Can DMARC reports be sent without RUA or RUF addresses?
Summary
What email marketers say5Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Reddit shares that they initially deployed DMARC without RUA/RUF tags due to concerns about report volume and parsing complexity, but later realized they were missing critical insights into legitimate email sources being misidentified.
Email marketer from StackOverflow explains that a DMARC record without RUA/RUF is valid but prevents receiving valuable feedback on email authentication results, impacting domain reputation management.
Email marketer from EmailSecurityGPT.com details that DMARC reports are not received due to missing RUA or RUF tags in the DNS record.
Email marketer from mailhardener.com details that DMARC requires aggregate or forensic reporting (RUA and RUF tags) to gain visibility into email sources and potential authentication issues.
Email marketer from MXToolbox highlights that although a DMARC record is technically valid without RUA/RUF, not including these tags prevents a domain owner from receiving crucial feedback on email authentication results. This feedback is essential for identifying and resolving deliverability issues.
What the experts say3Expert opinions
Expert from Spam Resource explains that while a DMARC record is valid without RUA and RUF tags, you won't receive aggregate or forensic reports, which are crucial for monitoring authentication results and identifying potential issues.
Expert from Email Geeks responds he hasn't seen DMARC reports sent without having a RUA or RUF address and thinks it might be phishing.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that even though a DMARC record can exist without RUA and RUF records, including them is highly recommended, since this is required to get the forensic and aggregate feedback that will actually help the domain owner secure and improve their email program.
What the documentation says3Technical articles
Documentation from RFC Editor outlines the DMARC standard, specifying that RUA and RUF tags are optional parameters. It notes that their absence simply means the sending mail server will not be instructed to send aggregate or forensic reports.
Documentation from DMARC.org details that the rua and ruf tags are optional in a DMARC record. The 'rua' tag specifies the address(es) to which aggregate reports should be sent, while 'ruf' specifies the address(es) for forensic reports. A DMARC record can function without them, but you won't receive reports.
Documentation from Google explains that while DMARC allows for records without RUA or RUF, these tags are crucial for receiving reports that help monitor and improve email authentication and security. Without them, you lose visibility into authentication failures.