Google is making it harder for bulk senders to fill your Gmail with spam

Google is preparing to impose new Gmail requirements that aim to reduce spam, improve email security, and make it easier to unsubscribe from commercial email senders. The new requirements will be imposed on bulk senders, defined as those who send more than 5,000 messages to Gmail accounts each day, by February 2024.

As part of the requirements, Google will begin enforcing a clear spam rate threshold for mass email senders to prevent them from bombarding Gmail users with unwanted messages. Gmail existing bulk sender rules It advises senders to keep their spam output below 0.3 percent, but this is currently worded as a recommendation. Google says the change should result in less spam clogging up your inbox.

Bulk senders will also need to give Gmail recipients the ability to unsubscribe from commercial emails with a single click to make it easier to stop receiving unwanted messages. Requests to unsubscribe from such emails must be processed within two days.

Lastly, Google also says that mass email senders will need to “strongly authenticate” their emails using following Google best practices. The company claims that this will close existing loopholes used by attackers, making the source of your emails more secure and reliable.

“Many bulk senders do not properly secure or configure their systems, allowing attackers to easily hide among them,” said Neil Kumaran, group product manager for security and trust at Gmail, in a blog post. “To help address this issue, we’ve focused on a crucial aspect of email security: validating that a sender is who they say they are.”