As of February 2024, gmail He introduced a new rule that caused some uproar among users: all emails sent in bulk must undergo an authentication process.
Neil Kumaran, Gmail's product manager, had announced the news in October of the previous year, highlighting that the measure aimed to increase users' security against… Fraud and spam.
Why does Gmail do this?
Google's main goal with this new policy is to reduce the amount of unwanted and dangerous emails, such as phishing and malware, that reach the inboxes of more than 1.8 billion users.
The company noted that many bulk senders did not take necessary precautions to protect their systems, leaving loopholes for attackers to infiltrate.
Simplify security
Kumaran assured users that they will not need to worry about understanding the technical details of email security standards.
The idea is that with these changes, users can more easily trust the origin of the emails they receive. To this end, Google has decided to require enhanced authentication for senders who send emails in large quantities.
Effects of the new rules
The consequences of these changes have already become noticeable, as users reported errors when receiving emails that did not pass the required authentication. Starting in April, emails that fail this standard will be rejected permanently.
Google hoped that by starting to issue temporary errors with specific codes, senders would be able to adjust their systems to comply with the new requirements.
Authentication and anti-spam
despite of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Although Gmail is already effective, blocking more than 99.9% of spam, phishing, and malware, Kumaran explains that this is not enough. Authenticating bulk email senders is an extra layer of security to make users' inboxes a safer place.
“Web geek. Wannabe thinker. Reader. Freelance travel evangelist. Pop culture aficionado. Certified music scholar.”