Why did Shopify change the sender email address and how to authenticate it back?
Matthew Whittaker
Co-founder & CTO, Suped
Published 1 Aug 2025
Updated 19 Aug 2025
8 min read
Many Shopify store owners have recently noticed a frustrating change: their sender email address, which was once their own branded domain, suddenly switched to a generic store@shopifyemail.com address. This shift isn't a bug, but a deliberate action by Shopify to ensure email deliverability amidst stricter new authentication requirements from major mailbox providers like Google and Yahoo.
These new email authentication policies, which began rolling out in early 2024, mandate that senders authenticate their email domains using standards like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. If a domain isn't properly authenticated, mailbox providers are more likely to reject or spam emails, leading to significant deliverability issues. Shopify's automated change is a proactive measure to prevent your transactional and marketing emails from failing completely if your domain isn't set up correctly.
While the generic sender address ensures basic deliverability, it detracts from your brand identity and can reduce customer trust. The good news is that you can, and should, authenticate your custom domain to revert to your branded sender email. This article will explain why these changes occurred and provide a clear path to getting your original sender email address back and maintaining strong email deliverability.
Why Shopify changed your sender email
The primary reason Shopify changed your sender email address to a generic one is due to the recent and rigorous email authentication requirements introduced by Gmail and Yahoo. These changes, effective from February 2024, require bulk senders and even smaller senders to implement robust email authentication protocols, specifically SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
Without proper authentication, emails are highly likely to be marked as spam or rejected entirely. To safeguard your email communication and ensure that critical customer notifications and marketing messages still reach their intended recipients, Shopify automatically rewrites the sender address. This ensures that the emails originate from their own properly authenticated domains, effectively bypassing potential deliverability issues for unauthenticated merchant domains. This action by Shopify is a protective measure designed to maintain some level of email flow for your store, even if your domain isn't fully compliant.
Shopify's decision is a direct response to these industry-wide efforts to combat spam and phishing by verifying sender identity. While inconvenient, it underscores the critical importance of proper email authentication for all senders, regardless of size or platform.
Authenticating your Shopify sender email
To get your custom domain sender email address back, you need to authenticate your domain within Shopify. This process involves adding specific DNS records (TXT records for SPF and DKIM, and a CNAME record for DMARC) to your domain's DNS settings. This tells receiving mail servers that Shopify is authorized to send emails on your behalf, aligning your domain with the stringent authentication checks.
Access Shopify settings: Log in to your Shopify admin. Go to Settings, then click on Notifications.
Locate sender email section: Scroll down to the Sender email section and click Authenticate your domain. This will open a new window with instructions and DNS records to add.
Add DNS records: Copy the provided DNS records from Shopify. You'll typically get two CNAME records, one for DKIM and one for DMARC. Log in to your domain host provider (e.g., GoDaddy, Cloudflare, etc.) and add these records to your domain's DNS settings. The exact steps vary by host, but you'll generally look for a DNS management or Advanced DNS section.
Verify authentication: Once you've added the records, return to Shopify and click Verify or Check status. DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to propagate globally, so patience is key. If it doesn't verify immediately, check back later. After successful verification, your sender email should revert to your custom domain.
For a visual guide on setting up authentication within Shopify, you can refer to Shopify's official instructions. It's also a good practice to ensure your domain has a DMARC record to enhance security and gain visibility into your email sending, as discussed in some community discussions.
Why email authentication is crucial
Email authentication is not just about satisfying platform requirements, it's a fundamental aspect of maintaining good email deliverability and protecting your brand. When your emails are properly authenticated, it tells receiving mail servers that your messages are legitimate and have not been tampered with. This significantly reduces the likelihood of your emails being flagged as spam or rejected outright.
A lack of authentication can lead to your emails going to the spam folder, or even worse, being silently dropped. This can severely impact your customer communication, marketing efforts, and ultimately, your sales. Authenticated domains build trust with mailbox providers and recipients, contributing positively to your sender reputation. A strong domain reputation is crucial for consistent inbox placement.
Neglecting authentication can also put your domain on various email blocklists (or blacklists), which can lead to widespread delivery issues across multiple mailbox providers. For more information on this, refer to our guide on what happens when your domain is on an email blacklist. By taking the time to properly authenticate your Shopify sender email, you're investing in your brand's credibility and ensuring your messages reliably reach your customers' inboxes.
Maintaining strong email deliverability
Beyond the initial authentication, maintaining strong email deliverability is an ongoing process. Here are some key practices to ensure your Shopify emails consistently reach their destination:
Monitor deliverability: Regularly check your email deliverability metrics. Keep an eye on open rates, click-through rates, and bounce rates. A sudden drop in open rates or an increase in bounces can indicate issues. Our guide on why your emails are going to spam can offer further insights.
Maintain list hygiene: Regularly clean your email lists to remove inactive or invalid addresses. Sending to unengaged recipients or spam traps can negatively impact your sender reputation and increase the chances of getting on a blocklist (or blacklist).
Ensure DMARC alignment: DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) helps prevent email spoofing and phishing. Ensure your DMARC policy is correctly configured to align with your SPF and DKIM records. Our simple guide to DMARC, SPF, and DKIM can assist you.
Craft engaging content: Relevant and valuable content keeps subscribers engaged and reduces spam complaints. Personalize your emails and segment your audience to send targeted messages. High engagement helps build a positive sender reputation.
By actively managing these aspects, you can significantly improve your email deliverability rates and ensure your Shopify store's communications are consistently landing in the inbox.
Views from the trenches
Best practices
Always prioritize full email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) for your custom domain.
Regularly monitor your domain's sending reputation using tools like Google Postmaster Tools.
Communicate proactive changes to your email infrastructure or sender identity to customers if major changes are anticipated.
Maintain a clean and engaged email list to reduce bounces and spam complaints.
Common pitfalls
Ignoring authentication warnings from platforms like Shopify or your ESP (email service provider).
Not understanding the difference between a custom domain and a freemail address for sending.
Assuming that changing sender name alone will resolve deliverability issues without proper domain authentication.
Failing to monitor DMARC reports, which provide valuable insights into email authentication failures.
Expert tips
If your domain uses a CDN or a separate DNS provider, ensure all DNS records are updated there.
Always back up your DNS records before making any changes.
Test your email deliverability after any significant changes to your sender setup.
Consider a DMARC policy of p=quarantine or p=reject for enhanced protection against spoofing.
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks says they noticed Shopify changing their store's sender from address to a generic Shopify one, seemingly due to a lack of authentication on their part.
2024-01-26 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks says that many ESPs are updating their systems in anticipation of the new Gmail and Yahoo email requirements, which likely caused Shopify's change.
2024-01-26 - Email Geeks
Restoring your branded sender email
Shopify's decision to temporarily change sender email addresses is a necessary step to navigate the evolving landscape of email authentication. While it may initially seem disruptive, it highlights the importance of adhering to modern email security standards like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
By following the steps to authenticate your custom domain within Shopify, you can restore your branded sender email, enhance your email deliverability, and build stronger trust with your customers. Proactive domain authentication is key to ensuring your messages consistently land in the inbox and support your store's success.
Shopify admin. Go to Settings, then click on Notifications.
GoDaddy, 
Cloudflare, etc.) and add these records to your domain's DNS settings. The exact steps vary by host, but you'll generally look for a DNS management or Advanced DNS section.
