Mass email policy
Officially, emails that consist of more than 500 recipients per message cannot be sent or received through a BYU-Idaho email account. Additionally, the BYU-Idaho account limits emails to 10,000 recipients per day. Sending a lot of emails in a short period of time to a wide list of users may qualify you for being blocked.
| If you have sent out too many emails and your account has been blocked from sending more, contact the IT Service Desk at (208) 496-9009 or through Live Chat. They will be able to assist you in getting your account unblocked. |
Even though our stated limit is 500 recipients per message and 10,000 recipients per day, Microsoft has identified a limit that we do not share to avoid spammers. If spammers were to find the Microsoft limit, they would use it to stay within the lines of credulity to bypass our security. We advise pacing your sending to a longer period or investigating using mass mailing software such as the one that University Relations utilizes in order to get a better through-rate, in addition to better analytics.
| If you are consistently attempting to send emails to more than 10,000 recipients daily, contact University Relations for other options. |
Exceptions
Exceptions to this policy are intended only for explicitly-authorized senders. This includes the following:
- Daily updates to employees containing general news and information.
- Important emails from the President/President’s Council, announcements of death, and time-sensitive schedule changes.
- Emergency emails about weather warnings, catastrophes, and evacuations.
- Student updates, including activities, societies, associations, updates, and other important information.
Procedure
When sending approved mass emails from your BYU-Idaho account or to BYU-Idaho recipients (students, faculty, staff, and alumni), campus procedure strongly encourages that you use the "bcc" (Blind Carbon Copy) option.
Using Bcc
What is Bcc?
"Bcc" is the practice of sending an email to multiple recipients without disclosing the complete list of recipients.
When should I use Bcc?
You should "Bcc" when:
- You are sending a copy of your correspondence to a third party (for example, a colleague) and you do not want to let the recipient know the third party’s email address.
- You are sending an email to multiple recipients so that you can hide their email addresses from each other. This is a sensible anti-spam precaution because it avoids making a long list of email addresses available to all recipients.
How do I send an email with Bcc?
1. When sending a new email message, select Cc.
2. In the pop-up window that appears, enter the email addresses of all recipients into the Bcc section at the bottom.
3. Once you have entered the desired email addresses, select OK.
4. Write the email and select Send.
Contact Us
If you still need help, call us at (208) 496-9009 or start a Live Chat with us.
Hours of Operation: Mon - Fri 7:30 AM - 8:00 PM, Sat 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM Mountain Time
(excluding weekly devotional, forum hour and University Recognized holidays)