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Overview

Gateway is Zeotap CDP’s frequency capping module, found under Orchestrate. It lets you create policies that control how many times a message can be sent to any single user within a given time window — across all message types or per channel.
  • Prevents message fatigue and over-communication
  • Protects user experience by enforcing consistent communication limits
  • Fine-grained control for marketing and CRM teams over messaging egress
Gateway policies apply exclusively within Journeys. They are enforced at the point of sending to a destination and only apply to messaging destinations (Email, SMS, In-App Push, Web Push).
Gateway policy list dashboard

Gateway policy list showing all configured policies with their status, timestamps, and creators

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Key Concepts

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Policy

A named configuration that defines one or more frequency rules. Each policy must have at least one rule and applies to all Journeys within your organisation.

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Frequency Rule

A single condition within a policy. It specifies:
  • The maximum number of messages to send to a user
  • The channel type the rule targets
  • The specific destination mappings to include (for channel-specific rules)
  • The time window (in days) over which the cap applies

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Message Categories

Messages are grouped into four categories:
  • Email
  • SMS
  • In-App Push
  • Web Push

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Policy Status

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How Gateway Works

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Enforcement Flow

When a Journey attempts to send a message to a user via a connected destination:
  1. The system checks whether any enabled Gateway policy applies to that destination.
  2. If a policy applies, it evaluates whether the user has already hit their frequency cap for the current time window.
  3. If the cap has been reached, the send is blocked and the Journey logs an error for that user.
  4. If the cap has not been reached, the message is sent and the counter is incremented.

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Counter Reset

  • Counters reset at 00:00:00 UTC based on the duration mentioned in the policy.
  • Caps are based on calendar days, not rolling 24-hour windows.

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When a Policy is Created

The policy takes effect immediately but the first full enforcement window begins on the next calendar day.
To ensure correct policy behaviour, allow the first full calendar day to pass after creating or editing a policy before relying on the cap being fully enforced.

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When a Policy is Edited

  • All counters are reset immediately upon saving.
  • The edited policy behaves like a newly created policy — full enforcement begins from the next calendar day.

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Supported Destinations

Gateway policies can only be applied to destinations that trigger a message send.
Only destinations that trigger a messaging action are eligible for Gateway policies. Non-messaging destinations (e.g., data exports, audience sync) are not affected.

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Creating a Policy

Navigate to Orchestrate > Gateway and click + Create Policy.
1

Name your policy

Enter a descriptive policy name for easy identification (e.g., “Email Daily Cap”).
2

Define a frequency rule

Each rule is expressed as:
Send no more than [X] [channel type] [from mapping(s)] to a user every [Y] Days
Create New Policy dialog with global frequency cap rule

Create New Policy dialog with a global frequency cap rule set to 'Send no more than 1 Messaging of any type to a user every 1 Day'

3

Add more rules (optional)

Click + Add Rule to add additional rules to the same policy. All rules are joined by AND logic. Each rule can be deleted individually using the trash icon.
Create Policy dialog with Email channel rule and From Mapping dropdown

Create Policy with an Email channel rule showing the From Mapping dropdown to select specific destination mappings

4

Save

Click Create Policy. The policy is saved with Enabled status by default and will be enforced from the next calendar day.

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Managing Policies

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Policy List

The Gateway home screen displays all policies for your organisation with the following columns:
  • Use the search bar to filter policies by name.
  • Click any column header to sort. Default sort is by Created On (descending).

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Actions

Click the three-dot menu on any policy row to access:

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Gateway & Journeys

Gateway is enforced automatically at the Journeys send layer. There is no additional configuration needed within a Journey — once a policy is enabled, it applies to all qualifying sends.

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What Happens When a User is Blocked

  • The message send is blocked for that user.
  • The Journey records an error against that user in the execution log, indicating the send was blocked by a Gateway policy.
  • Other users in the same Journey who have not hit their cap continue to receive messages normally.
  • The blocked user will be eligible again once the counter resets at 00:00 UTC based on the policy duration.
Journey destination node showing Gateway policy block error

Journey canvas showing a blocked send with an error indicating the user was blocked by a Gateway policy

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Which Journeys are Affected

  • All published Journeys in your organisation that send via a supported destination are subject to active Gateway policies.
  • Journeys using non-messaging destinations are unaffected.

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User Roles & Permissions

Access to Gateway is controlled through Zeotap CDP’s role-based access control (RBAC) system.

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Access Levels

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Role to Access Mapping

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Example Use Cases

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Global daily cap across all channels

A retailer wants to ensure no user receives more than 3 messages per day regardless of channel.
  • Channel type: Messaging of any type
  • Limit: 3 per 1 Day
  • Result: Once a user has received 3 messages (across any channel), further sends are blocked for the rest of that calendar day.

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Email-only cap for a specific tool

A CRM team wants to limit Iterable email sends to 1 per day per user, while keeping SMS unrestricted.
  • Channel type: Email
  • From mapping: Iterable: Campaign Trigger
  • Limit: 1 per 1 Day
  • Result: Only Iterable email sends are counted. SMS, In-App, and Web Push sends via Iterable are unaffected.

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Multi-rule policy with AND logic

A team wants to cap both email and SMS independently on the same day.
  • Rule 1: Send no more than 2 Email to a user every 1 Day
  • Rule 2: Send no more than 1 SMS to a user every 1 Day
  • Result: A user receives a maximum of 2 emails and 1 SMS per day.

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Limits & Constraints

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Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Once a policy is enabled, it applies to all qualifying sends from the next calendar day, regardless of when the Journey was created or published.
Full enforcement begins from the next calendar day (00:00 UTC). On the day of creation, behaviour may not be fully consistent until the following day.
All counters reset immediately. The policy behaves like it was freshly created — full enforcement resumes from the next calendar day. Users who were previously blocked may receive messages again until the new counters kick in.
Yes — but only using multiple rules with AND logic. Each rule can target a different channel/mapping combination.
Not currently. Gateway policies are enforced exclusively at the Journeys send layer.
All counters reset at 00:00:00 UTC regardless of the user’s or organisation’s local time zone.
It covers all four message categories — Email, SMS, In-App Push, and Web Push — across all supported destinations.
In the Journey execution log, you will see an error recorded against the affected user indicating the send was blocked by a Gateway policy.
Last modified on March 31, 2026