Take a look at the spam folder. What’s in it? Is it filled with urgent reminders and false account logins? Or are there a couple of emails that shouldn’t be there? Perhaps there’s a meeting invite from a vendor or an email newsletter from an industry publication you follow.
Allowlists guarantee that the email you want is sent to your primary inbox and not the spam folder. In this article, we’ll explain in more detail what an allowlist is, why you should care, and best practices around allowlists.
In email, an allowlist, also known as a whitelist, is a security method that filters emails based on a predefined list of trusted senders, domains, or IP addresses. Emails from senders outside of this allowlist will either be blocked, sent to the spam folder, or may enter your inbox but have a “suspicious sender” label.
The term allowlist extends beyond email to include network security and cybersecurity access. For example, SendGrid’s IP Access Management security feature uses allowlists to specify what IP addresses can access your SendGrid account. For the purposes of this article, we’ll focus on email allowlists.
Allowlist can help individuals and companies protect their inbox by controlling who sends email to your inbox and reducing the risk of email-related scams or hacks.
Allowlists improve security, decrease spam, and give you more control over who sends emails to your inbox. However, the downside of allowlists for personal use is that legitimate emails, say from your family, friends, or those who are not already incorporated into your allowlist, may not make it to your inbox.
Companies leverage allowlists to avoid phishing and other email scams that can be detrimental to a company’s operating systems. By allowing only certain emails to enter employee inboxes, companies prevent malicious actors from sending emails. Allowlists, however, aren’t foolproof, so it is still vital that employees are vigilant about the emails they open and the links or attachments they click.
If you subscribed to a company’s email newsletter or updates, they may ask subscribers to add the company email address or domain to an allowlist. This tells the recipient’s email provider that the company’s emails are legitimate, and, in turn, improves the company’s deliverability rates and sender reputation.
When it comes to asking to be added to your allowlist, most companies request to be added to a recipient’s address book instead.
Take a look at the example from a Subaru dealership below. Most people don’t have allowlists set up for their personal inbox, so getting added to an address book is a much more straightforward ask.
Having your contacts add your email address to your address book does help your email land in the inbox. However, it’s seen as more of a personal organization habit and, unlike an allowlist, it isn’t guaranteed to land in the inbox.
While you could ask someone to set up an allowlist, it’s much easier for someone to click on an article you share or to explore a service you’re offering. The open and click-through rates are important email metrics, showing email service providers that your email content is legitimate and valuable.
Allowlists in email marketing are becoming less and less common because benchmarks such as customer engagement metrics and sender reputation are just as likely to determine inbox placement. Instead of spending time marketing around allowlists, focus on creating high-quality email content and following email marketing best practices.
While allowlists are on the out-and-out as a marketing tactic, they are alive and well when it comes to security management. By implementing them effectively, you can significantly enhance the security of your systems and protect your employees and company data from harmful emails. To improve your allowlist performance, follow these best practices:
Regular updates: The most challenging aspect of allowlist management is keeping them up-to-date. This means continually adding new authorized entities, removing those that are no longer valid, and regularly reviewing to ensure that no unauthorized entities have gained access.
Training on suspicious email: Allowlists won’t block all email so make sure your employees are informed and able to identify suspicious email. Create an email address that employees can send suspicious email to so you can add those emails and IPs to the company allowlist.
Strong authentication: Implement strong authentication measures, such as multi-factor authentication, to further protect access to your system.
Allowlists may no longer be a good solution for email marketers, but they can provide a lot of value to companies looking to protect their inboxes. Avoid email spoofing and phishing attacks by controlling what emails land in your inbox in the first place.
For more email security best practices, explore the following resources:
