Sending Policies & Anti-Spam Measures

Last Updated: May 02, 2025

At BuffSend, we are committed to maintaining the highest standards of email deliverability and protecting the integrity of the email ecosystem. Our platform is designed for responsible marketers who prioritize permission-based email practices. This document outlines our strict Sending Policies and the comprehensive Anti-Spam Measures we employ to ensure compliance, protect recipients, and maintain our network's reputation. Adherence to these policies is mandatory for all BuffSend users.

1. Introduction: Commitment to Responsible Sending

BuffSend exists to facilitate legitimate, consent-based communication between businesses and their audiences. Unsolicited Commercial Email (UCE), commonly known as spam, is strictly prohibited on our platform. Spam harms recipients, damages sender reputations, degrades the email channel, and violates the trust essential for effective communication. These policies are designed to:

  • Define acceptable and prohibited uses of the BuffSend Service for email transmission.
  • Outline user responsibilities regarding list acquisition, management, and content.
  • Detail the proactive measures BuffSend takes to prevent spam and abuse.
  • Ensure compliance with global anti-spam legislation (e.g., CAN-SPAM, CASL, GDPR).
  • Protect the deliverability and reputation of BuffSend's sending infrastructure for all users.

Failure to comply with these policies may result in immediate suspension or termination of your BuffSend account, forfeiture of funds, and potential legal action.

2. Core Principle: Permission is Mandatory

The cornerstone of responsible email marketing is permission. You may only send emails using BuffSend to recipients who have explicitly and verifiably consented to receive communications from you. This means:

  • Explicit Opt-In: Recipients must have knowingly and willingly subscribed to your list. This typically involves filling out a form on your website, checking a box during a signup process (which must not be pre-checked), or providing their email address specifically for the purpose of receiving your communications.
  • Verifiable Consent: You must be able to provide proof of consent for any recipient on your list upon request from BuffSend or relevant authorities. This includes the source of the opt-in (e.g., website URL), the date and time of the opt-in, and the IP address associated with the opt-in. We strongly recommend using double opt-in methods.
  • Clear Expectations: At the point of collection, you must clearly state what type of content the recipient will receive and how often they can expect to receive it.

Sending to lists acquired through any other means is strictly prohibited (See Section 4: Prohibited List Practices).

3. Prohibited Content

BuffSend maintains a zero-tolerance policy for the transmission of certain types of content. Sending emails containing or promoting the following is strictly forbidden:

  • Illegal Goods or Services: Any content promoting activities, products, or services that are illegal in the sender's or recipient's jurisdiction.
  • Hate Speech, Harassment, Discrimination: Content that promotes violence, discrimination, harassment, or disparagement based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or any other protected characteristic.
  • Malware, Viruses, Phishing: Emails containing malicious software, links to malicious sites, or attempts to fraudulently acquire sensitive information (phishing).
  • Pornography / Sexually Explicit Material: Content that is obscene, pornographic, or sexually explicit.
  • Predatory or Deceptive Content: Scams, pyramid schemes, multi-level marketing (MLM) schemes presented deceptively, unrealistic "get-rich-quick" schemes, or any materially false or misleading information.
  • Pharmaceuticals / Illegal Drugs: Promotion of prescription drugs without proper licensing, illegal drugs, or unapproved supplements.
  • High-Risk Financial Services: Payday loans, debt collection services targeting third parties, credit repair services, or high-interest loan offers often associated with predatory practices.
  • Gambling Services: Promotion of online casinos, sports betting, or lotteries, subject to jurisdictional laws and often requiring explicit pre-approval.
  • Counterfeit Goods / Infringing Content: Material that infringes on the intellectual property rights (copyrights, trademarks, patents) of others, including counterfeit products.
  • Sale of Weapons or Explosives: Promotion or sale of firearms, ammunition, explosives, or related accessories.
  • Content Exploiting Minors: Any material that exploits or endangers children.
  • Certain Affiliate Marketing: While legitimate affiliate marketing is permissible, we prohibit campaigns where the primary purpose is solely to drive traffic to low-quality affiliate offers, especially those in prohibited categories or using deceptive practices. Affiliates must clearly disclose their relationship and only promote reputable products/services relevant to their audience.

BuffSend employs automated scanning and manual review processes to detect prohibited content. Violations will lead to immediate account action.

