Google is making big changes to prevent spam in Gmail

Google will make it harder for spammers to send messages to Gmail users The company said on Tuesday.

The company said it will require emailers who send more than 5,000 messages a day to Gmail users to offer a one-click unsubscribe button in their messages.

It will also require them to authenticate their email address, and configure their systems so that they prove they own their domain name and are not spoofing IP addresses.

Alphabet-owned Google says it may not deliver messages from senders whose emails are repeatedly flagged as spam and fall below a “clear spam rate threshold” of 0.3% of messages sent, according to Google’s measurements. Mail Manager Tools.

Google says it has signed up with Yahoo to make the same changes, and they will take effect in February 2024.

The moves highlight the ongoing battle between big tech companies and spammers who use open systems like email to send fraudulent messages and harass users. For years, machine learning techniques have been used to fight spam, but it remains a back-and-forth battle as spammers discover new techniques to bypass filters.

“These changes represent a fine-tuning for the email world, and by fixing a few things under the hood, we can keep email running smoothly,” Google product manager Neil Kumaran wrote. In a blog post. “But, just like tuning, this is not a one-time exercise. Keeping email more secure, easier to use, and spam-free requires cooperation and continued vigilance from the entire email community.”

Google’s changes could also impact some legitimate marketers who aggressively use email to market to or keep up with their customers, especially requirements to allow users to quickly unsubscribe.

About half Of all emails sent in 2022 were spam, according to an estimate from Kaspersky Anti-Virus.