Microsoft Scraps Exchange Online Bulk Email Limits
▼ Summary
– Microsoft has canceled its plan to impose a new daily 2,000-recipient limit on Exchange Online bulk email senders, following negative customer feedback.
– The limit was originally announced in April 2024 to fight spam and was scheduled for enforcement starting in 2025.
– Microsoft stated the cancellation is due to the operational challenges the limit posed and a commitment to finding less disruptive, smarter solutions.
– Existing Exchange Online limits of 10,000 recipients per mailbox and 5,000 external recipients per tenant per day will remain unchanged.
– Google is enforcing stricter anti-spam guidelines for bulk senders, requiring email authentication and easy unsubscribe options.
Microsoft has reversed its decision to implement a new daily limit on bulk email sent from Exchange Online, a move that directly addresses significant concerns raised by its user base. The company had previously announced a Mailbox External Recipient Rate Limit of 2,000 recipients per day, set to begin enforcement in 2025 as part of a broader initiative to combat spam and resource abuse. Following substantial negative feedback from customers who cited major operational hurdles, Microsoft has now canceled this policy indefinitely.
The initial plan, revealed in April 2024, was designed to prevent the misuse of Exchange Online resources. Microsoft intended to roll out the new External Recipient Rate (ERR) limits starting in January 2025, with enforcement for existing customers scheduled between July and December of that year. The goal was to curb unfair usage patterns and enhance overall service security. However, the practical implications for businesses relying on email communications for marketing, notifications, and customer outreach proved to be more disruptive than anticipated.
In a statement, the Exchange Team acknowledged the challenges, noting that the proposed limit created “significant operational challenges, especially given the limited capabilities of bulk sending offerings available today.” They emphasized that customer feedback was instrumental in the decision, stating a commitment to finding solutions that “balance security and usability without causing unnecessary disruption.” The company plans to explore smarter, more adaptive approaches to address spam concerns while better accommodating legitimate business workflows.
It is important to note that while the new 2,000-recipient limit is scrapped, existing rate controls within Exchange Online remain in effect. The platform continues to enforce a Recipient Rate limit of 10,000 recipients per day and a Tenant External Recipient Rate Limit of 5,000 external recipients per day. These longstanding policies are unchanged and continue to govern high-volume sending from individual accounts and entire tenants, respectively.
This shift in policy occurs alongside industry-wide efforts to tighten email security. Google has also been implementing stricter requirements for bulk email senders targeting Gmail accounts. Since April 2024, Google automatically blocks emails from authenticated bulk senders who fail to meet new, more rigorous spam thresholds. As outlined in late 2023, senders dispatching over 5,000 messages daily to Gmail must have proper SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication configured for their domains.
Furthermore, Google’s updated guidelines mandate that bulk senders avoid distributing unsolicited messages, provide a clear one-click unsubscribe option, and process unsubscribe requests within two days. Failure to comply with these rules can result in Gmail rejecting all emails from the offending sender. These parallel developments highlight a concerted industry focus on improving email ecosystem security, albeit with different tactical approaches to managing the impact on legitimate business operations.
(Source: Bleeping Computer)
