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

# Destination rules

> Destination rules filter which records can sync to a specific destination, without changing who's in the audience.

## Before you begin

* A [parent model](https://docs.hightouch.com/customer-studio/schema.md)
* A [destination](https://docs.hightouch.com/getting-started/concepts.md#destinations) to filter

## How destination rules work

Destination rules add filtering on top of an audience at **sync time**. They don't change audience membership — only which of those members reach a given destination.

The most common use is enforcing consent. For example, you can exclude users who haven't opted in to email or a specific ad platform, so unconsented records never sync to that destination.

## Create a destination rule

1. Go to **Customer Studio > Governance**, then open the **Destination rules** tab.
2. Select a [parent model](https://docs.hightouch.com/customer-studio/schema.md).
3. Select **Add destination rule**.
4. Select a destination.
5. Select **Add filter** to define which records are eligible to sync.

The filter builder uses the same conditions as the [audience builder](https://docs.hightouch.com/customer-studio/usage.md), including nested `AND`/`OR` logic.

![Defining a destination rule](https://mintcdn.com/hightouch-3c037897/L_vQfA0JQEpeGUUo/images/hightouch-audiences/destination-rules/cs-dr-new-rule.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=L_vQfA0JQEpeGUUo\&q=85\&s=ed209fd9c45eb5c51a1f162d9b481142)

## Preview a rule's impact

Before you sync, preview how a rule changes an audience's size and membership. The preview is available while you create an audience and from a saved audience's **Definition** tab.

Select the **Preview a destination** dropdown and choose a destination that has a rule. Hightouch applies the rule and updates the preview.

![Previewing a destination rule's impact on an audience](https://mintcdn.com/hightouch-3c037897/L_vQfA0JQEpeGUUo/images/hightouch-audiences/destination-rules/cs-dr-preview-rules.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=L_vQfA0JQEpeGUUo\&q=85\&s=856575742e88cbe0d2a31d8fdd5bcf66)

The preview doesn't change the audience. It shows only how the rule would affect syncing to that destination.

## How rules apply to syncs

When you sync an audience to a destination that has a rule, Hightouch excludes the rows that don't meet the rule at sync time. Every future sync to that destination applies the rule automatically.

Excluded rows still belong to the audience. They're unaffected everywhere except syncing, so they still appear in previews, Insights, and other Customer Studio features.

## Next steps

* [Sync audiences](https://docs.hightouch.com/customer-studio/syncs.md) to activate an audience once its destination rules are in place.
* [Subsets](https://docs.hightouch.com/customer-studio/subsets.md) to restrict which records a user can work with, not just which can sync.
* [Data masking](https://docs.hightouch.com/customer-studio/data-masking.md) to hide sensitive column values from users who can otherwise see the record.