Does Yahoo have annual deactivation campaigns that cause bounces?
Summary
What email marketers say12Marketer opinions
Email marketer from MailerQ explains that there are multiple reasons why to remove inactive email addresses from your list, including that it is likely to improve your deliverability as they are more likely to bounce.
Email marketer from SendGrid explains that cleaning your lists and managing bounces reduces your bounce rate, and improves your deliverability.
Email marketer from Quora details Yahoo's policy of deactivating accounts after a period of inactivity and reallocating those addresses, meaning campaigns might see bounces due to old, disused accounts being recycled. They recommend regular list cleaning.
Email marketer from WebmasterWorld shares that Yahoo periodically purges inactive accounts, leading to bounce-backs and advises cleaning your lists regularly to avoid sending to these defunct addresses.
Email marketer from SparkPost explains that monitoring your bounces is a way of maintaining your sender reputation and IP address.
Email marketer from WebmasterWorld notes that Yahoo's practice of recycling email addresses after deactivation can cause deliverability issues if not managed correctly, and recommends segmenting lists based on engagement to minimize the risk.
Email marketer from Email Geeks responds suggesting that Yahoo usually does this annually, referring to a deactivation campaign, and it’s about the usual time.
Email marketer from Email Geeks responds clarifying that they noticed a pattern over the past few years of an increase during this exact time.
Email marketer from Reddit mentions that Yahoo's deactivation policy isn't as aggressive as some other providers, but inactive accounts still get purged. They suggest monitoring bounce rates and adjusting sending practices accordingly.
Email marketer from Email Geeks explains there is no deactivation campaign and explains that deleting inactive mailboxes happens all the time, suggesting that if you are getting mailbox disabled/does not exist, it means you are sending to folks who were not really using the account for more than 12 months.
Email marketer from Reddit explains that while Yahoo doesn't explicitly announce 'deactivation campaigns,' they do deactivate and eventually recycle inactive email addresses. This can cause bounces for senders with outdated lists. They suggest implementing proper list hygiene and sunsetting policies.
Email marketer from Mailjet explains how there are 2 main types of bounce (hard and soft) and details how to manage them.
What the experts say2Expert opinions
Expert from Spam Resource emphasizes the importance of maintaining clean mailing lists and promptly removing bounced addresses to avoid deliverability issues, which are relevant to the effects of Yahoo's deactivation practices.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that proper bounce processing is crucial for identifying and removing invalid or inactive email addresses from mailing lists, thus mitigating the impact of bounces caused by Yahoo's deactivation policies.
What the documentation says3Technical articles
Documentation from Yahoo Terms of Service outlines Yahoo's right to terminate accounts that are inactive. Though it does not describe campaigns it details how inactivity will cause termination.
Documentation from Yahoo Help explains that Yahoo may delete inactive mailboxes. To keep your Yahoo account active, you need to sign in at least once every 12 months.
Documentation from Google explains how a hard bounce means an email address is invalid and any future emails will also bounce. A soft bounce means that for some reason the email could not be delivered, but future attempts may work.