At Neo, we always welcome sophistication in email security. Industry giants such as Google and Yahoo have announced stricter compliance measures for bulk senders which aligns perfectly with our commitment to a safer email environment.
Effective February 2024, email service providers such as Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook prescribe stricter email authentication guidelines and Neo embraces this step.
What Changes for you as Neo customer
At Neo, we understand our customers' needs and and work with them to provide a safe and secure email experience. To this end, any customer onboarding on our platform after January 30, 2024, shall observe strict adherence to the following email authentication practices to send emails.
Note: If your domain onboarding date is prior to 30 January 2024 please refer here to understand what changes for you
Effective February 2024, all domains sending an email to any Gmail user will be required to set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records for their domains. Failing this, emails from these domains will be rejected by Gmail and may land in spam. To ensure that your emails get delivered to Gmail users' Inbox, please set up SPF records for your domain.
Requirements for all domains
Authentication guidelines:
| Authentication Method | Requirement | How does it help you? |
| SPF | Mandatory | Tells other email providers that Neo is an authorized email sender for your domain, this increases trust in your emails. Set up SPF records for your domain now. |
| DKIM | Highly recommended | Recipient email providers (gmail/outlook etc) prioritize emails with DKIM signatures for "inbox delivery" and reduce redirecting your emails to spam. Set up DKIM records for your domain now. |
| DMARC | Highly recommended | DMARC records are required for the Neo custom domain users. Set up DMARC records for your domain now. |
SPAM rates:
Keep the spam rate of your domain below 0.30% . If you hit this mark, there’s a very high chance that your emails will start lending to spam at the receiver side.
| alert-success | If you are using DMARC records, please ensure that your domain DKIM set up on Neo as prescribed in this article. Else, your forwarded emails might drop/reject/land in spam based on your DMARC policy. |
Guidelines for domains sending more than 5000 Emails per day:
Authentication guidelines:
| Authentication Method | Requirement | How does it help you ? |
| SPF | Required | Tells other email providers that Neo is an authorized email sender for your domain, this increases trust in your emails. Set up SPF records for your domain now. |
| DKIM | Required | Recipient email providers (gmail/outlook etc) prioritize emails with DKIM signatures for "inbox delivery" and reduce redirecting your emails to spam. Set up DKIM records for your domain now. |
| DMARC | Required for custom domain Neo users | DMARC records are required for the Neo custom domain users. Set up DMARC records for your domain now. |
Other changes:
- SPAM rate: Keep spam rate strictly below 0.10%. You can subscribe to tools such as Yahoo CFL or Google postmaster tools
- One-click unsubscribe: All commercial and bulk emails (regardless of volume) must include a clearly visible and easily accessible unsubscribe link that allows recipients to opt-out with a single click.
- Avoid deceptive content: Misleading subject lines, sender names, or content are strictly prohibited and can lead to penalties.
To know more about these mandates, you can refer to the articles listed below:
- New Minimum Requirements for Sending Bulk Mail to Gmail and Yahoo | M3AAWG
- Email sender guidelines FAQ -From Gmail
- New Gmail protections for a safer, less spammy inbox
- More Secure, Less Spam: Enforcing Email Standards for a Better Experience
Please reach out to our support in case of any queries or doubts.