When sending your campaigns, you may find that an additional header is added to the top of your outgoing messages. In Outlook, the "From" area will show the name of your account with us, the domain name of the mail server that sent the message, the words "sent on behalf of," and your specific "From" email address. In Gmail, there is a similar message, although the wording is slightly different:
Why does this header exist?
DKIM and DMARC authentication is required beginning February 2024 for accounts that send over 5,000 emails a day following upcoming changes by Gmail and Yahoo regarding authentication requirements. ActiveCampaign highly recommends all senders set up DKIM and DMARC. Learn how to set up DKIM and DMARC authentication.
For more information on these changes see our blog post A Guide to Google and Yahoo authentication Changes in 2024.
This occurs if you have not set up DKIM for your sending domain. If you have set up DKIM and are still seeing this header it means your DKIM records are not set up correctly and you should take action immediately. Learn how to set up DKIM.
Outlook and Gmail display a header message to tell recipients that DKIM was not set up for the domain being used in the From Address (your domain) because this can sometimes indicate a message has been "spoofed" or "faked."
Not only is this ugly "via" header highly undesirable, but removing the header is straightforward, with no negative consequences.
How do I remove the header?
Once you complete the setup outlined below, it can take a few hours before the "sent on behalf of text" is removed. If it doesn't appear to work, wait a few hours and retry.
The "sent on behalf of" text in your message header can be removed by setting up DKIM for your sending domain which is free and available on all ActiveCampaign plan levels. This will make the heading of your messages appear a little cleaner, and only your own From email address will be displayed (the name of our mail server will not be displayed).
We have updated our DKIM process from TXT records to CNAME records. If you set up your DKIM before February 23, 2023, your TXT records will still work and remain valid. However, we recommend setting up your DKIM with the following CNAME records instructions since it is more secure.
To setup DKIM:
- Log in to your ActiveCampaign account, then click Settings on the left menu, then click Advanced.
- Click the "I will manage my own email authentication" option.
- We will generate two CNAME records. Please set up both CNAME records in the DNS provider for your domain. This process will vary slightly based on your DNS provider, but you can find a set of instructions for GoDaddy here.
- Once you have set up both CNAME records in your DNS provider, return to ActiveCampaign and go to Settings > Advanced. Then, click “Check DNS” to verify that you have set up your DNS records correctly. Learn how to troubleshoot error messages.
- After setting up your DNS records correctly for all your From address domains, click “Save Settings” at the top of the page.
Once complete, the "sent on behalf of" text will be removed from all outgoing emails sent using the domain you set up.
As a reminder, it can take a few hours for the DNS records to propagate. If it doesn't seem to be working, please wait a few hours and retry.
Learn more about DKIM and email authentication.