Summary
Email deliverability experts and official documentation from major providers like Yahoo, AOL, and Oath consistently confirm that historical Feedback Loop (FBL) data cannot be requested or retrieved. These FBL systems are designed to offer real-time or near real-time notifications of spam complaints, enabling immediate action for list hygiene and sender reputation management. While some providers, such as Yahoo, might offer current configuration or enrollment details for domains, this does not extend to past FBL reports. Senders are therefore responsible for establishing their own systems to continuously collect and archive FBL data if they require historical records.
Key findings
- Real-Time Focus: Feedback Loops (FBLs) from providers like Yahoo, AOL, and Oath are fundamentally designed for real-time or near real-time notification of spam complaints, allowing senders to address issues promptly.
- No Historical Access: There is no public-facing mechanism, service, or API provided by these ISPs for senders to request, retrieve, or access historical, aggregated FBL data.
- Sender's Responsibility: Any historical FBL data must be proactively collected and stored by the sender's own systems as the complaint notifications occur.
- CFL vs. FBL: While it is possible to request CFL data from Yahoo, this only provides information on currently enrolled domains and their current configuration, not past FBL reports or historical complaint details.
Key considerations
- Implement Logging: Senders must implement robust internal logging and storage systems to continuously capture and archive FBL data as it is received, ensuring they have their own historical records.
- Proactive Hygiene: Recognize that FBLs serve as a crucial tool for ongoing, proactive list hygiene and sender reputation management, rather than a retrospective analysis tool provided by the ISP.
- Manage Expectations: Do not expect to obtain past FBL complaint data directly from ISPs, as their FBL programs are structured as continuous feeds for current monitoring.
What email marketers say
9 marketer opinions
Email marketing experts and industry resources consistently affirm that Feedback Loop (FBL) data from major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) such as Yahoo, AOL, and Oath is provided as a real-time feed of spam complaints. This mechanism allows senders to react promptly by removing complaining subscribers, which is vital for maintaining list hygiene and sender reputation. However, a universal consensus across the industry is that there is no public method or interface available from these ISPs to request, download, or access historical FBL data. Consequently, any historical FBL records must be proactively collected and stored by the sender's own systems from the time FBL notifications are generated.
Key opinions
- Live Feedback System: Feedback Loops (FBLs) from major providers, including Yahoo, AOL, and Oath, are designed as real-time or immediate notification systems for spam complaints, serving as a continuous data stream.
- No ISP Archiving for Senders: There is no public interface, API, or service through which senders can request or access historical FBL data directly from these Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
- Sender-Side Data Retention: Any historical FBL data needed for analysis or record-keeping must be diligently collected and archived by the email sender's own systems from the moment the FBL notifications are received.
- Crucial for Reputation: FBLs are critical for immediate list suppression, maintaining a clean subscriber base, and preserving overall sender reputation and compliance.
Key considerations
- Establish Internal Logging: It is essential for senders to establish and maintain their own robust internal systems for continuously collecting, logging, and storing FBL data as it is received, enabling them to build their own historical records.
- Proactive Management Tool: Recognize that FBLs function primarily as a proactive, immediate tool for ongoing list hygiene and sender reputation management, rather than a service for retrospective data retrieval from ISPs.
- Manage Data Expectations: Senders should not anticipate being able to request or download historical FBL data directly from major ISPs like Yahoo, AOL, or Oath, as these platforms do not provide such a facility.
Marketer view
Email marketer u/deliverability_guru on Reddit explains that major ISPs like Yahoo (including former AOL/Oath properties) provide Feedback Loops (FBLs) as a real-time feed of spam complaints. Senders receive notifications as complaints occur, allowing for immediate list hygiene. However, there is no public interface or method to request or download historical FBL data directly from these providers. Any historical FBL data would need to have been continuously collected and stored by the sender's own systems since the FBL's inception.
9 Jan 2025 - Reddit - r/emailmarketing
Marketer view
Email expert Laura Atkins from Word to the Wise explains that Feedback Loops (FBLs) from major ISPs, including those under the Yahoo umbrella (AOL, Oath), provide real-time notification of spam complaints. Her insights confirm that FBLs are a mechanism for ongoing monitoring and immediate suppression of recipients who complain. She emphasizes that FBL data is essentially a stream of individual complaint events and is not typically stored by the ISPs for historical retrieval by senders, requiring senders to manage their own historical logging.
6 Nov 2022 - Word to the Wise Blog
What the experts say
2 expert opinions
Accessing historical Feedback Loop (FBL) data from major email providers such as Oath, Yahoo, or AOL is not feasible. These systems are fundamentally designed for real-time reporting of spam complaints, offering senders immediate, actionable insights to maintain list hygiene. While current domain configuration data might be available from some providers like Yahoo, this does not extend to retrieving past FBL reports. Consequently, senders are responsible for implementing their own systems to continuously collect and archive FBL data if they require historical records.
