Understanding the 2024 Email Security Mandates

There are new email security mandates set by Google and others that have gone into effect as of February 2024. 

Google has mandated bulk senders to authenticate their emails, facilitate straightforward unsubscription options, and maintain compliance with a designated spam complaint threshold. Here’s what that means: 

Google has made it mandatory for high-volume email senders to authenticate their emails securely, without expecting users to understand the technical details. This enhances email security and close vulnerabilities exploited by attackers.

Large email senders must provide a one-click option for Gmail users to unsubscribe from commercial emails, ensuring prompt processing within two days. These requirements are based on open standards, making it easier for everyone to manage their email preferences.

It’s important to note that beehiiv does automatically inject a list-unsubscribe header into all published posts when they are scheduled through the post editor. This header will not be present in test emails however, only on published posts.

Additionally, certain mail providers like Google and Yahoo choose if they want to show the actual unsubscribe button in the header for your readers to unsubscribe. This is done on a domain-sending reputation and reader-engagement basis, so the unsubscribe button may appear for some readers and not for others.

Google has set a clear spam rate threshold that senders must adhere to, ensuring Gmail users receive fewer unwanted messages. This measure aims to keep inboxes cleaner and free from spam.