DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) is critical for protecting your domain from email spoofing and phishing, especially when sending cold emails. It improves email deliverability and safeguards your domain's reputation. DMARC offers three policies:
Quick takeaway: Start with "p=none" to gather data and identify issues, then move to "p=quarantine" for moderate filtering, and finally "p=reject" for full protection once your setup is fine-tuned. This phased approach ensures better email campaign performance while protecting your domain.
The DMARC None policy (p=none) takes a hands-off approach to email authentication. By setting your DMARC record to "p=none", you're essentially instructing receiving mail servers to monitor and report on email authentication results without actually enforcing any rules.
With the None policy in place, emails that fail DMARC authentication face no consequences. As Maitham Al Lawati, CEO at PowerDMARC, puts it:
"A 'monitoring only' policy that serves no protection. It's good for the beginning stages of your deployment journey. Emails are delivered but reports are generated for unauthenticated messages. In the DMARC record, this would be denoted by 'p=none'."
In other words, even if an email fails both SPF and DKIM checks, it will still reach the recipient's inbox. While the failure is logged, no action is taken to block or quarantine the email.
The None policy is ideal when you're just starting out with DMARC. It lets you gather insights into your email ecosystem without disrupting your email flow. During this phase, you can identify legitimate email sources, detect authentication issues, and understand how your emails are being processed. This monitoring period often lasts anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, depending on the complexity and volume of your email traffic.
The None policy does not negatively affect deliverability. Your emails will continue to land in inboxes as they did before DMARC was implemented. However, while this ensures smooth delivery, it also means you're missing out on the improved deliverability that comes with stronger authentication measures.
Using this policy allows you to collect detailed DMARC reports while maintaining normal email operations. But this comes at a cost: a lack of security, as explained below.
The None policy provides no protection against email spoofing or domain misuse. Bad actors can easily send fraudulent emails that appear to come from your domain, and these emails won't be blocked or flagged by DMARC.
This is a significant concern, especially considering that in 2024, nearly 32% of senders were still using the p=none policy, with 75% of them having no immediate plans to move to stricter enforcement. With the FBI reporting over $1.8 billion in losses from Business Email Compromise in 2023, staying on the None policy indefinitely leaves your domain vulnerable.
The None policy eliminates the risk of false positives entirely because it doesn't enforce any authentication rules. This makes it a safe choice during the early stages of DMARC deployment, especially for organizations with complex email systems involving multiple departments, third-party services, or legacy infrastructure. You can run the None policy for an extended period without worrying about legitimate emails being blocked.
For businesses managing multiple domains through platforms like Mailforge, the None policy is a great starting point. It provides a solid foundation for testing and monitoring across your domain portfolio before moving toward stricter enforcement policies.
The DMARC Quarantine policy (p=quarantine) serves as a middle ground between the None and Reject policies. Let’s break down how this policy manages emails that fail authentication.
When DMARC is configured with "p=quarantine", emails that don’t pass authentication checks are sent to the spam folder instead of being outright rejected. This gives recipients the chance to review potentially suspicious messages while keeping them separate from trusted communications. Additionally, this policy allows organizations to control the percentage of messages quarantined, offering flexibility in how aggressively emails are filtered.
The Quarantine policy works well as a transitional step after completing the monitoring phase under the None policy. It’s particularly suitable for businesses handling sensitive communications. For companies managing multiple domains through platforms like Mailforge, this policy strikes a balance between improving security and maintaining the flow of legitimate emails.
While the Quarantine policy is less disruptive than Reject, there’s still a chance that some legitimate emails could end up in spam - especially if your SPF and DKIM settings aren’t perfectly configured. Regularly monitoring DMARC reports and fine-tuning SPF/DKIM records can help stabilize email deliverability. This moderate approach also prepares you for the stricter Reject policy by providing valuable insights into your email ecosystem.
By diverting fraudulent emails to the spam folder, the Quarantine policy offers a solid layer of protection against spoofing and domain abuse. It reduces the likelihood of recipients engaging with harmful emails while minimizing the risk of losing legitimate messages compared to the Reject policy.