Key opinions
- No Retrospective FBL Access: Historical Feedback Loop (FBL) data cannot be requested or obtained retroactively from providers like Oath, Yahoo, or AOL.
- Forward-Going Data Only: FBL programs from these providers are structured to deliver data going forward, providing ongoing, real-time feedback on spam complaints.
- CFL Data vs. FBL Reports: While Yahoo may provide CFL data, this refers to current domain enrollment and configuration details, not historical FBL reports or past complaint specifics.
- Immediate Action Tool: Feedback loops function as a vital mechanism for prompt identification and removal of disengaged subscribers, underscoring their role as a tool for immediate action and list health.
Key considerations
- Proactive Data Capture: Senders must establish their own robust internal systems to continuously capture, log, and store FBL data as it is received, thereby building their own historical records for future analysis.
- Immediate Action Focus: Understand that FBLs are primarily a tool for real-time or near-real-time complaint notification, enabling immediate action for list hygiene rather than a retrospective data retrieval service provided by ISPs.
- Set Realistic Expectations: Do not anticipate being able to request or download past FBL reports directly from Oath, Yahoo, or AOL, as these platforms do not offer such a facility.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks explains that historical FBL data cannot be requested postmortem; only data going forward is provided. He clarifies that while it is possible to request CFL data from Yahoo, this only provides information on currently enrolled domains and current configuration, not past FBL reports.
2 Apr 2025 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Spam Resource explains that feedback loops (FBLs) are a vital tool that provides a mechanism through which complaints are reported back to the sender, allowing senders to identify and remove disengaged subscribers promptly. This emphasis on 'promptly' and the description of FBLs as an ongoing reporting 'mechanism' strongly implies that FBLs provide real-time or near real-time data for immediate action, rather than offering a service to request historical complaint data that was not received via the FBL stream at the time.
13 Sep 2023 - Spam Resource
What the documentation says
3 technical articles
Email deliverability documentation from major providers like Yahoo Mail Postmaster, alongside insights from email service providers such as Mailgun and Twilio SendGrid, consistently confirms that historical Feedback Loop (FBL) data from Oath, Yahoo, or AOL cannot be requested. These FBL systems are exclusively designed to provide senders with real-time or near real-time notifications of spam complaints. Their primary function is to enable immediate action for list hygiene and ongoing sender reputation management, not to serve as an archive for past complaint data. Therefore, any requirement for historical FBL records necessitates that senders implement their own systems to continuously collect and store this data as it is received.
Key findings
- FBLs Are Real-Time: Documentation from Yahoo Mail Postmaster, Mailgun, and Twilio SendGrid confirms that Feedback Loops (FBLs) are primarily designed to provide real-time or near real-time notifications of spam complaints.
- No Historical Access: There is no public-facing mechanism described in official documentation or by major email service providers that allows senders to request or retrieve historical, aggregated FBL data from Oath, Yahoo, or AOL.
- Immediate Action Focus: The core purpose of FBLs is to enable immediate suppression of complainers and facilitate ongoing sender reputation management, highlighting their role as a live feedback tool.
- ISP Archiving Not for Senders: FBL data is not stored or made accessible in an archival format for historical queries by senders through the standard FBL programs of these major providers.
Key considerations
- Sender's Logging Essential: Senders are advised to implement robust internal systems for continuously logging and storing all FBL data as it is received, establishing their own comprehensive historical records.
- Focus on Live Management: Understand that Feedback Loops are designed as a critical tool for real-time spam complaint notification, enabling immediate list hygiene and proactive sender reputation management, rather than providing retrospective data.
- Avoid Historical Data Requests: It is crucial to recognize that major ISPs, including Oath, Yahoo, and AOL, do not offer a public service or mechanism to request historical FBL data.
Technical article
Documentation from Yahoo Mail Postmaster indicates that their Feedback Loop (FBL) system is designed to provide senders with real-time or near real-time notifications when a recipient marks an email as spam. While the FBL program helps manage ongoing sender reputation by allowing immediate suppression of complainers, the official documentation does not describe any public mechanism or service for senders to request or access historical, aggregated FBL data. This implies that FBL data is primarily for live feedback and not stored or made accessible in an archival format for historical queries.
20 Jan 2025 - Yahoo Mail Postmaster
Technical article
Documentation from Mailgun, an email service provider, explains that Feedback Loops (FBLs) from major ISPs like Yahoo (which includes AOL/Oath) are mechanisms to provide ongoing, real-time reports of user complaints. The focus is on receiving individual complaint notifications as they happen, enabling senders to promptly remove complainers. The documentation does not describe any facility for senders to request or retrieve historical, aggregated FBL data, suggesting that such data is not made available in an archival format through the standard FBL program.
9 Oct 2023 - Mailgun Documentation
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