---
title: "Get complaints by type"
canonical: "https://bird.com/docs/api/reference/get-email-stats-by-complaint-type"
---

# Get complaints by type

`GET /v1/email/stats/complaint-types`

Returns spam-complaint counts for the requested period, grouped by the feedback-loop complaint type the mailbox provider reported, for example `abuse`, `fraud`, or `virus`. Use it to see what kind of complaints your mail attracts.

This breakdown only covers the complaint side. Each row has the complained count for one type and nothing else, because a complaint type is only ever recorded on a spam-complaint event.

Rows are ranked by `complained` descending, and paginated with the requested `limit` (default 50, hard maximum 200). They are computed against event time rather than send time. The window can span at most 365 days. Ask for more and you get a `422`.

## Code samples

**TypeScript**

```ts
const { data } = await bird.email.stats.byComplaintType({ from: "2026-05-01", to: "2026-05-31" });
for (const row of data) console.log(row.feedback_type, row.complained);
```

Examples: [TypeScript](/docs/api/reference/get-email-stats-by-complaint-type.ts.md) · [Python](/docs/api/reference/get-email-stats-by-complaint-type.py.md) · [Go](/docs/api/reference/get-email-stats-by-complaint-type.go.md) · [PHP](/docs/api/reference/get-email-stats-by-complaint-type.php.md) · [CLI](/docs/api/reference/get-email-stats-by-complaint-type.cli.md) · [MCP](/docs/api/reference/get-email-stats-by-complaint-type.mcp.md) · [cURL](/docs/api/reference/get-email-stats-by-complaint-type.curl.md)

## Example response `200`

```json
{
  "period": {
    "from": "2026-05-01",
    "to": "2026-05-25",
    "data_as_of": "2026-05-25T14:03:10Z"
  },
  "data": [
    {
      "feedback_type": "abuse",
      "complained": 47
    }
  ],
  "total": 4,
  "next_cursor": "eyJ2IjoxLCJzIjoiXCIyMDI2LTA1LTI1VDE0OjAzOjEwWlwiIiwiaSI6IjAxOTJmM2IxLTRjN2UtN2EyYi05ZDYxLThmM2E1YzJlN2I0MCJ9",
  "prev_cursor": null,
  "refresh_cursor": "eyJ2IjoxLCJzIjoiXCIyMDI2LTA1LTI1VDE2OjQyOjAxWlwiIiwiaSI6IjAxOTJmM2IxLTllMDQtN2NkMy1iODE3LTJhNmY0ZDFjOGUwOSJ9"
}
```

## Query parameters

- `starting_after` (string): Cursor from the `next_cursor` field of a previous list response. Returns items immediately after the cursor position in the current sort order.
- `ending_before` (string): Cursor from the `prev_cursor` or `refresh_cursor` field of a previous list response. Returns items immediately before the cursor position in the current sort order. `prev_cursor` returns the preceding page. `refresh_cursor` anchors at the first row of that response, which on a newest-first sort is how to fetch the items that have appeared since.
- `from` (string): Start date (inclusive) in `YYYY-MM-DD`, interpreted as a calendar day in `timezone` (a UTC day when `timezone` is omitted). Defaults to 30 days before `to` when omitted.
- `to` (string): End date (inclusive) in `YYYY-MM-DD`, interpreted as a calendar day in `timezone` (a UTC day when `timezone` is omitted). Defaults to today in that timezone when omitted. Window may not exceed 365 days.
- `timezone` (string): IANA timezone identifier used to group statistics, for example `Asia/Kathmandu`. The default is UTC. Day and hour boundaries, including the default window when `from` and `to` are omitted, follow this timezone. When this parameter is set, pass `from` and `to` as calendar days or `Z` instants instead of timestamps with explicit UTC offsets.
- `category` (string): Not supported on breakdown endpoints. Supplying it returns `422`. To compare categories, use `GET /v1/email/stats/categories`. The summary, daily, and hourly statistics accept `category` as a filter.
- `sort` (string)

  Metric to rank rows by, applied descending. It defaults to `complained`, the only sortable metric for this breakdown.

  Possible values: `complained`
- `limit` (integer): Maximum number of complaint-type rows to return, ranked by `complained` descending.

## Response body

- `period` (object, required): The date range the response covers (echoed back from the request), plus `data_as_of`, the freshness boundary the data is current to.
- `period.from` (string, required): Inclusive start date the response covers (YYYY-MM-DD).
- `period.to` (string, required): Inclusive end date the response covers (YYYY-MM-DD).
- `period.data_as_of` (nullable string): The instant the statistics in this response are current to: events recorded up to roughly this time are reflected, while more recent events may not be yet. Statistics are served from a rolling aggregation that refreshes every few seconds, so a response reflects data from up to a few seconds ago. Use this field to label data freshness (for example "as of 14:03") rather than assuming the numbers are to-the-second. Null when the freshness boundary is not being reported.
- `data` (array of object, required): Complaint-type breakdown rows, ranked by `complained` descending. Empty when no complaints occurred in the period.
- `data.feedback_type` (string, required): The complaint classification reported by the mailbox provider's feedback loop, in the abuse-reporting-format vocabulary (for example `abuse`, `fraud`, `virus`, `other`). The set is open.
- `data.complained` (integer, required): Distinct recipients who reported a message as spam with this complaint type at any point in the period.
- `total` (integer, required): Total number of distinct feedback types with activity in the period, regardless of `limit`. Pass `next_cursor` as `starting_after` to request the next page.
- `next_cursor` (nullable string, required): Cursor for the next page. Pass back as `starting_after` to advance forward. `null` when no next page exists.
- `prev_cursor` (nullable string, required): Cursor for the previous page. Pass back as `ending_before` to step backward. `null` when no previous page exists.
- `refresh_cursor` (nullable string, required): Refresh anchor, the first row of this response. Pass back as `ending_before` to fetch what precedes it in the current sort order. On a newest-first sort those are the items that have appeared since; on any other sort they are the items that sort earlier, so refreshing such a list means re-fetching it instead. Non-`null` whenever `data` is non-empty; `null` only on an empty page. Distinct from `prev_cursor`.

## Related resources

- [What is click-through rate for email and SMS?](/explained/engagement/what-is-click-through-rate) (answer)
- [Email analytics](/email-api/features/analytics) (product)
- [Email metrics](/docs/guides/email/tracking-and-metrics) (docs)

[Get an implementation brief](/learn/workspace?topic=email-metrics)