Still Receiving DMARC Report Emails? How to Stop Them Without Losing Security

If you have implemented DMARC to secure your domain, you have likely noticed a steady stream of automated daily emails appearing in your inbox. These are DMARC Aggregate Reports. While they are incredibly valuable for security auditing, they can quickly become overwhelming or clutter your personal mailbox.

The good news is that you don’t have to delete your DMARC policy to stop these emails. You can stop them by simply modifying your DNS settings.

Understanding the rua Tag

Your DMARC record contains a specific instruction, the rua (Reporting URI for Aggregate data) tag, that tells receiving mail servers where to send these daily XML reports.

If your current record looks something like this: v=DMARC1; p=reject; rua=mailto:yourname@example.com;

The rua part is exactly what triggers the emails and you might have, at one point, set it up that way to receive these reports. To stop them, you only need to remove or edit this specific tag.

Step-by-Step: How to Stop DMARC Reports

Regardless of your hosting provider, the process involves locating your _dmarc TXT record and removing the rua parameter.

1. Cloudflare Users

• Log in to your Cloudflare Dashboard.
• Select your domain.
• Click on the DNS tab in the left sidebar.
• Locate the TXT record named _dmarc.
• Click Edit.
• Remove the rua=mailto:yourname@email.com section from the content box.
• Click Save.

Before: v=DMARC1; p=reject; sp=reject; adkim=s; aspf=s; rua=mailto:yourname@example.com;
After: v=DMARC1; p=reject; sp=reject; adkim=s; aspf=s;

2. cPanel Users

• Log in to your cPanel account.
• Under the Domains section, click Zone Editor.
• Find your domain and click Manage.
• Look for the _dmarc entry in the list of records.
• Click Edit next to that record.
• Delete the rua tag segment from the record value.
• Click Save Record.

Before: v=DMARC1; p=reject; sp=reject; adkim=s; aspf=s; rua=mailto:yourname@example.com;
After: v=DMARC1; p=reject; sp=reject; adkim=s; aspf=s;

3. DirectAdmin Users

• Log in to your DirectAdmin panel.
• Navigate to Account Manager > DNS Management.
• Locate the _dmarc TXT record.
• Click to edit or delete/re-create the record without the rua portion.
• Save your changes.

Before: v=DMARC1; p=reject; sp=reject; adkim=s; aspf=s; rua=mailto:yourname@example.com;
After: v=DMARC1; p=reject; sp=reject; adkim=s; aspf=s;

Important Considerations

• Security Remains Intact: Removing the rua tag does not lower your security. Your p=reject or p=quarantine policy will continue to protect your domain from spoofing and phishing.
• Loss of Visibility: Please note that by stopping these reports, you will lose the ability to see which servers are sending mail on your behalf. If you ever suspect your domain is being used for unauthorized activity, you may want to re-enable reporting temporarily to analyze the traffic.
• Propagation: DNS changes are not instantaneous. It may take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours for the servers globally to recognize your updated DMARC record and stop sending the emails.

Final Thoughts

Managing your DNS records can feel intimidating, but cleaning up your DMARC configuration is a straightforward process. By removing the rua tag, you regain control over your inbox while keeping your domain fully protected by your strict DMARC policies.

Disclaimer: Always backup your current DNS records before making changes. Incorrectly modifying DNS records can disrupt your email delivery.