Is mail.protonmail.ch an email honeypot?
Summary
What email marketers say9Marketer opinions
Email marketer from StackExchange explains that ProtonMail employs aggressive spam filtering techniques to protect its users, which can result in legitimate emails being flagged as spam.
Email marketer from Reddit shares that while mail.protonmail.ch itself isn't a honeypot, ProtonMail attracts a privacy-conscious and potentially more spam-sensitive user base, which might impact sender reputation.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum responds that while mail.protonmail.ch is a legitimate MX record for ProtonMail, sending unsolicited emails to ProtonMail users might result in spam complaints.
Marketer from Email Geeks recalls that ProtonMail has dedicated MXs for their honeypots and suggests some traps might be hosted on regular user MX records, implying thorough spam detection.
Email marketer from Mailhardener shares that their tool can test your mail server for compliance with a range of email security protocols such as DMARC, DKIM and SPF.
Marketer from Email Geeks advises against sending emails to ProtonMail unless they are transactional emails about bitcoin wallets due to the user base being weird.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that ProtonMail is a privacy-focused email provider based out of Switzerland.
Email marketer from Quora responds that ProtonMail's user base is more likely to report unsolicited emails, potentially leading to increased spam complaints and reputation damage for senders.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Blog explains that ProtonMail's strict anti-spam policies can lead to senders being blacklisted if they don't adhere to best practices.
What the experts say3Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks explains that ProtonMail likely has a much higher fraction of privacy-focused users, potentially leading to reputation problems even with clean address collection practices.
Expert from Word to the Wise shares that, while not inherently a honeypot, ProtonMail’s emphasis on privacy and strong anti-spam measures requires senders to adhere to the highest email marketing standards to ensure inbox placement. Senders must prioritize permission, relevance, and value to avoid being flagged as spam.
Expert from Spamresource explains that the perception of ProtonMail as a potential honeypot is often tied to its user base and security focus. While not a honeypot, ProtonMail attracts privacy-conscious users who are likely to report spam, potentially impacting sender reputation.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from ProtonMail Support details that ProtonMail implements various security measures, including spam filtering and abuse detection systems, to protect its users from unwanted emails.
Documentation from MXToolbox shares that MXToolbox can be used to check IP addresses that are blacklisted, and it is also a useful tool to check the general health of a mail server.
Documentation from RFC Editor explains the Sender Policy Framework (SPF) and that it is a technical method to prevent sender address forgery. Whilst it won't describe if something is a honeypot, it does help with email verification.
Documentation from Spamhaus shares that Spamhaus maintains blocklists of IP addresses and domains known for sending spam, and ProtonMail's anti-spam measures help protect its users from these threats.