Will whitelisting of tagged Reply-To address also whitelist the untagged From address?

Summary

The broad consensus from experts, marketers, and documentation is that whitelisting a tagged (plus addressed) Reply-To address generally does *not* automatically whitelist the untagged From address. Email systems typically treat plus addresses as distinct entities. While plus addressing is useful for tracking, you cannot rely on automatic whitelisting inheritance. Address book behavior varies, and some systems might not even recognize plus addresses. Furthermore, some ISPs might view plus addresses with suspicion. It's best to explicitly safelist both, test across platforms, and consider whether plus addresses are stripped.

Key findings

  • Unique Treatment: Plus addresses are generally treated as unique and separate from the base address.
  • No Whitelist Inheritance: Whitelisting a tagged address does not typically extend to the base address.
  • Variable Recognition: Some systems may not recognize or properly handle plus addresses.
  • Address Book Variance: Address book behavior differs across providers regarding plus addresses.
  • Potential Reputation Bias: Some ISPs may view plus addresses with lower reputation due to their association with spam.
  • Recipient Based whitelisting: Mail clients mainly safe list emails based on what they are sending to.
  • No implicit relationship: RFC5322 allows plus addresses but does not define special handling or relationships between addresses.

Key considerations

  • Explicit Safelisting: Explicitly safelist *both* tagged and untagged addresses.
  • Cross-Platform Testing: Test deliverability across multiple email platforms.
  • Platform Compatibility: Ensure your marketing platform supports plus addressing.
  • Stripping Consideration: Be aware that some systems may strip plus addresses.
  • Monitor deliverability: Monitor deliverability of campaigns using plus addressed emails to identify potential issues.
  • Check brands stripping policies: Check if brands/companies automatically strip plus addresses.

What email marketers say
9Marketer opinions

The consensus is that whitelisting a tagged (plus addressed) Reply-To address does not guarantee that the untagged From address will also be whitelisted. Email systems generally treat plus addresses as unique and independent. While plus addressing is useful for tracking and organization, relying on automatic whitelisting inheritance is not advisable. Some systems may not recognize plus addresses, and even if they do, whitelisting behavior varies. Additionally, some ISPs might view plus addresses with lower reputation. It's best practice to explicitly safelist both tagged and untagged addresses and test across various email platforms.

Key opinions

  • Unique Address Treatment: Plus addresses are generally treated as unique and distinct from their base addresses.
  • No Whitelisting Inheritance: Whitelisting a plus address typically does not automatically whitelist the corresponding base address.
  • Inconsistent Recognition: Some older email systems may not properly recognize or handle plus addresses.
  • Variable Address Book Handling: Address book handling varies, with some systems grouping plus addresses and others treating them as separate contacts.
  • ISPs may have reputation bias: Some ISPs may view plus addresses as having lower reputations than standard email addresses

Key considerations

  • Explicit Safelisting: Explicitly safelist both the tagged (plus addressed) and untagged email addresses to ensure deliverability.
  • Testing Across Platforms: Test email deliverability across various email platforms (Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc.) to understand how plus addresses are handled.
  • Marketing Platform Compatibility: Verify that your email marketing platform supports plus addressing and handles it correctly.
  • Monitor deliverability: Monitor deliverability of email campaigns using plus addresses to identify potential issues.
  • Account for automatic stripping of plus addresses: Consider if plus addresses are stripped automatically by brands
Marketer view

Email marketer from Stack Overflow explains that tagged or 'plus' addresses are treated as unique addresses. Therefore, whitelisting a tagged Reply-To address (e.g., user+campaign1@example.com) will not automatically whitelist the untagged From address (e.g., user@example.com). Each address is treated independently by most systems.

August 2022 - Stack Overflow
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit mentions that address book handling varies. Some systems may treat plus addresses as separate contacts, while others might group them. Whitelisting behavior follows this pattern; there's no universal rule.

July 2023 - Reddit
Marketer view

Email marketer from Marketo Community details best practices for using plus addresses in marketing campaigns. He also mentions that not all email marketing tools have the ability to use plus addresses, so whitelisting them may not even work depending on which marketing platform you are using.

February 2022 - Marketo Community
Marketer view

Email marketer from Mailjet states that While plus addressing can be helpful for organization and tracking, it’s important to remember that not all email clients or servers treat plus addresses the same way. Ensure your email marketing practices account for this, and understand that whitelisting a plus address does not automatically whitelist the base address.

May 2023 - Mailjet
Marketer view

Email marketer from EmailDrip Help Center explains that using plus addressing (e.g., email+tag@yourdomain.com) is generally safe for email deliverability. However, some older systems might not recognize it, and whitelisting one doesn't guarantee the other is whitelisted.

April 2022 - EmailDrip Help Center
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit shares that in their experience, whitelisting a 'plus' address doesn't guarantee the root address is also whitelisted. They suggest testing with major providers to confirm behavior, as it can vary.