4. Prohibited List Practices

The quality and source of your email list are paramount. The following list acquisition and management practices are strictly prohibited:

  • Purchased, Rented, or Leased Lists: Using email lists obtained from third-party brokers, data providers, or any source where recipients did not explicitly consent to receive email *specifically from you*.
  • Third-Party Lists / Co-Registration Lists: Sending to lists obtained through co-registration agreements or data sharing arrangements where consent for your specific communications was not clearly obtained. Consent must be direct.
  • Appended Lists: Using lists created by taking known customer data (like postal addresses or phone numbers) and appending email addresses obtained from external sources without explicit opt-in for email.
  • Scraped or Harvested Lists: Using email addresses collected automatically from websites, social media, directories, or other public sources without the owner's consent.
  • Opt-Out Lists: Sending to lists where recipients have previously opted out or where consent was assumed unless the recipient explicitly opted out. All communication requires *opt-in* consent.
  • Stale Lists: Sending to lists where recipients have not engaged (opened or clicked) or been mailed within the last 6-12 months (depending on sending frequency and industry). Sending to inactive addresses significantly increases bounce and complaint rates. Regular list hygiene is required.
  • Role-Based Addresses: Generally avoid sending marketing emails to role-based addresses (e.g., `info@`, `support@`, `admin@`, `sales@`) unless a specific individual using that address has explicitly opted in. These often result in complaints or are spam traps.
  • Using Old Customer Lists Without Re-Permission: If you haven't emailed a list of past customers in over a year, you should consider a re-permission campaign before resuming regular mailings via BuffSend.

You must be able to demonstrate the opt-in source and method for every email address on your list.

5. Required Sending Practices & Content Requirements

All emails sent through BuffSend must adhere to the following best practices and legal requirements:

  • Accurate Sender Information ("From," "Reply-To"): The "From" and "Reply-To" email addresses must be accurate, clearly identify the sender (your organization), and must not be misleading. Using domains you do not own or control is prohibited.
  • Relevant and Non-Deceptive Subject Lines: Subject lines must accurately reflect the content of the email and must not be false, misleading, or deceptive. Avoid spammy tactics like excessive capitalization, misleading prefixes (Re:, Fwd:), or false claims.
  • Clear Unsubscribe Mechanism: Every marketing or promotional email must contain a clear, conspicuous, and fully functional one-click unsubscribe link. BuffSend automatically includes an unsubscribe link, but you may use your own provided it meets these standards. Unsubscribe requests must be honored promptly, typically within 10 business days as required by CAN-SPAM, but ideally immediately and automatically.
  • Valid Physical Postal Address: All marketing emails must include a valid physical postal address of the sender or the entity on whose behalf the email is sent. This can usually be placed in the email footer.
  • Clear Indication of Marketing Message: The email should be clearly identifiable as an advertisement or solicitation if that is its primary purpose.
  • Respectful Sending Frequency: Avoid overwhelming recipients with excessive emails. Set expectations at signup and honor them. Monitor engagement and adjust frequency accordingly.
  • Content Relevance: Emails should be relevant to the interests indicated by the recipient at the time of signup or through subsequent interactions.
  • Proper Formatting: Emails should be well-formatted, render correctly across common email clients, and avoid excessive image-to-text ratios or large image files that trigger spam filters.
  • No URL Shorteners for Obfuscation: While standard URL shorteners for legitimate tracking (like those used by BuffSend) are acceptable, using generic URL shorteners (e.g., bit.ly, tinyurl) solely to obfuscate the final destination URL, especially if linking to questionable content, is prohibited.

6. BuffSend's Anti-Spam Infrastructure and Monitoring

BuffSend invests heavily in technology and processes to prevent spam and maintain high deliverability:

  • IP Address Management: We utilize a pool of carefully managed IP addresses. Reputation is monitored constantly. High-volume senders may be assigned dedicated IPs, which require careful warming and management.
  • Feedback Loops (FBLs): We maintain FBLs with major ISPs (e.g., Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo/AOL). When a recipient clicks the "Spam" button, we receive a notification, automatically process it as an unsubscribe/complaint, and track this data against sender accounts.
  • Authentication Standards (SPF, DKIM, DMARC): We require and facilitate the setup of email authentication protocols (Sender Policy Framework, DomainKeys Identified Mail, Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) for sending domains. This verifies sender identity and protects against spoofing. Sending from unauthenticated domains is severely limited or blocked.
  • Automated Content Scanning: Our systems automatically scan email content for patterns, keywords, and characteristics commonly associated with spam or prohibited content.
  • Link Scanning: URLs within emails are checked against known blacklists of malicious or spam-related websites.
  • Real-Time Performance Monitoring: We continuously monitor key deliverability metrics for all accounts and our network, including:
    • Bounce Rates: Tracking hard bounces (invalid addresses) and soft bounces (temporary issues). Excessively high hard bounce rates indicate poor list quality.
    • Complaint Rates: Monitoring FBL complaints. High complaint rates are a strong indicator of unwanted mail.
    • Unsubscribe Rates: Tracking how many recipients opt-out after receiving an email.
    • Engagement Metrics: Analyzing open and click rates as indicators of list health and recipient interest (while respecting privacy).
    • Spam Trap Hits: Identifying sends to known spam trap addresses (email addresses used by ISPs and blacklist operators to identify spammers). Hitting spam traps severely damages reputation.
  • ISP Relationships: We maintain active relationships with major ISPs and blacklist operators to stay informed about deliverability best practices and quickly address any potential issues.
  • Throttling and Rate Limiting: We implement sending speeds (throttling) appropriate for sender reputation, email volume, and ISP guidelines to avoid overwhelming receiving servers.

