Why is Google Postmaster Tools (GPT) showing incorrect SPF and DKIM authentication rates?

Email marketer from Email Marketing Community shares that a sudden drop in IP reputation, possibly due to spam listing or policy changes by receiving servers, might cause emails to be treated differently, impacting reported authentication rates in Google Postmaster Tools.

Email marketer from StackExchange notes that Email forwarding can break SPF if the forwarding server isn't authorized in the original sender's SPF record. This can lead to SPF failures and skew the data in Google Postmaster Tools.

Email marketer from Reddit suggests checking if your SPF record includes all sending sources. Sometimes, marketing automation platforms or transactional email services are overlooked, causing some emails to fail SPF checks and skewing overall authentication rates in Google Postmaster Tools.

Marketer from Email Geeks suggests that if headers are good, not to panic and that it may be a data loading issue that will resolve.

Marketer from Email Geeks is also seeing weird data and states he almost went down a rabbit hole with a client due to a false alarm about an authentication crisis.

Email marketer from Online Marketing Forum responds saying that if emails pass through proxy servers that modify the message body, DKIM signatures can be invalidated leading to authentication failures. Ensure your sending infrastructure isn't inadvertently altering messages after DKIM signing.

Email marketer from Neil Patel's Blog responds stating that potential issues include incomplete data aggregation, reporting delays, or specific filtering configurations that might not represent the entire email flow. It could also be related to how different ISPs handle authentication results, leading to variations in the data reported to Google.

Marketer from Email Geeks shares experiencing a similar problem with their ESP domain, where SPF and DMARC success rates fluctuate between 0% and 100% despite no changes in DNS records.

Email marketer from Email Analytics Blog suggests that some receiving servers may perform stricter authentication checks based on geographic region or sender reputation. These regional differences can affect reported authentication rates in Google Postmaster Tools, especially if your audience is globally distributed.

Email marketer from Email Security Blog shares that recent changes to SPF or DKIM records might not have fully propagated across the DNS system. This can lead to inconsistent authentication results as different servers use different versions of your DNS records. Give it time to propagate and check again.

Email marketer from Email Admins Forum responds with the fact that increased spam complaints and low engagement could trigger more aggressive filtering, impacting authentication rates reported in Google Postmaster Tools. This might not directly indicate an SPF or DKIM issue, but rather a reputation problem affecting email processing.

Marketer from Email Geeks confirms that they are seeing the same issue: Auth is the only dashboard updated and shows 0% SPF, 0% DKIM, and N/A for DMARC on every domain checked.

Email marketer from Technical Forum answers that problems during DKIM key rotation could be the cause. If the old and new keys aren't correctly implemented simultaneously, some emails might be signed with a key that isn't yet recognized, leading to DKIM failures and inaccurate reporting in Google Postmaster Tools.

Expert from Word to the Wise shares that to troubleshoot authentication discrepancies, one should verify SPF records include all sending sources, ensure DKIM keys are correctly configured and rotated, and monitor DMARC reports for insights into authentication failures. DNS propagation issues can also temporarily affect authentication results, so checking from multiple locations can be helpful.

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that inconsistencies in Google Postmaster Tools data can arise from various factors, including the way Google samples and aggregates data, and potential delays in processing authentication results. Additionally, changes in Gmail's filtering algorithms can affect how authentication is interpreted and reported.

Expert from Email Geeks agrees that things are weird and speculates if it may be caused by the rollout of new postmaster tools b0rking the data feeds into the current one.

Documentation from Google Help explains that data discrepancies in Google Postmaster Tools can occur due to delays in data processing or sampling. It suggests that the displayed information is an aggregate and might not reflect real-time authentication status for every single email.

Documentation from RFC 4408 explains that even minor syntax errors in your SPF record can cause it to fail, potentially leading to misinterpretation by receiving servers and skewed authentication results reported in Google Postmaster Tools. It's crucial to validate your SPF record syntax.

Documentation from DKIM.org explains that issues in the DKIM signature verification process can lead to incorrect authentication results. Intermediary servers altering the message content after DKIM signing can invalidate the signature, resulting in failures reported in Google Postmaster Tools.

Documentation from IETF RFC 6591 explains that misinterpreting DMARC reports can lead to incorrect conclusions about SPF and DKIM authentication rates. It's essential to understand how DMARC policies are applied and how failures are reported to accurately diagnose authentication issues in Google Postmaster Tools.