Should I remove DMARC and DKIM records to use Amazon SES shared domain reputation?
Summary
What email marketers say11Marketer opinions
Email marketer from EmailonAcid Blog strongly emphasizes that you should *never* consider removing email authentication. It is critical to protecting your domain reputation and ensuring deliverability. They suggest implementing DMARC, DKIM, and SPF.
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that SES got pretty tight with their compliance a couple years back and started booting people left and right. While your client might be getting away with let's call it aggressive sending it might not be google or yahoo that cut off their head but a message from ses saying their account is suspended and their 400k a day goes to 0 with no warm ips to welcome them.
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that shared domain piggybackers were always his least-favorite clients back when I worked for ESPs.
Email marketer from SendGrid Blog recommends implementing DMARC, DKIM, and SPF to authenticate your emails. They outline that these authentication protocols protect your domain's reputation and improve deliverability rates. They strongly advise against removing them in favor of a shared sending reputation.
Email marketer from StackOverflow answers that removing DMARC & DKIM records to try and ride on shared infrastructure reputation is a bad idea. They suggest you should always authenticate your emails for improved deliverability and to prevent abuse of your domain.
Email marketer from Reddit user u/EmailExpert strongly advises against removing DMARC/DKIM. They state that DMARC/DKIM are essential for proving sender legitimacy to mailbox providers and helps prevent spoofing/phishing. They explain that sacrificing this for short-term gains from a shared reputation is a bad strategy, especially with a long term view.
Email marketer from Mailjet Blog advises against removing DMARC and DKIM records, emphasizing that these are crucial for building and maintaining a positive sending reputation. They highlight that removing these records can make you vulnerable to spoofing and phishing attacks, ultimately harming your deliverability.
Email marketer from MXToolbox states that removing or failing to configure DMARC, DKIM and SPF records leaves your domain open to impersonation or abuse. It is recommended that you always implement and configure your email authentication to protect yourself.
Email marketer from Email Geeks answers the question by stating that No timelines have changed and the sender requirements from email providers are confusing to some people.
Email marketer from Litmus Blog advises against removing email authentication protocols. They suggest it is important for sender reputation and email deliverability, and a shared sending reputation is not a viable, long-term alternative.
Email marketer from GlockApps Blog warns that removing DMARC and DKIM records is a risky strategy. They emphasize that these authentication methods protect your sending domain from being exploited by malicious actors, maintaining your deliverability, and building customer trust.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from Spam Resource states that shared IP addresses or reputation do not mean that your emails will get delivered. Email delivery still relies heavily on a good sender reputation and good sending practices.
Expert from Email Geeks shares concerns that a similar exploit occurred where groups never finished custom domain configuration to send millions of cruddy messages on shared IPs, and he asks, 'what do you plan to do past June, because this isn't a plan for long term success.'
Expert from Spam Resource states that DMARC, when implemented correctly, prevents bad actors from using your domain name and prevents people from being phished by bad actors using your name
Expert from Email Geeks explains that the client's plan is what Google and Yahoo are trying to stop with the DMARC requirements, which is 'Folks who are not clean enough to get delivered on their own but who are stealing reputation from others to get in the inbox.'
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from RFC states that DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) is designed to provide a method for verifying the source and integrity of email messages. It allows receiving systems to confirm that a message was indeed sent by the domain it claims to be from and that the message content has not been altered in transit.
Documentation from AWS explains that while using Amazon SES shared IPs is an option, it's not recommended for senders aiming for high deliverability. They emphasize that dedicated IPs and domain authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) provide more control over sender reputation, which is essential for consistent inbox placement.
Documentation from Google Workspace Admin Help says that using SPF is essential to prevent spoofing, and it should be setup to ensure the email is authenticated to your domain.
Documentation from DMARC.org states that DMARC helps email senders protect their domains from unauthorized use, commonly known as email spoofing. By implementing DMARC, organizations can gain visibility into their email channels and prevent attackers from impersonating their brand.