---
title: Why we filter outbound email
description: We scan mail leaving our servers, not just mail arriving. Here's why, and what to do if a legitimate message gets held.
sidebar:
  order: 1
---

import { Aside } from '@astrojs/starlight/components';
import Support from '~/content/partials/support-link.mdx';

Most hosts filter the mail arriving at your inbox. We also filter the mail **leaving** our servers — which occasionally surprises people, so here's the reasoning.

## Why outbound filtering exists

Large mail providers — Gmail, Outlook / Hotmail, Yahoo and others — judge mail by the **server it came from**, not by who wrote it. If spam leaves our servers, we're recorded as the sender, and our server's address can land on a blocklist.

That matters even when the spam isn't ours to begin with. A forwarder is the classic case: someone sends spam to an address on our server that forwards to a Gmail account. We didn't originate it, but as far as Gmail is concerned, we handed it over — so it counts against us.

Once a server is blocklisted, the consequences land on everyone hosted there. Most lists delist within a few days, but some take **up to a year**, and repeated or severe listings can attract longer penalties or a refusal to delist at all. During that time, mail from every customer on the server is at risk of being rejected or sent to spam.

Outbound filtering is how we keep that from happening. It's not a common feature among hosting providers, and we think it should be.

## When legitimate mail gets caught

No filter is perfect. Marketing and bulk mail is the most likely to be held, since it shares many characteristics with the mail the filter is built to stop.

If a message you sent didn't arrive, [open a ticket](https://secure.anhonesthost.com/submitticket.php) with:

- the **subject line** of the message;
- the **from** address;
- the **destination** address;
- roughly **when** you sent it.

That's enough for us to find it in the logs, release it if it's legitimate, and tune the filter so similar messages pass in future.

<Aside type="tip">
  Sending genuine bulk or marketing email? Tell us before you start. We can make sure your sending domain is set up so it isn't mistaken for spam — and we'll go over the authentication records and consent rules that keep it landing in inboxes.
</Aside>

## Helping your mail get delivered

Filtering aside, most delivery problems come down to authentication. Mail from your domain should have **SPF** and **DKIM** records in DNS so receiving servers can verify it really came from you.

If your domain uses our nameservers, we add an SPF record automatically when you add the domain, and your DKIM records are listed in WHP under **Email → Email Domains (DNS)**. If your DNS lives elsewhere, you'll need to copy those records to your DNS provider yourself — see [Create an email account](/whp/how-to/create-an-email-account/).

## Related

- [Create an email account](/whp/how-to/create-an-email-account/)
- [Manage DNS records](/whp/how-to/manage-dns-records/)

## Still stuck?

<Support />
