This help article is for an old version of Direct Mail.
The term "email authentication" refers to a set of technologies designed to protect your domain name when it is used to send email. It can prevent people from impersonating you online and can protect your brand name from being used in phishing, spoofing, or malicious emails. Many email mailbox providers now require that all incoming email be authenticated.
Direct Mail supports email authentication
Direct Mail fully supports email authentication. Please see this help article for how you can enable it on your account.
Email authentication in detail
The three main technologies that are used for email authentication are SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
SPF
SPF protects email by restricting the list servers that are allowed send email on behalf of a given domain. If a mailbox provider receives an email from a server that is not on the SPF list, it can safely assume the email is illegitimate and reject or discard it. Direct Mail handles SPF for you automatically.
DKIM
DKIM protects email by ensuring that the content of an email was actually authored by the sender (as shown in the "From" header) and has not been tampered with during delivery. DKIM is configured by setting up a DNS record for your domain name. For example, if you send emails from "john@mybusiness.com", you would need to configure a DNS record for the "mybusiness.com" domain name. Direct Mail supports DKIM, but you need to take steps to enable it.
DMARC
DMARC protects email by enforcing SPF and DKIM. It tells mailbox providers what they should do when they receive an email that doesn't pass SPF or DKIM checks. It is a way to protect your domain name from being used for phishing or spoofing. DMARC is configured by setting up a DNS record for your domain name. For example, if you send emails from "john@mybusiness.com", you would need to configure a DNS record for the "mybusiness.com" domain name. Direct Mail supports DMARC, but you need to take steps to enable it.
Why email authentication is required
Beginning in Q1 2024, Google and Yahoo updated their policies to require that all incoming email be protected by email authentication. Because they are such dominant forces in email, all email service providers (like Direct Mail) have begun requiring that their customers enable email authentication when sending emails from their branded business domains.