Email domains and sender authentication for Azure Communication Services

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An email domain is a unique name that appears after the @ sign-in email addresses. It typically takes the form of your organization's name and brand that is recognized in public. Using your domain in email allows users to trust that this message isn't a phishing attempt, and that it is coming from a trusted source, thereby building credibility for your brand. If you prefer, you can utilize the email domains that is offered through the Azure Communication Services. We offer an email domain that can be used to send emails on behalf of your organization.

Email domains and sender authentication

Email Communication Services allows you to configure email with two types of domains: Azure Managed Domains and Custom Domains.

Azure Managed Domains

Getting Azure managed Domains is one click setup. You can add a free Azure Subdomain to your email communication resource and you'll able to send emails using mail from domains like donotreply@xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx.azurecomm.net. Your Azure Managed domain will be pre-configured with required sender authentication support.

Custom Domains

In this option you're adding a domain that you already own. You have to add your domain and verify the ownership to send email and then configure for required authentication support.

Sender authentication for domains

Email authentication (also known as email validation) is a group of standards that tries to stop spoofing (email messages from forged senders). Our email pipeline uses these standards to verify the emails that are sent. Trust in email begins with Authentication and Azure communication Services Email helps senders to properly configure the following email authentication protocols to set proper authentication for the emails.

SPF (Sender Policy Framework) SPF RFC 7208 is a mechanism that allows domain owners to publish and maintain, via a standard DNS TXT record, a list of systems authorized to send email on their behalf. Azure Communication Services allows you to configure the required SPF record that needs to be added to your DNS to verify your custom domains.

DKIM (Domain Keys Identified Mail) DKIM RFC 6376 allows an organization to claim responsibility for transmitting a message in a way that can be validated by the recipient. Azure Communication Services allows you to configure the required DKIM records that need to be added to your DNS to verify your custom domains.

Please follow the steps to setup sender authentication for your domain.

Choosing the domain type

You can choose the experience that works best for your business. You can start with development by using the Azure Managed domain and switch to a custom domain when you're ready to launch your applications.

How to connect a domain to send email

Email Communication Service resources are designed to enable domain validation steps as decoupled as possible from application integration. Application Integration linked with Azure Communication Service and each communication service will be allowed to be linked with one of verified domains from Email Communication Services. Please follow the steps to connect your verified domains. To switch from one verified domain to other you need to disconnect the domain and connect a different domain.

Next steps

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