Summary
Shopify changes sender email addresses to protect its ecosystem from abuse, enhance deliverability, and combat phishing and spam, complying with evolving ESP and Yahoogle policies. This occurs when domains aren't properly authenticated, harming sender reputation. To resolve this, users must correctly configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records in their DNS settings, authenticating their domain and authorizing Shopify to send emails on their behalf. This ensures emails reach recipients' inboxes, builds trust with email providers, and improves overall email deliverability. Failure to do so results in Shopify reverting to its generic sender email.
Key findings
- Ecosystem Protection: Shopify protects its ecosystem from abuse by enforcing stricter authentication.
- Deliverability Focus: Increased focus on deliverability necessitates authenticated domains to avoid reputation damage.
- Phishing Prevention: Authentication reduces phishing risks, providing a better user experience.
- Authentication Standards: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records are essential for verifying sender identity and authorizing Shopify.
- Easy Resolution: Authenticating the domain is a relatively easy fix for preventing sender address changes.
- Yahoogle Impact: Yahoogle updates and ESP policies may affect custom branded domain or freemail domain deliverability.
Key considerations
- DNS Configuration: Carefully configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records in your domain's DNS settings following Shopify's guidelines.
- Domain Authorization: Ensure Shopify is authorized to send emails on your behalf.
- Regular Checks: Regularly check domain settings to confirm the accuracy and validity of authentication records.
- Authentication Validation: Validate your authentication setup to confirm it's functioning correctly.
- Brand Reputation: Understand that failure to authenticate can damage your brand reputation and lower customer engagement.
- Evolving Standards: Stay updated on evolving email authentication standards and ESP/Yahoogle policies.
What email marketers say
8 marketer opinions
Shopify changed sender email addresses due to an increased focus on deliverability and security. Unauthenticated domains harm sender reputation and increase the risk of phishing attacks, prompting Shopify to enforce authentication. To prevent this, users should configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records in their domain's DNS settings, which validates the sender and improves email deliverability.
Key opinions
- Deliverability Focus: Shopify's change is primarily driven by the platform's growing emphasis on email deliverability.
- Authentication Required: Unauthenticated domains trigger the change, pushing Shopify to use its own email for reliable delivery.
- SPF and DKIM: Proper SPF and DKIM record configuration is essential to prevent Shopify from reverting to a generic sender email.
- Phishing Risk Reduction: Domain authentication enhances security by mitigating the risk of phishing attacks.
- Reputation Management: Authentication helps maintain a positive sender reputation, ensuring emails are trusted by recipients.
Key considerations
- DNS Configuration: Carefully configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records within your domain's DNS settings.
- Shopify Instructions: Follow Shopify's provided instructions for adding the necessary DNS records.
- Domain Settings Check: Regularly check domain settings to ensure the accuracy and validity of your SPF and DKIM records.
- Deliverability Monitoring: Monitor email deliverability metrics to ensure your emails are reaching their intended recipients.
- Trust Building: Domain authentication establishes trust with email providers, improving your brand's reputation.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Shopify Community says Shopify implemented this change to ensure a better user experience and reduce the risk of phishing attacks. Authenticating your domain ensures your emails are delivered correctly and trusted by recipients.
7 Mar 2024 - Shopify Community
Marketer view
Email marketer from Digital Marketing Community Forum shares that Shopify's sender address changes are often due to the platform's increasing focus on deliverability. Unauthenticated domains can harm sender reputation, prompting Shopify to use its own email to ensure reliable delivery.
16 Feb 2023 - Digital Marketing Community Forum
What the experts say
4 expert opinions
Shopify's change in sender email addresses is primarily driven by the need to protect its platform from abuse, enhance deliverability, and comply with emerging email standards. This includes Yahoogle updates and ESP policies. More stringent authentication policies combat phishing and spam. Authentication, which involves setting up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records, is key to resolving the issue and ensuring emails reach recipients reliably. Using a custom branded domain will affect this too.
Key opinions
- Ecosystem Protection: Shopify's move is rooted in protecting its email ecosystem from abuse.
- Enhanced Deliverability: The changes aim to improve email deliverability for all Shopify users.
- Stringent Policies: More stringent email authentication policies are being implemented.
- SPF, DKIM, DMARC: Proper setup of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records is crucial for authenticating the email sender.
- Yahoogle impact: Yahoo and Google updates and ESP policies may affect custom branded domain or freemail domain.
Key considerations
- Authentication Setup: Ensure correct configuration of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records in DNS settings.
- Easy Fix: Authenticating the email back to the original account is a straightforward solution.
- Proactive Action: Address the authentication issues promptly to maintain email deliverability and prevent sender address changes.
- Evolving standards: Be aware of future changes to ESP policies and Yahoogle guidelines.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks explains that the Shopify sender address change is likely due to Yahoogle updates and ESPs working on them. Using a custom branded domain or freemail domain affects this.
18 Aug 2021 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks explains that authenticating the email back to the original account is likely an easy fix.
28 Dec 2023 - Email Geeks
What the documentation says
5 technical articles
Shopify changes the sender email address if the domain is unauthenticated to protect against phishing and spam. Authentication involves adding SPF and DKIM records (and DMARC for a more robust policy) to your domain's DNS settings. These records verify the sender's identity, authorize Shopify to send emails on your behalf, and improve email deliverability by preventing emails from being flagged as spam or identified as forged.
Key findings
- Unauthenticated Domains: Shopify changes sender email for unauthenticated domains.
- Phishing and Spam Protection: The change protects customers from phishing and spam.
- SPF and DKIM Records: Adding SPF and DKIM records to DNS is essential for authentication.
- Sender Verification: Email authentication verifies the sender's identity.
- Improved Deliverability: Authentication improves email deliverability and sender reputation.
Key considerations
- DNS Settings: Properly configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records in your domain's DNS settings.
- Shopify Authorization: Ensure Shopify is authorized to send emails on your behalf.
- Forgery Prevention: Implement DKIM to prevent email message forgery or alteration.
- DMARC Policy: Consider implementing DMARC for a more robust authentication policy that provides instructions to email receivers on how to handle unauthenticated emails.
Technical article
Documentation from DMARC.org explains that DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) builds on SPF and DKIM to provide a policy for how email receivers should handle messages that fail authentication checks, which helps prevent spoofing and phishing.
26 Jul 2023 - DMARC.org
Technical article
Documentation from Google Workspace Admin Help explains that SPF records authorize sending mail servers for your domain. You need to include Shopify's SPF record in your domain's DNS settings to allow them to send emails on your behalf without being flagged as spam.
12 Sep 2021 - Google Workspace Admin Help
Against which domain is SPF checked?
Can a sender modify SPF records to alter SPF checking behavior?
Can DKIM be set up on a subdomain, and which domain should be used for signing?
Can I use the same sending domain with multiple ESPs?
Do SPF and DKIM records need to be aligned for all email service providers?
How do I properly set up SPF and DKIM records for email marketing, including handling multiple SPF records, IP ranges, bounce capturing, and Google Postmaster Tools verification?
