A quiet Google update just made SPF more forgiving

In December, Google adjusted something deep in its email infrastructure. It was not announced widely and it did not come with action items. Most teams will never notice it happened. Yet for anyone who has wrestled with unexplained SPF failures, this change removes a long standing source of fragility. Nothing was broken. Nothing needs to be fixed. But many domains now have more room to breathe than they did before.

 

Why SPF breaks even when it looks correct

 

SPF is designed to answer a simple question. Which servers are allowed to send email for this domain. The complication sits in how SPF is evaluated:

During a single check, a receiving mail server is allowed to perform only ten DNS lookups. This limit is absolute. Once it is exceeded, the SPF result is a fail. It does not matter if the rest of the record is valid.

This is not a soft limit or a recommendation. It is a hard stop built into the protocol.

 

How SPF records quietly accumulate risk

 

Most SPF records grow gradually. A domain starts with one sender. Later another service is added. Then a marketing platform. Then a support system. Often nothing is removed.

Each new sender usually comes with an include statement. Each include can trigger additional lookups that are not visible at first glance. Over time, the lookup count creeps upward. Eventually it crosses the limit.

When that happens, SPF failures start appearing in places that feel unpredictable. Some emails fail. Others pass. Different mailbox providers behave differently.

From the outside, it looks random. Technically, it is not.

 

Why including Google used to be costly

 

For years, including Google in an SPF record carried a hidden cost. Domains using Google Workspace are required to include _spf.google.com. That record relied on multiple nested includes. As a result, adding Google immediately consumed four DNS lookups.

Those lookups were invisible unless someone counted them manually. For many domains, nearly half of the available lookup budget was gone before adding anything else.

That left very little margin for additional senders.

 

How Google's SPF changed and why it matters

 

Google simplified the structure of their SPF record. Instead of relying on chained includes, they now publish their sending IP ranges directly.

The outcome is straightforward:

1. _spf.google.com now requires one DNS lookup instead of four.

2. Domains that include Google regain three lookups instantly.

3. SPF evaluations complete faster with fewer hidden failure paths.

There is nothing to update. Domains benefit automatically.

 

Why this small change has real impact

 

SPF failures are rarely obvious. When SPF fails due to lookup limits, the symptoms tend to appear elsewhere. Lower inbox placement. Inconsistent delivery. DMARC failures that are hard to explain.

Because different receivers evaluate SPF slightly differently, the failures can vary by provider. That makes diagnosis slow and frustrating.

By reducing lookup pressure, Google removed one of the most common silent contributors to SPF instability.

 

What domain owners should take from this

 

This change does not mean SPF is suddenly flexible. The ten lookup limit still exists. What it does mean is that many domains now have a buffer they did not have before. That buffer should not be wasted.

SPF records should be treated as living infrastructure. Old includes should be reviewed. Unused senders should be removed. Lookup counts should be measured deliberately, not guessed.

Google made SPF less brittle. It is still unforgiving if neglected.

Use our SPF X-Ray to analyze your SPF in depth and maintain a clean record that never fails.

 

The bigger lesson

 

Email authentication usually fails at the edges, not because of one big mistake but because of many small ones adding up.

SPF is especially strict. It does not degrade gracefully. It simply stops working.

A small structural change at Google removed an entire class of failure for millions of domains. That is rare in email infrastructure.

If email delivery has ever felt unreliable without a clear cause, this is a reminder that the limits matter, even when everything looks fine on the surface.

Prevent hidden failures and check your domain with our DMARC Checker. It's completly free and you can even connect your domain and visualize your DMARC reports in our DMARC Dashboard.