Anti-Spam & Responsible Email Communications Policy

1. Scope and purpose

Sprout24 is a MarTech research and decision-intelligence platform established in 2010. We publish software evaluations, comparisons, practical guides, and decision-support tools for email marketing and marketing technology buyers. Our FTC Disclosure explains our commercial relationships and editorial independence.

This policy governs how the Sprout24 brand, website, services, content, and URLs may be advertised or referenced in electronic communications. It applies to promotional messages containing links to sprout24.com or any associated subdomain, including links used for forms, partnerships, campaign tracking, and unsubscribes. It applies regardless of whether a message is sent from a Sprout24 email address or a third-party system.

2. Types of messages we may send

Our communications may include requested newsletters and educational updates, responses to inquiries, account or service information, recruitment correspondence, research invitations, editorial collaborations, and business or vendor partnership proposals.

We distinguish necessary transactional or relationship messages from promotional communications. A legitimate business purpose, a publicly listed business email address, or a prior exchange does not by itself establish permission to send promotional messages. Each communication must have an appropriate basis under applicable law and comply with this policy.

3. Permission, recipient selection and list quality

• Marketing subscriptions must be based on a valid, documented permission or another specifically applicable lawful basis; use opt-in consent where required.
• Recipients must receive accurate information about the sender and the purpose of the communication. Consent for one purpose must not be automatically treated as consent for unrelated campaigns.
• Business-to-business research or partnership outreach must be individually relevant, proportionate, legally permissible, and stopped when a recipient objects. We do not treat scraped or publicly displayed contact information as blanket permission.
• We prohibit the use of purchased, harvested, rented, or otherwise improperly sourced email lists for unsolicited promotions.
• Contact records should identify the source and purpose of collection, applicable permission or lawful basis, and any opt-out or suppression status. Contacts with inadequate provenance must not be used for promotional campaigns.
• We must take reasonable steps to remove invalid addresses, process bounce reports, and avoid repeated messages to unresponsive or objecting recipients.

4. Communications we prohibit

No person or organization may advertise Sprout24 through:

• Unsolicited bulk email, spam, repeated unwanted follow-ups, or automated mass messaging without an appropriate basis.
• Forged or misleading sender identities, deceptive subject lines, hidden commercial intent, or impersonation.
• Harvested addresses, deceptive list-building methods, unauthorized scraping, or attempts to bypass recipients’ preferences.
• Malware, phishing, fraudulent redirects, deceptive tracking links, or misleading landing pages.
• Disguised affiliate promotions, undisclosed commercial incentives where disclosure is required, or unauthorized use of the Sprout24 name or domain.
• Continuing promotional contact after an unsubscribe request, objection, or verified abuse complaint.
• Using a different sender, email account, IP address, domain, or partner to evade blocks, opt-outs, or reputation-based restrictions.

Our Terms of Use and Community and Platform Guidelines also prohibit abusive platform activity and spam in user contributions.

5. Responsibilities of employees, affiliates and third parties

This policy applies to Sprout24 personnel and to external agencies, affiliates, freelancers, referral partners, service providers, and vendors when they send messages that advertise or link to Sprout24 on our behalf.

• Authorization to represent Sprout24 does not include authorization to send spam.
• Partners must respect recipient permission, applicable marketing and privacy laws, accurate sender identification, and timely suppression of opt-outs.
• Third-party campaigns and sending tools must be subject to appropriate review and oversight before use.
• Suspected abusive activity must be reported, investigated, and stopped where substantiated; authorization may be revoked for violations.

Third parties must not use Sprout24 URLs, including redirects, tracking endpoints, or unsubscribe paths, to conceal the origin or nature of a promotional campaign.

6. Unsubscribe, objections and suppression

Promotional emails must provide an appropriate, accessible opt-out mechanism where required. Recipients may also request that Sprout24 stop promotional contact by emailing contact@sprout24.com with the subject line Unsubscribe request.

• We will stop further promotional messages to an address when a valid opt-out is received, subject to any strictly necessary non-promotional service communications.
• Opt-out requests must not require payment or unnecessary personal information.
• Suppression records may be retained only as needed to honor the request and prevent re-subscription without a valid new permission.
• Where campaigns are managed through a third-party platform, the relevant suppression must also be communicated to or enforced by that sender.

For privacy-related requests or questions about personal data, see our Privacy Policy.

7. Email identity, domain security and deliverability

Authorized sending systems are expected to use appropriate technical safeguards, including SPF, DKIM, and DMARC where supported, and to maintain accurate sender information. Email authentication helps verify a sender but does not establish that a message was requested or is compliant with anti-spam rules.

Sending systems, subdomains, redirection links, forms, and campaign services used to communicate about Sprout24 must not be used for phishing, deceptive redirection, or unauthorized outreach. Suspicious use of Sprout24 infrastructure or branding may be suspended while it is investigated.

8. Monitoring, complaints and enforcement

We may review complaints, representative email samples, sending records, and domain or IP reputation signals to identify potential abuse. Where an issue is substantiated, appropriate measures may include pausing a campaign, removing a list, honoring suppressions, correcting a technical issue, retraining a sender, or withdrawing a third party’s authorization.

We take credible complaints seriously, including those raised by recipients, mailbox providers, hosting services, and threat-intelligence or domain-reputation organizations. We do not regard a passing SPF, DKIM, or DMARC result as a substitute for investigation into unwanted messages.

9. Report spam or misuse of the Sprout24 domain

If you receive a message advertising Sprout24 that appears unsolicited, deceptive, or abusive, please report it. You may also use this channel to request removal from promotional contact.

We will review reports and take appropriate steps based on available evidence. We cannot guarantee a particular outcome for every report, but recipients may ask us not to send further promotional communications.

10. Privacy and information handling

Contact information, unsubscribe requests, and abuse reports must be handled in accordance with applicable privacy requirements and our Privacy Policy. Access to complaint evidence and suppression records should be limited to those who need it to investigate an issue or honor a recipient’s preferences. We do not authorize the sale or reuse of suppression lists for promotional targeting.

11. Policy ownership and changes

Sprout24 is responsible for maintaining this policy and making it available to people who communicate on our behalf. We may update it to reflect changes in operational practices, legal requirements, or abuse-prevention measures. Material revisions will be reflected on this page.