What is a DMARC p=none policy and when should I use it?

A DMARC policy of p=none instructs receiving mail servers to take no specific action (quarantine or reject) on emails that fail DMARC authentication. Instead, it allows them to be delivered, while still sending DMARC reports to the specified address. This policy is ideal for initial DMARC implementation and troubleshooting, as it provides visibility into authentication failures without impacting email delivery. You should use it when you are first setting up DMARC or when you are actively diagnosing delivery issues, as it prevents your legitimate emails from being blocked due to misconfigurations.

How do I check if my Google Workspace domain is on a blocklist?

To check if your Google Workspace domain is on a blocklist (or blacklist), you can use online blocklist checking tools. While these tools cover many public blocklists, some financial institutions may use private ones. It's also important to regularly review your Google Postmaster Tools dashboard for any alerts related to your domain's reputation or spam rates. If you suspect an issue with a specific bank, direct communication with their IT department may be necessary for de-listing.

Why are financial institutions so strict with email filtering?

Financial institutions have stringent email filtering policies primarily due to the high volume of phishing, fraud, and malware threats they face daily. They must protect sensitive customer data and financial transactions. As a result, their email security systems are designed to be extremely cautious, often blocking anything that doesn't pass strict authentication and reputation checks, even if it's a legitimate email from a personal domain. They prioritize security over potential inconvenience, leading to more aggressive filtering.

Why are emails from a Google Workspace account dropping, especially to banks? - Troubleshooting - Email deliverability - Knowledge base

It can be incredibly frustrating when emails from your

Google Workspace account consistently fail to deliver, especially when they are destined for critical recipients like banks. While Google Workspace is generally reliable, certain unique factors can lead to delivery issues, particularly with highly secure financial institutions.

I've seen this problem come up often. Even with proper SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records in place, along with clean blocklist checks and confirmation from the recipient's IT department, emails can still drop into the void. It often requires a deeper dive into the nuances of email deliverability, specifically when dealing with the stringent security measures of banks.

The unique challenges of emailing financial institutions

Financial institutions, including banks, operate under extremely strict security protocols. Their email filtering systems are designed to err on the side of caution, blocking anything that even remotely appears suspicious. This means that a standard email setup that works perfectly for most recipients might encounter hurdles when interacting with bank servers.

These heightened security measures often involve advanced spam filters, private blocklists (or blacklists), and real-time threat detection systems that are far more aggressive than those used by general email providers. Even a minor deviation from best practices or a subtle flag in your email's metadata can lead to rejection or redirection to a spam folder.

General email deliverability

Reputation focus: Primarily influenced by bulk sending practices, complaint rates, and engagement.
Filtering rules: Designed to catch obvious spam, phishing, and malware, but may be more lenient on edge cases.
Technical standards: Basic SPF, DKIM, and DMARC setup often sufficient for most inboxes.

Financial institution deliverability

Reputation focus: Highly sensitive to any potential security flags, even for personal domains.
Filtering rules: Extremely aggressive, prioritizing security over convenience, with low tolerance for unknown or unverified senders.
Technical standards: Demand stringent adherence to email authentication standards. They are often the first to reject mail based on strict RFC 5322 compliance or other technical factors.

Even for a domain used solely for personal communication, these systems can misinterpret legitimate emails as threats. It's a challenging environment where even a sudden drop in Gmail email deliverability can occur, particularly if any aspect of your sending profile is perceived as abnormal.

Common causes of email delivery issues with Google Workspace

Several common factors can cause emails from a Google Workspace account to drop, even to secure recipients. Understanding these can help pinpoint the issue.

DNS authentication records: Misconfigured or incomplete SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records are a primary cause of delivery failures. Even if you've recently updated them, there might be lingering issues from previous configurations (e.g., switching from GoDaddy email to Google Workspace) that affect email authentication.
IP and domain reputation: If your domain's IP address or domain reputation has been negatively impacted in the past, even with low volume, it can still trigger filters. This is especially true for financial institutions that rely on reputation scores to determine trustworthiness. Learn more about understanding your email domain reputation.
Content and recipient engagement: While less likely for personal communication, certain keywords or formatting within emails can trigger spam filters. Lack of consistent engagement from recipients (if it's a new or infrequently used address) can also impact delivery.Google Workspace emails hitting spam can be due to many factors, including spam reports.
Account suspension: If your Google Workspace account is suspended, messages will not be delivered and will bounce back to the sender. This can happen due to violations of Google's terms of service, including excessive spamming or unusual activity. Although less likely for personal use, it's worth checking your account status.

Even with a DMARC policy set to quarantine at 10%, if your SPF or DKIM is misaligned or failing, banks might still reject your emails. The `pct=10` tag only applies to the enforcement action, not to the DMARC report generation itself. It also doesn't prevent mail from being rejected if it fails authentication, especially with strict receivers. For some, moving back to a `p=none` policy while troubleshooting can help identify if enforcement is part of the issue.

