Gmail's Plans To Decrease Spam Emails In Your Inbox Starting April: Here's What You Need To Know

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New Delhi: Google is intensifying its efforts to combat spam by targeting bulk email senders. As part of this crackdown, bulk email senders will face increased email rejections unless they adhere to Google's new policies. These policies mandate senders to authenticate their messages and only send emails to recipients who have opted to receive them.

When announcing the restrictions on bulk senders through a blog post in October of the previous year, Google stated, “You shouldn’t have to jump through hoops to stop receiving unwanted messages from a particular email sender. It should take one click. So we’re requiring that large senders give Gmail recipients the ability to unsubscribe from commercial email in one click, and that they process unsubscription requests within two days." 

Gmail's Updated Spam Policy

Forbes reported that Gmail's revised spam policy aims to limit the number of emails sent by bulk senders (those sending 5,000 emails per day) to users. The updated regulations oblige bulk senders to verify their outgoing emails and refrain from sending unwanted or unsolicited emails. ()

According to the guidelines, bulk senders must include a one-click unsubscribe option for all commercial and promotional emails by June 2024. This button should be easily identifiable within the email content, and commercial senders must promptly handle unsubscribe requests, typically within two days. ()

Google has announced that beginning this month, bulk senders failing to meet the company's sender standards will encounter temporary errors. These errors, affecting only a small portion of non-compliant traffic, aim to assist senders in identifying traffic that does not meet Google's requirements.

Google's Email Rejection Policy

Google has stated that it will commence rejecting a portion of "non-compliant" email traffic starting in April. This rejection rate will then gradually escalate over time.

Google updated a support page to announce the change stating that in April 2024, they will begin rejecting a portion of email traffic that does not meet their standards. Over time they will increase the rejection rate. For instance, if 75% of a sender's traffic meets their requirements, they will begin rejecting a percentage of the remaining 25% of traffic that is non-compliant.