LuxSci has introduced a new feature to improve reporting for bounced transactional and marketing messages. The new “Custom Bounce Domains” feature allows administrators to set a custom domain for bounce processing that will not break DMARC.
What is DMARC?
DMARC stands for Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance. It protects users from forged emails and instructs the email provider on what to do with messages that fail SPF or DKIM. Implementing DMARC is highly recommended to help stop suspicious messages from reaching inboxes.
Why Custom Bounce Domains are Needed
However, implementing SPF and DMARC records can sometimes cause issues for transactional and marketing messages. To understand why let’s look at how DMARC verifies SPF records.
The Return-Path specifies the email address where bounced email messages should be sent if there are unable to be delivered. It is usually the same domain as the sender’s email address. However, when sending marketing or transactional emails, the Return-Path email address is often different from the sender for various tracking and reporting reasons.
If the Return-Path address does not match the domain or subdomain used in the SPF record, it can cause DMARC to fail, and the bounced messages won’t be routed according to the pre-defined rules.
How to Implement Custom Bounce Domains
Now, our customers can create custom bounce domains to prevent DMARC from failing. To set it up, log in to your account and visit the Account Settings -> Email Custom Bounce Domains. Make sure that the “Bounce Processing” settings are enabled before altering the Custom Bounce Domain setting.
Before adding the new bounce domain to your account, you must create a new CNAME (like bounces.yourdomain.com) in the domain’s DNS settings that points to the new destination. At LuxSci, the default is “returnto.luxsci.com.” Once set up, return to the settings and add the new subdomain to specify the Return-Path. After this is enabled, emails will align with SPF for DMARC since the sender’s domain and Return-Path domain match.
Questions? Please contact our support team for more information on enabling these settings.