Google Is Finally Cracking Down on Bulk Emails
If you’re the recipient of a lot of unwanted bulk emails, there’s a little bit of good news: Google is adding a few (admittedly small) hurdles for users who are sent thousands of marketing messages every day, most of which go into effect in early February. On the other hand, if you are a bulk sender, you need to follow these new rules to prevent your messages from being rejected or sent to spam.
What you need to know about Gmail’s bulk email policies
Google defines a bulk sender as a user who sends “close to” 5,000 or more emails within 24 hours from the same primary domain to personal Gmail accounts. Even if you do this just once, you will be classified as a mass sender forever.
Starting February 1, Google requires senders of bulk emails to follow certain guidelines to avoid errors and rejected messages. The guidelines define spam levels, authentication requirements, and unsubscribe options— detailed requirements can be found on Google’s support page .
It’s important to know that Google will be gradually rolling out its bulk messaging rules over the coming months to give users time to resolve compliance issues:
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February 2024: Bulk senders will begin receiving temporary errors on a small percentage of non-compliant messages.
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April 2024: Google will begin rejecting inappropriate email traffic, starting with a small percentage that will increase over time.
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June 2024: Bulk email senders should have a one-click unsubscribe option in all commercial promotional emails.
Please note that these guidelines only apply to messages sent to personal Gmail accounts. Emails sent to Google Workspace accounts and intra-domain messages are excluded. However, all senders must follow the rules regardless of account type.
For senders who don’t follow the rules, there is an increased likelihood of emails ending up in spam or being rejected. If you meet the criteria for a bulk sender, you can check the eligibility status panel in Postmaster Tools .