Campaigns
Campaigns orchestrate the sending of phishing emails to target lists using configured templates, servers, and profiles.
Overview
A campaign combines:
An email template
Target lists (one or more)
A sending server
A sender profile
Delivery configuration
Campaign configuration
Basic Settings
Campaign name: internal identifier for the campaign
Template: select the email template to use in the campaign
Sending server: SMTP server for delivery
Sender profile: email account to use for delivery
Target lists: select one or more lists
Delivery Options
Duplicate Targets
Deduplicates targets by email address across all selected lists, retaining only the first occurrence. Enabled by default.
Batching
Enable batch sending for rate limiting.
Batch size: number of emails per batch
Batch delay (seconds): pause between batches
Running a campaign
By default, campaigns are created in a stopped state, allowing operators to review configuration before execution. At creation time, the following options are also available:
Run campaign now: start sending as soon as campaign is created
Schedule start: set a future start date/time for the campaign
These options can also be configured from the campaign details view, which allows operators to manually start, pause, schedule, or reschedule campaigns.
Custom Headers
It's also possible to add custom email headers in a campaign. For example:
However, there are some reserved headers that cannot be overriden:
From
To
Subject
Date
Message-ID
MIME-Version
Campaign states
A campaign goes through different states
Stopped
Not started
Start, Schedule, Archive
Scheduled
Waiting for start time
Edit time, Cancel
Running
Actively sending
Pause, Archive
Paused
User-paused
Resume, Archive
Completed
All emails sent
Archive, Export
Failed
Error occurred
Review errors & Resume, Archive
Archived
Read-only
View only, Delete
Campaign in process
Resource locking
When a campaign begins, some resources are locked in order to prevent inconsistencies.
For that reason:
Sending servers and sender profiles cannot be editted or deleted until a running campaign completes
Target lists are snapshotted once the campaign starts. Targets are pulled from this snapshot, meaning additions to the target list after campaign initiation will not be included in the running campaign. Targets lists and individual recipients associated with an active campaign cannot be deleted until it is completed
Email templates in use are locked from deletion but can be modified in real-time. Any modification in a template will be immediately reflected in ongoing campaigns
Monitoring progress
The campaign details page provides real-time updates including:
Campaign configuration
Email statistics: total, sent, pending, and failed counts
Email delivery timeline
Real time updates of each recipient's status
Campaign pausing
Campaigns can be paused to temporarily halt message delivery and can be resumed at any time.
Email Retry Logic
Failed emails are automatically retried:
First failure: wait 60 seconds, retry
Second failure: wait 5 minutes, retry
Third failure: mark as failed, pause campaign
Three consecutive failures typically indicate invalid SMTP credentials, server connectivity issues, or configuration errors. Automatic pausing prevents mail server penalties and allows investigation of the root causes.
Campaign completion & results
Viewing Results
Once a campaign is concluded, it will be marked as complete.
A detailed overview of the entire campaign configuration will be then available, along with a record of all emails sent to each recipient and their corresponding timestamps.
In addition, a complete list of all generated variable values (e.g., {{randomID}} or other custom variables) for each email log entry will be displayed. These values can be easily viewed and filtered through a user-friendly search interface. This information is essential for accurate tracking and correlation.
Tracking opened emails
Tangled does not automatically track email opens. However, it allows you to record when a target has opened an email. This can be done either manually or through the use of variables.
This approach allows operators to implement custom tracking logic on external infrastructure, avoiding exposure of the mailing server and offering greater flexibility in how tracking and access registration are handled.
Manually tracking opened emails
When you confirm a target opened the email:
Find the email in logs
Click Mark as Opened
Access timestamp is recorded
Tracking via variables
Generated variables can be embedded in links for automatic tracking calling an API endpoint (see API Reference for more details). Below are some simplified examples based on real-world scenarios:
Website that receives the random ID parameter in the id parameter.
In the website's backend, the operator registers all randomIDs received when the pixel is loaded and calls the API endpoint to automatically register all values received.
Website that receives the random ID parameter in the id parameter.
In the website's backend, the operator registers all randomIDs received and calls the API endpoint to automatically register all IDs received.
Website that receives a GUID in the url path.
In the website's backend, the operator registers all GUIDs received and calls the API endpoint to automatically register all interactions with the website that contain said GUID.
Exporting Data
Clicking the "Export Results" button downloads an Excel file containing:
Recipient data (name, email, extra field)
Send status (time sent and result)
Open status and timestamp
All generated variables (static and per-recipient)
This will allow keeping track for analysis and reporting.
Archiving Campaigns
Once a campaign is no longer needed, the Archive button can be clicked within the campaign view —even if the campaign has not yet finished. The campaign will then be marked as read-only.
Archived campaigns remain accessible under the Campaigns > Archived tab.
It is also possible to click "Archive All" in the top-right corner to archive all non-running campaigns at once.
Deleting Campaigns
Only archived campaigns can be deleted. Once a campaign is deleted, all associated data, including email logs, will be permanently lost. This action cannot be undone.
It is also possible to delete all archived campaigns at once by clicking the top-right button in the Archived Campaigns tab.
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