---
title: "How APRF Helps You Understand Your Email Reputation"
description: "Aggregate Performance Reporting (APRF) is a draft standard for email deliverability feedback backed by contributors from Comcast, Google, and Iterable. It gives senders aggregated, intentionally bucketed signals about message classification—such as inbox or unwanted—and user engagement, categorized as positive, negative, or neutral. It also describes daily JSON reports delivered to a DNS-configured address, with provider-specific bucket definitions optionally documented in extra_info. Senders can configure a TXT record derived from the DKIM selector and domain, then use the optional sdi attribute and email header to segment results by business, region, campaign, or other values. The sample shows separate classification and engagement data for marketing and transactional segments, while acknowledging that counts are approximate; APRF is not yet adopted by an IETF working group, Comcast sends reports, and Gmail does not yet."
---

# How APRF Helps You Understand Your Email Reputation

[Resend](https://yomu.fyi/company/resend) · Aug 20, 2026

**Type:** Explainer

## Summary

Aggregate Performance Reporting (APRF) is a draft standard for email deliverability feedback backed by contributors from Comcast, Google, and Iterable. It gives senders aggregated, intentionally bucketed signals about message classification—such as inbox or unwanted—and user engagement, categorized as positive, negative, or neutral. It also describes daily JSON reports delivered to a DNS-configured address, with provider-specific bucket definitions optionally documented in extra\_info. Senders can configure a TXT record derived from the DKIM selector and domain, then use the optional sdi attribute and email header to segment results by business, region, campaign, or other values. The sample shows separate classification and engagement data for marketing and transactional segments, while acknowledging that counts are approximate; APRF is not yet adopted by an IETF working group, Comcast sends reports, and Gmail does not yet.

## Context

APRF is an Internet-Draft specification for reporting how mailbox providers classify email and how users engage with it. The source describes Comcast as already sending reports, while Gmail is not yet delivering them. Reports are intended to help senders gauge reputation and deliverability over time, despite intentionally fuzzy counts.

## Approach / What changed

Configure a DNS TXT record whose name is derived from the DKIM selector and signing domain, using the format .\_aprf.\_domainkey. . Set its content with an APRF version and report address, such as v=APRFv1;rua=mailto:reports@example.org;. Optionally add sdi to name a segmentation header and separator, then include corresponding values in outgoing email so reports can break down classification and engagement by segments.

## Takeaways

- APRF reports two dimensions: mailbox classification, such as inbox or unwanted, and user engagement, categorized as positive, negative, or neutral.
- Report values are provider-defined buckets rather than exact counts. The upper bound is used, so the figures are intentionally imprecise but can indicate deliverability trends over time.
- The optional sdi setting lets senders segment reports using a custom email header, enabling comparisons such as marketing versus transactional mail or individual campaigns.

## FAQ

### How do senders configure an address to receive APRF reports?

They create a DNS TXT record whose name uses the DKIM selector and domain in the form <s>.\_aprf.\_domainkey.<d>. The record contains an APRF version and a rua mailto address for report delivery.

### Are APRF classification and engagement numbers exact?

No. Providers use buckets and report the upper bound of each bucket, so a value such as 100,000 represents a range rather than an exact total. The source says the approximate figures can still help gauge deliverability over time.

### Can APRF reports distinguish different kinds of email?

Yes, when the sender configures the optional sdi attribute and adds the specified segmentation header to messages. The example separates BusinessName^Marketing from BusinessName^Transactional and reports classification and engagement for each.

**Tags:** [DNS](https://yomu.fyi/topic/dns), [Email](https://yomu.fyi/topic/email)

- Source: [Resend](https://resend.com/blog/what-is-aprf)
- Source URL: https://resend.com/blog/what-is-aprf
- Ingested by Yomu: 2026-09-19T09:54:38.307Z

[Read original post](https://resend.com/blog/what-is-aprf)