Moving Toward Stronger Verification: Upcoming Registration Changes to Combat Abuse

Over recent months, we’ve observed a growing number of abuse cases on our platform — spam accounts, fraudulent registrations, misuses of free tiers, and other malicious behavior. Because we had kept the registration process very lightweight (even borderline open), our defenses against these abuses have been limited.

To ensure the safety, stability, and integrity of our service, we will soon introduce stricter registration requirements. Our goal is not to block legitimate users, but to raise the bar so that malicious actors find it much harder to slip through. Below is what’s coming and what we expect from you.

What’s Changing

• We will require identity verification via a third-party authentication / identity provider (IDP), or other trusted identity proofing system.
• New accounts may need to submit a valid form of identification (e.g. government ID, passport), or link to a verified identity provider (depending on region and IDP availability).
• Existing users may be asked to verify their identity within a grace period — failing to do so may result in restrictions or suspension of certain features (e.g. sending limits, alias creation, forwarding).
• We’ll implement additional rate limits, logging, and monitoring of registration and usage patterns during the transition period.
• We’ll also tighten email / IP / device checks to detect bulk or automated registrations.

Why We’re Doing This

We believe these changes are necessary to protect you and other users from spammers, phishing, and impersonation; maintain system resources (so that service remains fast and reliable); ensure trust in the platform (so people know the accounts they interact with are real); and reduce abuse and fraud overhead, so we can invest more in actual features and support.

We appreciate that introducing ID verification can raise concerns about privacy, convenience, and trust. We plan to work with reputable third-party identity verification providers, use secure and minimal data collection, and strictly limit how identity data is used and stored. We also aim for optional anonymization / pseudonymization in cases where full identity is not essential.

Timeline & What You Should Do

Over the next few weeks, we’ll announce the exact rollout schedule. Here’s what we recommend you do now to prepare:

1. Stay informed: follow announcements and emails from us.
2. If you haven’t already, ensure your account contact information (email, phone) is valid and up to date.
3. Review your usage / aliases / integrations — if any depend on unverified accounts, plan to migrate or reconfigure.
4. Be ready to perform identity verification when prompted.

We know change can be inconvenient, but it’s necessary for the health of the service. We’re committed to doing this transparently, securely, and with minimal disruption. Thank you for your understanding and ongoing support.

If you have concerns or feedback about verification methods, privacy, or rollout, please get in touch with us.