Verify the leads in your Instantly campaigns

Why check a campaign, not just a list

Leads sit in a campaign for weeks while people change jobs and companies change domains. An address that was fine when you imported it can bounce by the time the third follow-up goes out. Checking the campaign itself, right before a send or once a week, catches those addresses without exporting and re-importing a file.

How it works

1. Sign in (free accounts work) and open Integrations in your dashboard.
2. In Instantly, go to Settings > Integrations, open API Keys and click Create API Key.
3. Give it the campaigns:read and leads:read scopes (add workspaces:read to show your workspace name and lead_lists:read for lead lists). Tagging needs leads:update; removal needs leads:delete and block_list_entries:create. all:all covers everything. Instantly shows the key once, so copy it.
4. Paste the key and click Connect. We check it with Instantly before saving it.
5. Choose a campaign or lead list from the list. It is read live from your account.
6. Keep the default, tagging each lead with its result, or untick it to only check. Removal-type actions are off until you tick them.
7. Read the confirmation, which lists exactly what will happen and what it costs on your plan, and start the run. Optionally turn on daily auto-verify for new leads.
8. Open History to follow progress and download the results.

What we read and what we change

Only documented Instantly API endpoints are used. To check a campaign, SimpleVerifier reads:

• GET /api/v2/workspaces/current shows your workspace name after you connect. docs
• GET /api/v2/campaigns lists your campaigns so you can pick one. docs
• GET /api/v2/lead-lists lists your lead lists. docs
• GET /api/v2/campaigns/analytics shows each campaign's lead count next to its name, when the key may read analytics. docs
• POST /api/v2/leads/list pages through the chosen campaign's or list's leads, 100 at a time. docs

Only for the actions you choose on a run, and only once its verification has completed, it calls these: tagging writes each checked lead's result; removal, pausing and blocking act on leads marked invalid. Nothing is written when you untick everything, when the run is canceled, or when you remove the key first.

• PATCH /api/v2/leads/{id} tagging: writes sv_status (valid, risky or invalid) and sv_verified_at into each checked lead's custom variables, keeping its existing ones. docs
• DELETE /api/v2/leads deletes the invalid leads from that campaign or list, by lead ID, in batches of 100. docs
• POST /api/v2/block-lists-entries/bulk-create adds the invalid addresses to your workspace block list. docs

• Removal is scoped to the campaign you picked: the request names that campaign and the exact lead IDs, so leads in your other campaigns are not deleted.
• Instantly's block list applies to the whole workspace, so a blocked address is not emailed from any campaign.
• Instantly's API limits are shared across the workspace (100 requests a second, 6,000 a minute). A run stays well under them; tagging makes one call per lead.
• Instantly's API has no call to pause a single lead, so pausing is not offered; use removal or the block list.
• Not yet tested against a live Instantly workspace: the calls follow Instantly's published API v2 reference, and a wrong key is rejected by Instantly's real API as expected. If something behaves differently in your workspace, write to [email protected].

What the results mean

• Valid: the mail server confirmed the mailbox exists.
• Risky: it may work, but delivery isn't confirmed, for example a catch-all domain. Tagging marks them risky; they are never removed, paused or blocked.
• Invalid: it will bounce, or it's a disposable address. These are the only leads removal, pausing and blocking act on.

The results file keeps each lead's email, name, company and Instantly lead ID, so you can match rows back to the campaign.

Common questions

How do I verify the leads in a Instantly campaign?

Connect your Instantly API key in the SimpleVerifier dashboard, pick the campaign and start a run. SimpleVerifier reads the campaign's lead emails through the Instantly API and checks each one with the mail server. Results appear in History as valid, risky or invalid with a reason, with the same downloads as an uploaded CSV.

Does SimpleVerifier change anything in my Instantly account?

Only what you choose for that run, and only after verification has completed. The default is tagging: writes sv_status (valid, risky or invalid) and sv_verified_at into the lead's custom variables. Nothing is removed or paused. You can also delete invalid leads from this campaign or list, or add invalid addresses to your Instantly block list; those act on invalid leads only, never risky ones, and need an explicit confirmation before the run starts. Only a confirmed mailbox is written as valid; anything unconfirmed is written as risky.

How is my API key stored?

It is checked with Instantly, encrypted with AES-256-GCM using a server-side key, and stored on our server. It is never shown again or sent back to your browser, and it is not written to logs. Removing the key in the dashboard deletes it, turns off any daily auto-verify, and skips any pending write-back.

How many leads can one run check?

Up to 100,000 leads per run, the same limit as a CSV upload. Very large campaigns can take more than a day to finish, because mailbox checks run within a daily capacity; History shows how far a list has got.

What does it cost?

The same as uploading the leads as a CSV, one check per distinct address. A free account uses its free checks: if the campaign or lead list holds more leads than you have checks left, the first ones are checked and the rest stay unchecked. Starter uses the monthly allowance, Pro, Business and Agency their monthly full-speed volume and then the slow lane at no extra cost. The confirmation shows the numbers before anything starts.

Can it check new leads automatically?

Yes, on a paid plan. Turn on daily auto-verify for a campaign or lead list: once a day SimpleVerifier pulls the leads and checks only addresses it has not seen in that source before, up to 10,000 a day, with the write-back you chose. By default the leads already there are only remembered, not checked, so nothing is spent until new leads arrive. Free checks and pack credits are never used by the schedule.

Which Instantly API version does it use?

API v2, with your key sent as a Bearer token. Keys from the older API v1 will not work; create a v2 key under Settings > Integrations > API Keys.

Why was my Instantly key rejected?

A 401 from Instantly means the key is wrong or was revoked; create a new one. A 403 usually means the key is missing a scope: it needs campaigns:read and leads:read, plus leads:update for tagging and leads:delete and block_list_entries:create for removal. A 402 means the Instantly workspace has no active paid plan, so its API is off.