Less spam: Gmail begins strict enforcement of bulk email rules

The fight against unsolicited and fraudulent email is going full steam ahead. Gmail has warned bulk email senders that they will experience disruptions if they do not meet the set requirements.

Starting in November 2025, Gmail is ramping up its enforcement on non-compliant traffic, according to Google’s email sender guidelines.

“Messages that fail to meet the email sender requirements will experience disruptions, including temporary and permanent rejections,” the recent update reads.

Proofpoint, a cybersecurity company, is urging organizations that send high volumes of email to meet new standards or their email may fail to reach major platforms.

“Non-compliance will directly affect deliverability to Gmail, Yahoo, Apple, and Microsoft users. Messages may be throttled, filtered to spam, or blocked outright,” Proofpoint said in a blog post.

Google introduced new requirements for bulk email senders, which send over 5,000 messages to Gmail addresses per day, two years ago. They include strong authentication for sending domains, easy one-click unsubscribe, low spam rates, TLS, and others.

Yahoo, Apple have announced similar requirements, and Microsoft joined the effort earlier this year.

Microsoft announced in April that domains sending more than 5,000 emails per day to Outlook, Hotmail, and Live must pass SPF (Sender Policy Framework), DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), and publish a DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) policy.

Proofpoint explains that tech companies had implemented a “soft enforcement” period to minimize disruption and prevent legitimate mail from being inadvertently blocked. The new requirements affect a “massive” number of senders. However, this grace period is now coming to an end.

“Google initiates strict enforcement, with full rejection of messages expected for non-compliant senders,” the firm explains.

Proofpoint urges organizations to meet the Google, Yahoo, Apple, and Microsoft requirements: “You can’t delay any longer.”

It also warns of potentially fraudulent vendors offering “instant” or “one-click” compliance – achieving alignment isn’t easy.

“It often requires coordinated configuration across multiple systems – especially for organizations that use third-party or SaaS platforms for outbound email,” Proofpoint said.

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