gray mail definition
graymail is bulk email that does not meet the definition of spam because it is solicited, comes from a legitimate source, and has a variable value for different recipients. Examples of gray mail can be periodic newsletters, advertisements, or advertisements targeted to a recipient’s specific interests. Gray mail recipients have previously “opted in”, either knowingly or unknowingly, to receive this type of mail, even though the value of the mail may have decreased over time.
How is gray mail different from spam?
Grey mail and spam are mass messages that are sent to a group of emails. But gray mail is different from spam for three reasons: it’s solicited, legitimate, and has valuable content.
greymail email is not considered spam, as spam includes unsolicited and unwanted email. Although only a small portion of spam emails are considered scams or phishing, the main quality of spam is that the user did not ask for an email to be sent to them. while graymail is a requested email that the recipient opted into at a given time. sometimes the user deliberately signs up for a newsletter or to be added to an email list to receive product updates and coupons. that type of recipient will expect to receive regular emails from a company and will often open and interact with the emails.
Other users may have purchased an item from a website, downloaded a white paper, or taken other action with a company and inadvertently signed up for ongoing emails. A user may even receive emails from an unknown third party affiliate related to the company with which he shared his email address. These users are less likely to engage with the emails and may consider them spam since they did not intend to subscribe to them, even though these emails are technically gray mail. graymail is also legitimate email from real businesses, organizations, or individuals. Unlike some spam emails, the messages are truthful and include valid information, updates, sales or coupons. These emails are often sent and managed through email marketing software that includes links to unsubscribe or update email preferences for that organization. on the other hand, spam messages can be misleading and often don’t follow can-spam law guidelines, so it can be difficult to unsubscribe.
Another way to differentiate gray mail from spam is that gray mail provides valuable and relevant content to the user. Email newsletters can provide interesting articles and tips that may be of interest to the recipient. Reminder emails from utility companies or other companies you regularly pay bills to can be helpful in alerting the recipient that a payment is due. and e-commerce companies often use email to provide valuable coupons, product updates, or sales information. all of these examples are forms of gray mail sent to a list of email addresses. spam can be deceptive and sometimes even malicious, but not always. either way, the emails usually don’t provide much value to the recipient because they had no interest in what the sender has to offer.
gray mail business email management
In business organizations, gray mail can be difficult to manage, as some recipients want to receive such messages, while others may perceive them as spam. for example, a recipient in the marketing department may choose to receive updates on industry conferences, while a human resources employee may view these emails as spam.
Companies can use managed email security services to provide employees with a way to allow unwanted gray mail into their inboxes while filtering out unwanted email. These business email management services protect your organization in a variety of ways, including threat detection, email security, security awareness training, and more. email protection services send a summary of gray mail and spam, sometimes on a daily basis, to allow users to select which emails to send to their inbox. With the added shield of protection, these services can prevent malicious attacks in an organization where the line between spam and gray mail might have blurred.
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proof point solutions for email security
proofpoint provides email security and protection solutions to help monitor and protect organizations from security threats. we help filter safe gray mail and prevent malicious spam from harming your business.