Why is iCloud blocking my emails and what can I do about it?

Email marketer from Email Geeks suggests reaching out to the Apple postmaster function directly if the issue is urgent and you are not a spammer, noting they are responsive and helpful.

Email marketer from EmailToolTester explains that Apple Mail's aggressive filtering can block emails even with good sender reputation. Suggests checking sender reputation, authenticating email (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), avoiding spam triggers, providing an unsubscribe option, and monitoring bounce rates. Also advises using dedicated IP addresses and whitelisting options.

Email marketer from Email Geeks advises checking bounce logs for unusually high bounces at Apple domains, possibly due to full mailboxes on the Apple side. Suggests contacting Apple's postmaster support after discovering the bounce codes. Mentions they got a reply and some tweaks were made after submitting tickets using the email address on the bottom of the linked page.

Email marketer from Email Geeks confirms seeing a very high number of `overquota` bounces from iCloud recently.

Email marketer from Litmus explains how keeping your email list clean and up to date can drastically increase your deliverability to domains like iCloud. Cleaning out old, unengaged, or non-existent email addresses can significantly improve your sender reputation and deliverability rates.

Email marketer from EmailGeeks Forum advises reaching out to Apple's postmaster directly if you suspect filtering issues. The postmaster can provide specific feedback on why emails are being blocked and offer guidance on resolving any problems.

Email marketer from Mailjet shares that maintaining a clean email list, segmenting audiences, and sending relevant content are crucial for deliverability. They add that monitoring engagement metrics (opens, clicks) and adjusting sending practices based on these metrics can help improve sender reputation with Apple.

Email marketer from StackOverflow suggests that iCloud's filtering is heavily influenced by IP reputation. They suggest using tools to monitor IP reputation and taking steps to remediate any issues, such as blacklisting or spam complaints, as well as ensuring proper reverse DNS configuration.

Email marketer from GMass responds by explaining how to warm up new IPs to improve email deliverability. Advises starting with small volumes and gradually increasing sends, monitoring bounce rates and engagement metrics, and segmenting lists to send to the most engaged users first.

Email marketer from Reddit user r/emailmarketing mentions that iCloud can be sensitive to sudden spikes in email volume, especially for transactional emails. Recommends warming up IP addresses gradually and closely monitoring deliverability metrics when starting new campaigns or sending to larger lists.

Expert from Email Geeks shares rumours from another private slack that the blocking issue might be at Apple's end, not specifically with the sender's mail.

Expert from SpamResource explains that iCloud may block emails due to content-based triggers in the email body. The expert advises avoiding common spam trigger words, maintaining a healthy text-to-image ratio, and ensuring your HTML code is clean and well-formatted.

Expert from Word to the Wise shares the importance of using feedback loops (FBLs) for identifying and removing complainers from your mailing list. If iCloud users mark your emails as spam, an FBL can alert you to remove them, preventing future deliverability issues.

Documentation from DMARC.org explains that implementing DMARC can significantly improve email deliverability to iCloud. DMARC allows domain owners to specify how receiving mail servers should handle emails that fail SPF or DKIM checks, providing more control over email authentication and preventing phishing attacks.

Documentation from RFC-Editor explains that SPF records are crucial for email authentication. SPF records, published in your DNS, allow receiving mail servers to verify that emails claiming to be from your domain are sent from authorized servers, helping prevent spoofing and improving deliverability to services like iCloud.

Documentation from IETF explains that the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is the standard protocol for sending emails across the internet. Understanding SMTP and its proper implementation is crucial for ensuring reliable email delivery, including to iCloud, and avoiding common pitfalls that can lead to blocking or filtering.

Documentation from Apple Support outlines that if emails are missing from the inbox, they may have been accidentally marked as spam. It suggests checking the Junk mail folder and marking the email as 'Not Junk' to ensure future delivery. Also recommends adding the sender to Contacts to prevent filtering.

Documentation from DKIM.org outlines that DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) provides a method for verifying the authenticity of email messages. By digitally signing emails with a private key and publishing the corresponding public key in DNS, receiving mail servers can verify that the email has not been tampered with during transit, improving deliverability with iCloud.