According to a 2024 survey by the Email Security Institute, companies saw up to a 20% drop in user-reported phishing attempts after implementing a quarantine policy. This aligns with findings that roughly 30% of phishing attacks target businesses via email.
To reduce false positives, it’s essential to routinely verify SPF/DKIM settings. Training your team to review spam folders and report any legitimate emails mistakenly quarantined can also help pinpoint and resolve authentication issues quickly.
The DMARC Reject policy (p=reject) enforces the strictest level of email authentication, offering the highest degree of protection against unauthorized messages.
With "p=reject" in place, any email that fails authentication is blocked outright by the receiving server. These emails are discarded entirely and never reach the recipient’s inbox - or even their spam folder. This approach contrasts with the Quarantine policy, where failed emails might still end up in a spam folder. By completely blocking unauthenticated emails, the Reject policy ensures recipients remain unaware of these attempts. This marks a significant step toward full enforcement of email security.
The Reject policy is ideal for organizations that have already tested and refined their email authentication settings using the None and Quarantine policies. Once SPF and DKIM configurations are fine-tuned, moving to a p=reject policy ensures the highest level of protection for email recipients.
"The end goal is ideally a policy of p=reject. That's what DMARC is for. Ensuring that your domain cannot be spoofed and protecting our mutual customers from abuse."
– Marcel Becker, Senior Director of Product at Yahoo
This policy is best suited for those who have achieved a consistent and reliable authentication setup, safeguarding their domain's reputation.
While the Reject policy offers unmatched security, it comes with a tradeoff: it has the most significant impact on email deliverability. Misconfigurations can lead to legitimate emails being blocked, which is why a gradual transition is crucial. Start with a "p=none" policy to monitor DMARC reports and identify potential delivery issues. Then, incrementally move toward "p=reject" by adjusting the policy to affect only a portion of your traffic (e.g., setting PCT to 10). Once confident in your setup, you can gradually increase the percentage to 100.
The Reject policy enforces a complete block on unauthorized emails, providing the strongest domain protection available under DMARC. By preventing malicious emails from reaching users, it reduces the risk of harmful links being clicked or dangerous attachments being opened. For businesses, this level of protection also helps maintain a clean domain reputation, especially against spoofing attempts. However, achieving this level of security requires a flawless configuration, as any errors can have significant consequences.
Despite its robust security, the Reject policy is not without risks. Misconfigurations can lead to false positives, where legitimate emails are mistakenly blocked. To avoid this, active monitoring and quick resolution of any authentication issues are essential. Interestingly, nearly 75% of senders with a "p=none" policy have no plans to transition to Quarantine or Reject policies, highlighting the cautious approach many take when considering stricter enforcement.
Selecting the right DMARC policy means finding the right mix of security, email deliverability, and operational complexity. Each policy serves different business needs and represents a step in the journey toward stronger email authentication.
| Policy | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| None (p=none) | • No impact on delivery – legitimate emails always reach recipients. • Safe monitoring – gathers authentication data without disrupting email flow. • Simple to implement – poses minimal risk to existing systems. • Sender visibility – identifies all services sending emails on your behalf. |
• No spoofing defense – malicious emails can still make their way to recipients. • False security perception – offers insights but no active protection. • Prolonged monitoring – nearly 75% of senders using p=none don't plan to advance their policy. |
| Quarantine (p=quarantine) | • Balanced protection – suspicious emails are sent to spam rather than blocked outright. • Recoverable errors – legitimate emails can be retrieved from spam folders. • Intermediate step – bridges the gap between monitoring and full enforcement. • Reduces spam inbox clutter – filters out most spoofed messages. |
• Partial security – some malicious emails may still land in spam folders. • User reliance – depends on recipients checking their spam folders. • Setup challenges – misaligned configurations can impact email delivery, and providers handle quarantined emails differently. |
| Reject (p=reject) | • Strongest security – fully blocks unauthorized emails. • Protects domain reputation – prevents spoofing attempts. • Industry benchmark – as Yahoo's Marcel Becker stated: "The end goal is ideally a policy of p=reject. That's what DMARC is for. Ensuring that your domain cannot be spoofed and protecting our mutual customers from abuse." • Cleaner inboxes – recipients don’t see malicious emails in any folder. |
• High delivery risk – misconfigurations can block legitimate emails. • Complex setup – requires precise SPF and DKIM alignment. • No recovery – mistakenly rejected emails can't be retrieved. • Ongoing maintenance – demands constant monitoring and quick issue resolution. |
This table highlights how security and deliverability evolve as you move from p=none to p=reject. With p=none, you gain visibility without enforcement. p=quarantine introduces moderate filtering, and p=reject provides complete blocking. However, stricter enforcement amplifies the risk of delivery issues if your configurations aren't perfectly aligned.
