Gmail is going to be getting several changes by February 2024 that aim to cut down on the amount of spam messages being sent by malicious actors. The three changes that Google will be bringing in include senders authenticating their emails, making it easy to unsubscribe from unwanted messages, and ensuring senders are sending wanted emails.
Google said that anyone sending significant volumes of emails will be required to ‘strongly authenticate their emails’ following best practices to help close exploited loopholes used by attackers to threaten users of email.
To help users stop getting emails they no longer care about, Google is making it so that senders have to give users a one-click option to unsubscribe from their commercial emails. Senders have to remove contacts from their subscription lists within two days of getting the request. Google said that these requirements are now open standards so non-Gmail users benefit as well.
The final measure Gmail is taking is the implementation of a clear spam rate which senders must stay below so Gmail recipients aren’t bombarded with unwanted emails. Google said this is an industry first and should result in users getting fewer spammy emails.
Google said that Gmail already uses various defenses to cut down on the majority of spam, phishing, and malware. However, it said that the challenges arising now are becoming more complex and that the measures announced today are required to tackle these issues.
As a very significant number of people have Gmail addresses, these measures should benefit a lot of people. They should also help to prevent spam from originating from Gmail accounts.
Let us know in the comments if you’ve noticed more spam, phishing, or malware delivered to your inbox increasingly over the last few years. Are you happy to see these measures rolling out?
Source: Google