Does Google require List-Unsubscribe for one-click unsubscribe in emails?
Summary
What email marketers say10Marketer opinions
Marketer from Email Geeks explains that Google requires marketing and subscribed messages to support one-click unsubscribe and everything else is just best practices or dictated by laws governing emails.
Email marketer from Sendgrid answers that to ensure emails are delivered into the inbox of recipients, Google requires emails implement one-click unsubscribe
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that they finally found where Google explicitly states that one-click unsubscribe methods outside of List-Unsubscribe DO NOT meet their one-subscribe requirement, and senders following unsubscribe best practices have until June 1, 2024 to implement List-Unsubscribe in promotional messages.
Email marketer from Omnisend answers that one-click unsubscribes using the list-unsubscribe header is critical to ensure your emails make it to the customers inbox
Email marketer from Stack Overflow shares the header code that should be used within your emails to make them RFC compliant
Email marketer from Mailjet notes that Google and Yahoo require a List-Unsubscribe header for one-click unsubscribe. It allows recipients to unsubscribe quickly and easily.
Email marketer from Reddit states that Google explicitly requires List-Unsubscribe for one-click unsubscribe to comply with their updated email sender guidelines.
Email marketer from EmailValets explains that as of October 2023, Google and Yahoo have changed their email authentication requirements, requiring one-click unsubscribe functionality. This generally means implementing the List-Unsubscribe header.
Email marketer from GMass mentions that Google requires a List-Unsubscribe header for senders sending bulk email, and it must support one-click unsubscription.
Email marketer from Litmus discusses the importance of one-click unsubscribe for avoiding spam complaints and improving deliverability, noting that Google and Yahoo are enforcing this requirement.
What the experts say3Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks clarifies that "one-click unsubscribe" means RFC 8058 in this context and is not related to the CAN-SPAM requirement of having a one-click unsubscribe link in the message body. He later points to Yahoo documentation as guidance.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that it is required to add a list-unsubscribe header that complies with RFC 2369.
Expert from Word to the Wise details what one-click unsubscribe is and how to properly set this up in your emails.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from Google explains that to ensure messages are delivered to Gmail inboxes, senders must implement one-click unsubscribe for marketing messages. This can be done either through a List-Unsubscribe header with the 'mailto:' or 'https:' option.
Documentation from RFC Editor provides technical specifications for the List-Unsubscribe header, explaining it facilitates one-click unsubscription for email recipients and details the implementation of both mailto and HTTP unsubscribe options.
Documentation from SparkPost details that RFC 8058 defines the one-click unsubscribe mechanism and discusses the importance of implementing it correctly to meet mailbox provider requirements like Google and Yahoo.
Documentation from Microsoft recommends implementing List-Unsubscribe header with both mailto and HTTP options for optimal compatibility with different email providers and explains how to format the header.