Make sure certificates reach inboxes
Gold Star sends from your own Google account, so delivery depends on your email domain’s settings. Most problems are fixed in a few minutes.
Quick fixes for teachers
- Use Email me (under Try it first) first, and check it arrives in your inbox, not spam.
- Personalise the subject and message with tags like
<<First name>>. Identical emails look like spam to filters.
- If emails still go to spam, switch the job’s attachment setting to Send a link instead. The file is shared through Google Drive, which recipients’ email providers trust.
- Ask recipients to add your address to their contacts.
For your IT team (Google Workspace domains)
- SPF: the domain’s DNS should include
include:_spf.google.com.
- DKIM: turn on email authentication in the Google Admin console (Apps → Google Workspace → Gmail → Authenticate email) and add the DNS record it gives you.
- DMARC: publish a DMARC record, starting with
p=none to monitor.
- New domains are treated more strictly by Google for a few weeks. Start with small batches.
Daily limits
Google limits how many emails an account can send each day: about 100 for personal Gmail and 1,500 for Google Workspace. When the limit is reached, Gold Star marks the remaining rows “Waiting” and sends them the next time you run the job.