DMARC policy adjustment

If your emails are missing, consider temporarily changing your DMARC policy from `p=quarantine` or `p=reject` back to `p=none`. This allows all emails to be delivered while you analyze DMARC reports to identify authentication failures. Once the root cause is resolved, you can gradually reintroduce stricter policies like `quarantine` or `reject`.

Example DMARC Record with p=none

v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:your_email@yourdomain.com; fo=1

Remember to replace `your_email@yourdomain.com` with your actual DMARC report email address. For more details, explore simple DMARC examples.

Another subtle issue might be a domain name server (DNS) timeout, particularly with Microsoft-hosted mailboxes. If there are any delays in your DNS queries, it can sometimes lead to emails failing. This is often an issue that requires a deep dive into DNS propagation and server response times, affecting even well-configured domains.

Advanced troubleshooting and prevention

To effectively diagnose and resolve persistent email delivery issues to banks, a systematic and advanced troubleshooting approach is necessary.

Analyze DMARC reports: Even with low volume, DMARC reports are crucial. They provide detailed insights into which emails are failing authentication (SPF or DKIM) and why. Use a DMARC monitoring service to interpret these reports, as they can be complex. Understanding DMARC reports from Google and Yahoo is key.
Monitor blocklists: While general blocklist checks might show clean, some financial institutions use private or less common blocklists (or blacklists). Continuously monitoring your IP and domain against a wide range of blocklists is important. Learn more about an in-depth guide to email blocklists.
Engage recipient IT directly: Even if they confirm allowing your domain, sometimes their internal systems require specific whitelisting beyond a simple allow-list. Request details on their email security setup and specific error messages.Troubleshooting Google Workspace emails to Proofpoint can be a good starting point for similar issues.
Review Google Workspace logs: Dive deep into your email logs within Google Workspace. Look for specific bounce codes or rejection messages that can offer clues. These often provide more granular detail than general delivery tests.

While

GooglePostmaster Tools V2 has lower volume thresholds for data visibility, it might still not show enough information for very low-volume personal domains. This means you'll need to rely more heavily on DMARC reports and direct communication.

Utilizing Postmaster Tools V2

Even with low email volume, diligently check

Google Postmaster Tools. While the data might be sparse, any available information, especially concerning domain reputation or delivery errors, can be highly valuable in diagnosing the issue. The V2 interface is designed to provide insights even with limited volume, so keep an eye on it.

It's important to differentiate between where you log into your account and the IP address from which the email is sent. Google Workspace handles the latter, so frequent location changes for account login shouldn't directly impact email deliverability to recipients, as

Google abstracts the actual sending IP from your personal location.

Ensuring critical email delivery

Addressing email deliverability issues, especially with demanding recipients like banks, requires persistence and a thorough understanding of email authentication and reputation. It's not always a quick fix, but a process of elimination and continuous monitoring.

By ensuring your authentication records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) are perfectly configured, meticulously analyzing your DMARC reports, and maintaining open communication with the recipient's IT team, you can significantly improve your chances of reaching the inbox. Even for personal communications, these foundational elements are non-negotiable.

Remember, email deliverability is an ongoing effort. Proactive monitoring and quick responses to any issues are vital for ensuring your critical emails consistently land where they should. For more information, consider our expert guide to improve email deliverability.

Views from the trenches

Best practices

Ensure your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records are correctly set up for your Google Workspace domain.

Always check DMARC reports regularly, even with low volume, to detect authentication failures.

Proactively engage with the recipient's IT department and provide specific details for whitelisting.

Maintain a consistent sending pattern and monitor for any sudden drops in deliverability.

Periodically run a deliverability test to various mailboxes, including those at banks.

Common pitfalls

Overlooking subtle DNS configuration issues that might lead to timeouts or intermittent failures.

Assuming that a 'p=none' DMARC policy means all emails will always be delivered.

Not thoroughly analyzing Google Workspace email logs for specific error messages and bounce codes.

Relying solely on public blocklist checks and ignoring the possibility of private or niche blocklists.

Underestimating the stringent filtering policies of financial institutions and similar organizations.

Expert tips

Review Google Workspace SPF records, especially for alias domains, to ensure proper alignment and prevent issues.

If encountering `DKIM temperror` messages, diagnose them by reviewing your DNS setup and Google's DKIM keys.

For Microsoft recipients, verify SPF alignment to avoid hidden DNS timeouts that can lead to failures.

Use a DMARC monitoring service to gain comprehensive insights into your email authentication status.

Consider that some organizations, especially banks, might simply have overly aggressive filters.

Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks says that DMARC policy can be dropped to 'p=none' temporarily if mail is going missing, especially if an enforcement policy is causing issues, and advises to then read DMARC reports to see if everything is passing.

2024-12-11 - Email Geeks

Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks says that banks often have unique and strict email requirements, and that sometimes it's more practical to use a standard Gmail account for communication with them rather than troubleshooting a custom domain.

2024-12-11 - Email Geeks