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Google GOOG-1% warns that sending unwanted mass emails to Gmail users will result in increased message rejections starting in April if they do not follow new email sender guidelines.
New Guidelines for Sending Mass Emails To Gmail Accounts
According to a Forbes article published last Tuesday, new rules will protect Gmail users from unwanted mass emails. At the time, it was reported that some senders of mass marketing emails were receiving error messages regarding messages sent to Gmail accounts.
However, a Google spokesperson has told me that those specific errors, 550-5.7.56, were not new but “a product of pre-existing authentication requirements.”
Google also confirmed that, beginning in April, it will “start rejecting a percentage of non-compliant email traffic, and we will gradually increase the rejection rate.”
Google claims that if 75% of the traffic complies with the new email sender authentication guidelines, “a percentage” of the remaining non-compliant 25% will be rejected.
The exact percentage is unknown at this time. Google does say that when it comes to enforcement of the new rules, it will be “gradual and progressive.”
This slow and steady approach appears to have already started, with temporary errors on a “small percentage of their non-compliant email traffic” coming into play this month. Google also says that bulk senders will have until June 1 to “implement one-click unsubscribe in all commercial, promotional messages.”
Only Email Sent To Personal Gmail Accounts Will Be Rejected
These changes will only impact bulk emails sent to personal Gmail accounts. Senders of mass email to those accounts, those sending at least 5,000 messages a day to Gmail accounts, will be required to authenticate the outgoing email as well as “avoid sending unwanted or unsolicited email.” The 5,000 message limit is calculated on emails sent from the same primary domain, regardless of how many subdomains are used. The limit only has to be reached once for the domain to be considered a permanent bulk sender.
These guidelines do not apply to messages sent to Google Workspace accounts, but all senders, including those who use Google Workspace, must follow the new requirements.
Improved Security And More Control For Gmail Users
A Google spokesperson told me that the requirements are being implemented to “boost sender-side security and increase the control users have over what gets into their inbox even more.” For the recipient, it should mean that they can trust the sender of the email they receive to actually be that person or organization, reducing the phishing risk to them as malicious actors commonly exploit authentication loopholes. “If anything,” the spokesperson concludes, “meeting these requirements should help senders reach those who want their messages more effectively, with diminished risk of spoofing and hijacking from bad actors.”
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