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Changes at Gmail and Yahoo starting from February 1st, 2024

Last update:

In this article:

Audience targeted by the changes

Who are the affected recipients?

These new guidelines apply when you send emails to accounts such as:

  • Personal accounts ending in @gmail.com or @googlemail.com
  • Yahoo and AOL accounts

Who are the affected senders?

Some measures specifically target bulk senders (over 5,000 messages per day), while others apply to any sender emailing these providers.

In any case, we recommend that everyone follow these best practices, regardless of their sending volume. These guidelines will help you to:

  • Optimize your deliverability rate
  • Strengthen recipient trust
  • Avoid delivery issues and spam classification

These guidelines apply to all email senders, without exception.

Key requirements effective February 1, 2024

Among Gmail and Yahoo’s recommendations, four stand out:

  • Set up email authentication with DKIM, SPF, and DMARC.
  • Do not spoof Gmail “From:” headers. Learn more >
  • Keep your spam rate below 0.3% and send relevant emails. Learn more >
  • Provide a one-click unsubscribe option and process requests within 2 days.
    Learn more >

See the full list of sender requirements:

Steps to follow

To continue sending emails without issues:

  • Use your own domain for sending
  • Set up DMARC authentication for this domain
  • Create a CNAME to enable custom DKIM signing
  • Maintain a low spam rate

Use your own domain

Since February 2024, Gmail and Yahoo have strengthened DMARC verification for their users.
Sending from an @gmail.com or @yahoo.com address through a third-party service no longer passes DMARC validation and may be blocked or marked as spam.

Update: As of April 29, 2025, Microsoft also enforces these requirements for Outlook, with new rules for high-volume senders.

Solution: Use a domain you own and control, for example: yoursite.com or a subdomain like newsletter.yoursite.com.

Benefits:

  • More credible and professional emails
  • Better deliverability and control
  • Ability to customize DKIM signing for your brand

Set up DMARC authentication

DMARC helps secure your emails and protect your domain from spoofing.

  • For your messages to pass DMARC validation: The email must be authenticated via SPF or DKIM The From: header must match the authenticated domain
  • Gmail recommends starting with the DMARC policy set to none.

Benefits of DMARC:

  • Protect your domain against spoofing
  • Receive reports about emails sent from your domain
  • Meet new Gmail and Yahoo requirements

Detailed guide to configuring DMARC > 

Create a CNAME for DKIM

Since February 2024, each sending domain must have a custom DKIM signature.

This ensures the visible From: domain aligns with the DKIM signature.

It is required for passing DMARC validation and improving deliverability.

You need to repeat this step for every sending domain you use with our services. For example, if you send using both sauceapizza.com and sauceapizza.ca, you must create two separate CNAME records—one in the DNS of each domain.

How to configure DKIM on your domain >

Maintain a low spam rate

To minimize deliverability issues:

How we help you stay compliant

  • All emails include a list-unsubscribe link for easy opt-out
    Learn more >
  • Abuse reporting clearly visible in the footer
  • Automatic handling of bounces and feedback loop registrations (Yahoo, Outlook, etc.)
  • Tools compliant with current laws (LCAP, Law 25)
  • Adherence to best practices for email structure and sender reputation

See also

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