Question : What is a Monitoring DMARC Policy?

A monitoring DMARC policy allows you to observe and gather data on your domain's email authentication results without enforcing restrictive actions (like blocking or quarantining messages that fail DMARC checks). This is especially useful when you’re first implementing DMARC, as it gives you a clear view of your email traffic and helps you identify any misconfigurations before moving to a stricter policy.

Why Start with a Monitoring Policy?

Starting with a monitoring policy offers several benefits:

• Identify Legitimate Senders: Gain insight into which services and servers are sending emails on your domain’s behalf.
• Review Email Traffic Patterns: Understand how your domain’s emails are being handled across different email servers.
• Reduce Risk of Disruption: Ensure you’re ready to enforce DMARC without accidentally blocking or quarantining legitimate emails.

How Do I Configure a DMARC Monitoring Policy?

To set up a DMARC policy for monitoring, use p=none in your DMARC record. This configuration tells email receivers to send you reports on your domain’s email activity without affecting message delivery.

Example DMARC Record for Monitoring

v=DMARC1; p=none; sp=none; adkim=s; aspf=s; pct=100; ri=86400

Explanation of Key DMARC Record Components

• p=none: No enforcement; only generates reports to help you monitor email traffic.
• sp=none: No enforcement for subdomains (optional).
• adkim=s / aspf=s: Sets DKIM and SPF alignment to "strict." For more flexibility, use r for relaxed alignment if preferred.
• pct=100: Applies this policy to all messages from your domain.
• ri=86400: Sets the reporting interval to once daily.

Steps to Configure a DMARC Monitoring Policy

1. Create or Edit the DMARC Record: If you haven’t set up a DMARC record, add one to your domain’s DNS settings. If you already have a DMARC record, edit the p tag to p=none.
2. Review Reports Regularly: Once configured, email receivers will start sending DMARC reports. These reports help you identify which messages pass or fail DMARC, DKIM, and SPF checks.
3. Identify Issues and Update Settings: Use the reports to adjust your SPF and DKIM records, align your email practices, and resolve any issues with misalignment.
4. Prepare for a Stricter Policy: After you’ve gained confidence in your DMARC settings, you can transition to a more restrictive policy, such as quarantine or reject.

Want to Transition to a Stricter DMARC Policy?

After monitoring for some time, consider gradually shifting to a more protective DMARC policy:

• Quarantine: Use p=quarantine to send potentially suspicious messages to the recipient’s spam folder.
• Reject: Use p=reject to block messages that fail DMARC checks entirely.

Would you like more guidance on transitioning to a stricter policy? Let us know how we can assist!