Google (and Yahoo) bulk email rules changes from February 2024

From February 2024, two major email providers, Gmail and Yahoo, (opens in a new window)will begin strengthening sender requirements to fight spam.  Google is implementing major changes from 2nd February 2024 and Yahoo has said (opens in a new window)changes will take effect sometime during the month. 

How does this affect me?

If you send bulk emails to non-UCD accounts, you need to be aware of these new requirements.

Google and Yahoo define “bulk emails” as more than 5,000 messages a day from one domain or subdomain. You may think that doesn’t apply to you, but if you send bulk external mailings of any size, it probably does. That’s because providers aggregate emails by sender i.e. this is institution-wide.   So just a few bad external mailings could result in Google and Yahoo blocking all emails from UCD as spam, not just bulk mailings. 

UCD IT Services recommends always using our supported systems. Targeted Communications in InfoHub is available to staff for internal email communications and a new service will soon be available (on request): Mailjet for sending external email communications.

Technical measures by IT Services

With Google and Yahoo’s new authentication requirements, most sender identification is behind the scenes. We must now authenticate messages with (opens in a new window)SPF, DKIM and DMARC. These are industry-standard email authentication methods that prove your identity to email services.

IT Services has ensured that our supported services (Targeted Communications and Mailjet) comply with these technical requirements. 

Actions for you

1. Use university-supported systems for bulk email

If you send bulk emails we recommend using our supported services at UCD: 

• (opens in a new window)Targeted Communications is available via InfoHub for internal bulk emails. See  (opens in a new window)How do I access services and reports in InfoHub? for access instructions if required.
  
  
• If you are a UCD staff member and wish to use (opens in a new window)Mailjet for external bulk emailing, please make an access request via the (opens in a new window)IT Helpdesk and include the following details:
  
  - What is your use case for bulk email sending from @ucd.ie or any subdomains?
  - Circa how many monthly/annual emails do you send?
  - Roughly what size is your distribution list - how many contacts do you send your newsletters/other comms?
  - Do you already include an opt-out when gathering email contacts? 
  - Have you engaged with the UCD DPO on how you collect and maintain any personal data?

There are also some non-technical steps you can take when sending emails, particularly bulk emails: 

2. Identify yourself in plain text

You must adequately and correctly identify yourself in your email communications.

Tell people who you are and why you’re emailing them. Good language includes statements like “you are receiving this email because” and “this message is intended for.” Those statements help people understand why and how you got their contact information. 

Unless you are emailing on behalf of the entire University, be specific and include your school, unit or department name in your message.

3.  Offer an unsubscribe option to recipients

No unsubscribe link in your promotional email or newsletter? Your email is likely going to spam. You may also be violating data privacy guidelines. 

Google and Yahoo’s newest requirements make unsubscribe rules even stricter. You must now provide clear and easy unsubscribe options. Do not hide your links or make users search for unsubscribe options.

Our supported systems Mailjet and Targeted Communications offer one-click unsubscribes as standard. 

Note: not all email messages need (or can have) unsubscribe links. Transactional messages, like purchase confirmations, are exempt. 

4. Process unsubscribe requests quickly

Google and Yahoo now require you to process unsubscribe requests within two days. 

Our supported systems Mailjet and Targeted Communications offer one-click unsubscribes as standard. 

5. Avoid clickbait and any spammy features

You want people to read your emails, but at what cost?

You likely know that certain words or formats send your messages straight to the spam folder e.g. MESSAGES ALL IN CAPS or emails that just contain images of text.

Subject lines must accurately reflect the subject of the message.

Remember, if people think it feels like spam, they’ll report it as spam. With Google and Yahoo’s new lower spam report threshold, if only 0.3% of people mark your message as spam, Google and Yahoo will reject all messages from that domain or subdomain.

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If you send bulk email, it’s essential that you thoroughly review and document your email services and processes. 

Keep in mind that as email providers like Google increase requirements, third-party companies are playing catch up. IT Services strongly recommends you use our supported services to ensure your bulk mailings meet sender requirements.