Email Forwarding: Challenges, Limitations, and Better Alternatives
Preface
Traditional email forwarding—where messages are “pushed” from one mailbox to another—has been widely used for decades. However, this method is increasingly falling out of favor because forwarded emails often exhibit characteristics similar to spoofed or fraudulent messages. These characteristics can trigger spam filters, cause delivery failures, and compromise email security.
This article explains:
The inherent challenges with traditional forwarding.
The concessions required to make forwarding work reliably.
Why using POP/IMAP tools to “pull” email into your preferred mailbox is now the recommended approach.
Why Forwarding Is Problematic
Forwarded emails often:
Rewrite the From address, making them look like spoofed messages.
Fail authentication checks (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), leading to rejection or spam classification.
Complicate reply handling, as responses may go to the forwarding address instead of the original sender.
How Webnames.ca Handles Forwarding
To maintain security and deliverability:
Outbound email must use a From address that matches the authenticated account (i.e. the email address in your From field must be the same email address (and password) set up in your email program).
Forwarding uses the “Send on Behalf Of” method, which:
Adds FWD: to the subject line.
Routes replies to the forwarding address, not the original sender.
What’s Not Affected
Aliases (forwarding from non-existent addresses) work as usual.
Intra-domain forwarding (within the same domain or Webnames-hosted accounts) remains unchanged and unaffected.
Best Practice: Use POP/IMAP Instead of Forwarding
Rather than pushing email from one account to another, use Remote POP or IMAP at your destination mailbox to pull messages from your Webnames.ca account. This approach:
Preserves authentication and avoids spoofing issues.
Ensures replies go to the correct sender.
Improves deliverability and security.
You can also configure Remote SMTP at your external provider to send replies using your Webnames.ca address.
Email Providers That Support Remote POP/IMAP (Mail Fetching)
Remote POP/IMAP allows you to pull email from one account into another, avoiding the issues of traditional forwarding. Below is a list of providers that explicitly support this feature.
Provider | Remote POP | Remote IMAP | Setup Guide URL | Notes |
Gmail | Yes | No (POP only) |
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Zoho Mail | Yes | No (POP only for fetch) | Fetch interval ~10 min; up to 5 accounts | |
Fastmail | Yes | Yes | Supports ongoing IMAP sync; OAuth for Gmail | |
GMX Mail | Yes | Yes | “Mail Collector” supports POP/IMAP; multiple accounts | |
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❌ Providers That Do NOT Support Remote Fetch
Outlook.com / Microsoft 365 – Connected Accounts removed July 2024
Yahoo Mail – No official ongoing fetch; only manual import
Apple iCloud – No POP; no remote fetch
AOL Mail – No remote fetch
Proton Mail – Import only (one-time), not continuous fetch
FAQ
Q: What is Remote POP/IMAP?
It’s a method where your destination mailbox periodically pulls messages from another account, instead of relying on forwarding. This avoids spoofing and improves deliverability.
Q: Why is this better than forwarding?
Forwarding rewrites headers and often fails SPF/DKIM checks, causing spam classification or rejection. POP/IMAP fetch preserves original authentication.
Q: Gmail still supports this?
Yes, until January 2026, after which Gmail’s Mail Fetcher will be retired.
Q: Which provider is best for ongoing fetch?
Zoho Mail, Fastmail, and GMX Mail currently offer robust remote fetch features.