Microsoft is tackling spam by limiting bulk mailings on Exchange Online to 2,000 external recipients per day starting in January 2025.
Good news for some, disaster for others. In a press release available on its site, Microsoft announced a new policy that will limit the number of mass emails that an Exchange Online account can send each day.
Starting in January 2025, users will only be able to send 2,000 emails to external recipients each day. A measure initially in the interest of Exchange Online, which Microsoft has added 25 GB of additional storage. Indeed, on the one hand the hosted mail solution for Microsoft businesses seeks to reduce the resources required by such a service, and on the other hand it seeks to prevent any accusation of unfair use.
Finally, if until now, Microsoft has not imposed any restrictions on these mass mailings, this new limit focuses on the side of its customers in the hope of reducing the volume of spam and improving the quality of service for all users.
The two-stage limitation, between January and December 2025
The new limitation will be introduced in two phases which will extend over the year 2025.
The first will begin on January 1, 2025 and will apply to all cloud-hosted mailboxes of all newly created customers who will immediately be subject to the new limit of 2,000 external recipients per day. The idea is to prevent them from abusing the system and sending mass emails from a single account.
The second phase will extend over the 2e semester between July and December 2025. During this period, Microsoft will begin applying the new limit to existing customers’ cloud-hosted mailboxes which will in turn be subject to the new limit.
Don’t panic though, this ceiling of 2,000 external recipients is a “ sub-limit » of the global limit of 10,000 recipients that Exchange Online currently enforces. In other words, if a user sends emails to fewer than 2,000 external recipients in a 24-hour period, they will still be able to send up to 10,000 emails in total.
As for Exchange Online customers who cannot do without sending more than the limit, Microsoft offers to change their creamery, but not their address by inviting them to join Azure Communication Services for Email, a service specially designed for business-consumer communication through large emails sent to external recipients. This service provides greater flexibility and allows businesses to send mass emails without being limited by the new Exchange Online policy.
Microsoft follows in the footsteps of other companies which have opted to limit mass email sending
Microsoft isn’t the only company taking steps to combat spam. Google has also implemented stricter spam thresholds and authentication guidelines for bulk email senders. As of April 1, those who want to send more than 5,000 messages daily to Gmail accounts must configure SPF/DKIM and DMARC email authentication for their domains. These measures aim to strengthen defenses against spam and phishing attacks.
In addition to these authentication measures, Google also imposes certain rules on bulk email senders. They must avoid sending spam or unsolicited messages, provide one-click unsubscribe options, and respond to unsubscribe requests within two days.
In the event of non-compliance with these rules, Gmail will simply reject the offending emails. These measures are designed to protect Gmail users from spam and unwanted emails, while ensuring that senders follow best mailing practices. Cheers to email.
Source : Bleeping Computer, Microsoft
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