Glossary · Security and privacy
SPF
Sender Policy Framework, a DNS record listing the servers allowed to send mail for a domain, checked against the envelope sender's address.
What SPF means
Sender Policy Framework, a DNS record listing the servers allowed to send mail for a domain, checked against the envelope sender's address. It breaks on any forwarding hop, because the forwarder is not in the list, which is why SPF alone cannot make a quarantine policy safe.
What SPF can and cannot support
| It can support | It cannot support |
|---|---|
| Sender Policy Framework, a DNS record listing the servers allowed to send mail for a domain, checked against the envelope sender's address. | It breaks on any forwarding hop, because the forwarder is not in the list, which is why SPF alone cannot make a quarantine policy safe. |
Where SPF comes up on this site
- DMARC p=none to p=quarantine without losing mail: a guideIt asks two questions of results that SPF and DKIM already produced, and one question about alignment.
- Release notes 29 Sep 2026: finding states, sitemap, trustTrust center, terms, refunds /trust is built from the running configuration rather than written about it: the retention table reads the real TTLs (reports 90 days, leads 180, the comment queue 30, Search Console and Business Profile data 400, sessions 12…
Definitions that name SPF
Related terms in Security and privacy
Where an agent, a tool or a page can be turned against its operator, and the controls that limit the damage without proving safety.
Indirect prompt injection · Direct prompt injection · Jailbreak · Data exfiltration · Sensitive information disclosure · Secret leakage · Insecure output handling · Excessive agency · Least privilege · Trust boundary · Input validation · Output validation · Allowlist · Denylist · SSRF · RCE · Credential scope · OAuth scope · API key · Bearer token · mTLS · Rate-limit policy · Audit log · PII · Data minimization · Purpose limitation · Retention period · Data residency · Tenant isolation · Threat model · DMARC · DMARC alignment · DKIM · MTA-STS · TLS-RPT · CAA record · DNSSEC · hard bounce
Questions about SPF
What is SPF?
Sender Policy Framework, a DNS record listing the servers allowed to send mail for a domain, checked against the envelope sender's address.
What does SPF not show or guarantee?
It breaks on any forwarding hop, because the forwarder is not in the list, which is why SPF alone cannot make a quarantine policy safe.
Which area of the glossary does SPF belong to?
Security and privacy: Where an agent, a tool or a page can be turned against its operator, and the controls that limit the damage without proving safety.
← DMARC alignment · DKIM →
See it in the full glossary · 668 terms across 19 areas.