The move from p=none to p=reject demands careful planning. While p=none is easy to set up, p=reject requires flawless SPF, DKIM, and infrastructure alignment, which can be a heavy lift - especially for businesses using multiple email platforms. For example, companies working with tools like Mailforge, managing hundreds of domains, must ensure consistent authentication across all platforms to avoid disruptions in cold email campaigns.
Adoption statistics reveal a gap between awareness and action. A Sinch Mailgun report noted an 11% rise in DMARC adoption recently. Yet, as of late 2024, only 20% of the top 10 million domains had implemented DMARC, showing that while awareness is growing, many organizations still hesitate to take the leap.
For startups, starting with p=none allows safe monitoring, while mature organizations often aim for p=reject to fully protect their domains. Adopting a phased approach - beginning with p=none, progressing to p=quarantine, and finally moving to p=reject - can help businesses balance security and deliverability effectively.
Choosing the right DMARC policy is about finding the sweet spot between security and email deliverability. The maturity of your domain, the state of your authentication setup, and your organization's risk tolerance should all play a role in this decision.
Begin with p=none to monitor email traffic and identify authentication issues without impacting deliverability. Once your SPF and DKIM configurations are properly set up, move to p=quarantine to filter out spoofed messages while still allowing the recovery of legitimate emails. Only transition to p=reject when you're confident that all authorized email sources are fully aligned with your DMARC policy. This step-by-step approach ensures your domain stays protected without jeopardizing the delivery of legitimate emails.
To effectively transition from a DMARC 'None' policy to either 'Quarantine' or 'Reject', start by closely monitoring your email traffic while under the 'None' policy. This step helps you identify all legitimate email sources and confirm they’re correctly configured with SPF and DKIM. Fix any misconfigurations before moving forward.
The next step is to ease into stricter enforcement by switching to the 'Quarantine' policy. This allows you to test how recipient servers handle your emails while still permitting some delivery. During this phase, keep an eye on DMARC reports to detect and address any lingering issues.
Once you're confident that all legitimate emails are being delivered without problems, you can move to the 'Reject' policy. This provides the strongest defense against spoofing and phishing attempts. To ensure continued security and deliverability, make it a habit to regularly review DMARC reports.
When rolling out a DMARC policy across multiple domains, the first step is to ensure SPF and DKIM are correctly configured for every domain and subdomain. Avoid overly lenient SPF rules, such as using +all, as they can weaken security. Also, make it a habit to rotate your DKIM keys regularly to reduce the risk of misconfigurations and enhance security.
A smart way to begin is by setting your DMARC policy to none. This allows you to monitor email traffic and identify any potential problems before moving to stricter policies like quarantine or reject. Taking this gradual approach minimizes the risk of disrupting email delivery during the transition. Finally, pay close attention to managing your DNS records and ensure consistency across all domains to avoid configuration errors and maintain compliance.
Many companies opt to stick with the DMARC None policy, largely because they’re concerned that stricter policies like Quarantine or Reject might interfere with legitimate email delivery. The fear of false positives - where valid emails are mistakenly flagged as suspicious - can disrupt important business communications, making stricter enforcement feel risky.
On top of that, adopting and maintaining stricter DMARC policies requires a solid understanding of the organization’s email systems. Without the right tools or expertise, businesses worry that potential issues like misconfigurations or delivery failures could outweigh the added security benefits. For teams handling large-scale cold email campaigns, tools like Mailforge can simplify managing email infrastructure while ensuring compliance and maintaining reliable deliverability.