7. Account Vetting and Compliance Enforcement

Protecting our network starts with ensuring our users are legitimate senders:

  • New Account Review: New accounts, particularly those intending to send significant volume, undergo a review process. We may request information about list collection methods, business practices, and sample email content.
  • Initial Sending Limits: New accounts typically have lower initial sending limits, which can be increased based on positive sending performance and adherence to these policies.
  • Risk Assessment: We employ algorithms and manual review to assess the risk profile of accounts based on various factors, including industry, list source information, and initial sending patterns.
  • Manual Campaign Review: Certain campaigns or accounts exhibiting potentially risky patterns may be flagged for manual review by our compliance team before sending.
  • Violation Detection: Our monitoring systems automatically flag accounts exceeding acceptable thresholds for bounces, complaints, or spam trap hits.
  • Compliance Team Investigations: Our dedicated compliance team investigates flagged accounts, abuse reports, and suspicious activity. This may involve requesting proof of consent or explanations for poor performance.
  • Strict Enforcement Actions: Based on the severity and frequency of violations, enforcement actions include:
    • Warning: For minor or first-time infractions, with required corrective actions.
    • Temporary Suspension: Pausing sending privileges pending investigation or correction.
    • Permanent Suspension / Termination: For serious, repeated, or deliberate violations, resulting in account closure and potential forfeiture of funds.
    • Legal Action: In cases of significant abuse or illegal activity, we may pursue legal action and cooperate fully with law enforcement.

8. User Responsibilities for Deliverability

While BuffSend provides the infrastructure, ultimate deliverability success depends heavily on the user's practices:

  • Maintain List Hygiene: Regularly remove inactive subscribers, hard bounces, and unsubscribes from your lists. Use list validation services cautiously and appropriately.
  • Use Double Opt-In: We strongly recommend using a double opt-in process (where subscribers confirm their email address via a link in a confirmation email) as the best method to ensure valid addresses and explicit consent.
  • Segment Your Lists: Send targeted content to specific segments of your audience based on interests, demographics, or engagement history. This improves relevance and performance.
  • Monitor Your Sending Reputation: Utilize tools like Google Postmaster Tools, Microsoft SNDS, and monitor your metrics within BuffSend to understand how ISPs perceive your emails.
  • Warm Up New IPs/Domains: If using a new dedicated IP or sending domain, gradually increase sending volume over days or weeks to build a positive reputation with ISPs.
  • Authenticate Your Domain: Properly configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records for your sending domain(s).
  • Handle Bounces and Complaints Proactively: Understand why emails bounce or generate complaints and take corrective action with your list management and content strategy. BuffSend automatically suppresses hard bounces and FBL complaints, but you should analyze the underlying causes.
  • Provide Value: Focus on sending high-quality, engaging content that your subscribers find valuable. This is the best way to maintain good engagement and low complaint rates.

9. Compliance with Laws (CAN-SPAM, GDPR, CASL, etc.)

You are solely responsible for ensuring your email campaigns comply with all applicable laws and regulations in the jurisdictions where your recipients reside. Key requirements often include:

  • Consent: Obtaining appropriate levels of consent (e.g., explicit opt-in under GDPR and CASL).
  • Identification: Clearly identifying yourself as the sender.
  • Unsubscribe: Providing a clear and functional unsubscribe mechanism and honoring requests promptly.
  • Content: Avoiding false or misleading information.
  • Postal Address:** Including a valid physical address.
  • Data Subject Rights (GDPR): Respecting rights such as access, rectification, erasure, and portability of personal data for EU residents.

BuffSend provides tools to help with compliance (like unsubscribe links), but legal compliance is ultimately the user's responsibility. Consult with legal counsel knowledgeable in email marketing law if you are unsure about requirements.

10. Reporting Abuse

BuffSend takes reports of abuse seriously.

  • Recipients: If you have received unsolicited email from a BuffSend user, please forward the complete email, including full headers, to `abuse@buffsend.com`. We investigate all reports. You should also use the email's unsubscribe link.
  • Users: If you suspect another BuffSend user is violating these policies, please report the activity to `abuse@buffsend.com` with relevant details.

11. Policy Updates

BuffSend reserves the right to update these Sending Policies and Anti-Spam Measures at any time. We will notify users of significant changes via email or through an announcement within the Service. Continued use of the Service after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised policies.

12. Conclusion

By using BuffSend, you agree to abide by these comprehensive Sending Policies. Our mutual commitment to responsible, permission-based email marketing protects recipients, maintains high deliverability for all users, and ensures the long-term health of the email channel. We appreciate your cooperation in upholding these standards.

Last updated: May 02, 2025