.orbitforms.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Reply Tracking Setup

> Set up email forwarding to automatically detect when contacts reply to your sequence emails. When a reply is detected, the contact is automatically unenrolled from the sequence.

## How It Works

When you send sequence emails through OrbitForms, replies go directly to your regular inbox (Gmail, Outlook, etc.). To detect those replies automatically, you set up a forwarding rule that sends a copy of incoming emails to a unique OrbitForms address. This lets us match replies against sent sequence emails and unenroll contacts who respond.

<Info>
  **Key points:**

  * Your contacts see your real email address — nothing changes for them
  * Replies still land in your inbox as normal
  * The forwarding is a copy — your original emails are not affected
  * Reply tracking is optional — sequences work without it, but contacts won't be auto-unenrolled on reply
</Info>

## Setup Instructions

### Step 1: Find Your Forwarding Address

1. Go to **Settings → Email & Calendar** in your OrbitForms dashboard
2. Scroll to the **Reply Tracking** section
3. You'll see a unique forwarding address for each connected email account
4. Click the copy button to copy the address

### Step 2: Add the Address in Gmail

1. Open **Gmail** and click the gear icon → **See all settings**
2. Go to the **Forwarding and POP/IMAP** tab
3. Click **Add a forwarding address**
4. Paste your OrbitForms forwarding address and click **Next**

Gmail will send a confirmation email to your OrbitForms address. You don't need to find this email yourself — OrbitForms receives it automatically and the next step will appear in your settings.

### Step 3: Confirm Forwarding

Once OrbitForms receives Gmail's confirmation email, the Reply Tracking section will update to **"Pending confirmation"** status with two steps:

1. Click the **Confirm Forwarding** button — this opens Gmail's confirmation page in a new tab where you approve the forwarding
2. Click the **Gmail Forwarding Settings** link to go back to Gmail's forwarding settings, then:
   * Select **"Forward a copy of incoming mail to"** your OrbitForms address
   * Choose **"keep Gmail's copy in the Inbox"** from the dropdown
   * Click **Save Changes**

<Warning>
  Make sure to select **"keep Gmail's copy in the Inbox"** so your emails are not deleted after forwarding.
</Warning>

After completing these steps, the status will automatically update to **"Active"** once we receive the first forwarded email. This usually happens within a few minutes.

You'll also see the status on the **Settings** tab of each sequence — a green "Active" badge appears next to "Reply tracking" when the sender's forwarding is configured.

### Alternative: Set Up Forwarding in Outlook

1. Open **Outlook** and go to **Settings** (gear icon)
2. Go to **Mail → Forwarding**
3. Check **Enable forwarding**
4. Paste your OrbitForms forwarding address
5. Make sure **Keep a copy of forwarded messages** is checked
6. Click **Save**

## Removing Reply Tracking

To stop reply tracking for an email account:

1. Go to **Settings → Email & Calendar** and scroll to **Reply Tracking**
2. Click the **Remove** button next to the account
3. Open your **Gmail forwarding settings** and remove the forwarding rule or set it back to **"Disable forwarding"**

<Info>
  Removing reply tracking in OrbitForms does not automatically remove the forwarding rule in Gmail — make sure to disable it in both places.
</Info>

## How Reply Detection Works

When a contact replies to a sequence email:

1. The reply arrives in your inbox (e.g., Gmail)
2. Gmail forwards a copy to your OrbitForms forwarding address
3. OrbitForms reads the email's `In-Reply-To` and `References` headers — these are standard email headers that identify which message is being replied to
4. We match those header values against the Message-ID we stored when the sequence email was originally sent
5. We verify that the sender's email address matches the contact enrolled in the sequence
6. If both checks pass, the contact's step execution is marked as "replied"
7. If "Email reply received" is enabled in the sequence's exit criteria, the contact is automatically unenrolled

Replies that don't match any sent sequence email — or where the sender doesn't match the enrolled contact — are silently discarded.

## Privacy & Security

We take a strict approach to how forwarded emails are handled:

* **No email content is stored.** We read the `In-Reply-To` and `References` headers and the sender's email address from forwarded emails. The email subject, body, and attachments are never saved to our database.
* **Sender verification.** We check that the sender's email address matches the contact enrolled in the sequence. This prevents misattributed replies and ensures only genuine replies from your contacts are processed.
* **Non-sequence emails are discarded immediately.** If a forwarded email doesn't match a sent sequence email, it's ignored — no logging, no storage.
* **Your forwarding address is unique.** Each connected email account gets its own forwarding address, scoped to your user account.
* **Team-scoped matching.** Reply matching is restricted to sequences within your team. Forwarded emails can never interact with data from other teams.

## FAQ

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Does this change what my contacts see?">
    No. Your contacts see your real email address (e.g., [buddy@cometly.com](mailto:buddy@cometly.com)) as the sender and reply-to address. The forwarding happens on your side and is invisible to them.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Will I still see replies in my inbox?">
    Yes. Gmail/Outlook keeps a copy in your inbox. The forwarding only sends a copy to OrbitForms — it does not redirect or delete your emails.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What if I don't set up reply tracking?">
    Sequences will still work normally — emails are sent, opened, and clicked as usual. The only difference is that contacts won't be automatically unenrolled when they reply. You can still manually unenroll them.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What exactly does OrbitForms see from my forwarded emails?">
    We read two things: the email threading headers (`In-Reply-To` and `References`) to identify which message is being replied to, and the sender's email address to verify it matches the enrolled contact. We match the threading headers against the Message-IDs of emails we sent through your sequences. The email subject, body, and attachments are never stored.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I use this with multiple email accounts?">
    Yes. Each connected email account has its own unique forwarding address. Set up forwarding separately for each account you use to send sequences.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>