What is a Sender Policy Framework Record?

Proof that you are a legit sender

Many customers use a custom sender email (e.g. admin@brainpuzzles.com) to send campaigns from tinyAlbert. So here's a question: how does the email service provider on the recipient's end (e.g. Gmail or Yahoo) know that tinyAlbert has permission to send emails with your custom domain attached to the message? 

The answer is a small file called Sender Policy Framework, or SPF for short. If you send campaigns with a custom sender address, you should take five minutes and create an SPF record.

What is an SPF?

Let me explain the purpose of an SPF record with an analogy. 

Let's say you're expecting a package from a friend. One day, a suspicious delivery guy walks up to your door and rings the bell. You're not sure if this is your friend's package or an imposter. So you call your friend, get a description of the package and the name of the delivery service. You confirm the delivery is legit, open the door, and accept the package. Everything is cool.

Switch roles

Now imagine you are Gmail (or any email service provider) and the package is an email message. The email looks suspicious. The message comes from the tinyAlbert IP but has a different sender email domain (e.g. brainpuzzles.com). 

Who can you call to confirm the email is legit? You can't call Shopify. They're busy, and they wouldn't be able to confirm anyway. Instead, you call the company that hosts the custom email domain and ask, "Does tinyAlbert have permission to send messages with the brainpuzzles.com domain name?" 

If the answer is Yes, Gmail opens the door to the Inbox and accepts the email. If the answer is No (or there is no answer), Gmail might decide to play it safe and toss the email in the Spam folder or block the domain altogether.

The key to opening the door is an SPF record. When Gmail contacts your hosting service, it looks for the SPF to confirm the sender is legit and not a spoofer (e.g. an imposter delivering an unwanted package). That's the benefit of an SPF. It increases the chances your email campaigns land in the Inbox and stay out of the Spam folder.

How to create an SPF record

Log in to your domain provider account. 

This is where your domain is hosted. You might be using a service like GoDaddy (which is a domain registrar and hosting service) or have a contract with a hosting service and access to Cpanel (or a similar control panel). This article has useful instructions for creating records on different domain registrar sites. 

Go to the page that lets users manage their domains. Every hosting company is a bit different. Create a TXT record and paste in this code:

v=spf1 include:_spf.tinyemail.com ~all

• If you have two or more SPF records attached to the same domain, then you should use a slightly different code:

v=spf4 include:_spf.tinyemail.com ~all

You might need to add information to other fields, as the example below shows for Namecheap. 

If your domain is on a hosting service and you can access cPanel (or another control panel), go to the Zone Editor and create a TXT record.

You might need to wait up to 48 hours for the changes to take effect. Occasionally, send a test message to ensure the email flows as expected. If you have any questions, contact the tinyAlbert support team.

That's it.

Now you know how to create an SPF record and send confidently with tinyAlbert.