July 2021 - Reddit
Marketer view

Email marketer from EmailGeeks Community says that he always tests new campaigns with plus addressed emails, and that helps to determine if the From email address is also being picked up as safe to send to. Its always best to test across multiple email platforms like Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo! etc.

September 2023 - EmailGeeks.community
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum advises that plus addresses are useful for tracking but warns against relying on whitelisting to transfer between tagged and untagged addresses. He recommends explicitly safelisting both.

July 2023 - Email Marketing Forum
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Deliverability Blog explains that some ISPs might treat plus addresses as lower reputation, due to their common use for spam traps and disposable emails. Whitelisting might not overcome this inherent bias.

February 2024 - Email Deliverability Blog

What the experts say
3Expert opinions

Experts suggest that whitelisting a tagged Reply-To address generally doesn't extend to the untagged From address. Mail clients like Apple Mail and Microsoft Outlook typically add the recipient's address to the address book, not the original sender's. Consequently, the tagged and untagged addresses are treated as unrelated. Moreover, some companies might strip plus addresses, which further complicates whitelisting considerations.

Key opinions

  • Recipient-Based Whitelisting: Mail clients primarily whitelist addresses based on the recipient, not the original sender.
  • Unrelated Addresses: Tagged and untagged addresses are generally treated as unrelated, even if they share the same domain.
  • Plus Address Stripping: Some companies strip plus addresses, which affects how replies and From addresses are handled.

Key considerations

  • Address Book Behavior: Understand how different mail clients handle address book additions, particularly whether they prioritize recipients or senders.
  • Plus Address Handling: Consider whether your recipients' mail systems strip plus addresses, which might impact deliverability and whitelisting effectiveness.
  • Whitelisting Limitations: Don't assume that whitelisting a tagged address will automatically improve deliverability for the untagged address.
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that plus addressing is acceptable, but that some brands use it for their own internal purposes. Some companies automatically strip them. This should be reviewed and taken into account when sending emails, particularly from replies and the affect it has on the 'From' email address. This has an affect on the question of whitelisting.

May 2023 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks shares that they don’t believe the whitelisting will cross between the tagged and untagged addresses, as they’re just unrelated addresses in the same domain.

June 2023 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks explains that Apple mail uses a “previous recipients” list, which is based on addresses the user has sent mail to. Microsoft used to have an “add to address book” feature on reply, which also added the address the user was sending to. Laura expects that most systems will add the specific reply-to address. She also suggests that things like Google may be more complicated and not a simple “add recipient to address book” process.

September 2024 - Email Geeks

What the documentation says
4Technical articles

Email documentation from IETF, Google, Microsoft and Apple indicates that while plus addressing is supported, there's no inherent relationship defined between the base address and the plus address regarding whitelisting. RFC 5322 allows for '+' characters but doesn't specify special handling. Google's and Microsoft's documentation for Gmail and Outlook, respectively, don't mention whitelisting inheritance, implying separate treatment. Apple's documentation does not cover how plus addressing is handled.

Key findings

  • RFC 5322 Neutrality: RFC 5322 allows '+' in email addresses but doesn't define special handling or relationships.
  • Gmail/Outlook Implication: Google's and Microsoft's documentation implies separate treatment for base and plus addresses regarding whitelisting.
  • Apple no coverage: Apple provides no direction of plus addressing, suggests each email is independent.

Key considerations

  • Distinct Treatment Expectation: Expect email systems to treat base and plus addresses as distinct entities regarding whitelisting.
  • Absence of Inheritance Assumption: Do not assume that whitelisting a plus address will automatically extend to the base address, or vice versa.
  • Testing Required: Test whitelisting behavior with specific email providers to confirm how plus addresses are handled.
Technical article

Documentation from Google states that Gmail inherently supports plus addressing, allowing users to create variations of their email address by adding '+anything' before the '@' symbol. However, Google's documentation doesn't explicitly state whether whitelisting a plus address automatically extends to the base address, implying they are treated separately.

October 2024 - Google
Technical article

Documentation from Microsoft explains how to add addresses to safe sender list in Outlook. It provides options for domain or specific addresses. It does not specify any special handling of plus addresses - suggesting that they are treated as distinct entries.

January 2025 - Microsoft
Technical article

Documentation from IETF explains that RFC 5322 defines the standard for email message format. It technically allows for '+' characters in the local part of an email address. However, it doesn't specify any special handling or relationship between addresses with and without the '+' extension. This means systems are free to treat them as distinct.

September 2022 - Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
Technical article

Documentation from Apple clarifies how mail privacy works with the mail app. It states that it hides IP Address and loads all remote content in the background, however, it does not cover how it affects plus addresses and how they are treated. It suggests that each email is independent and not related in anyway.

October 2022 - Apple