What Are Electronic mail Headers? Full Information and Examples

September 9, 2025

Arms up if you happen to heard somebody discuss e mail headers however had no concept what they had been. Or, even worse, perhaps your technical workforce requested you to ship them the complete header of your e mail, and also you’re frantically on the lookout for it in every single place.

On this publish, we’re going to inform you about e mail headers, how they might help you, and naturally, the place precisely you’ll find them.

Emails comprise three important components: the message physique, the envelope, and the message header. You in all probability already know what the physique of an e mail refers to – the important textual content of the message. That’s the place your design goes. The whole lot written in an e mail, from “Pricey Professor Dumbledore” to “Sincerely Yours, Harry Potter,” is taken into account the physique of the message. The message’s sender and recipient can each see this info.

The message envelope is one thing that neither the sender nor the recipient sees. The envelope is the data that the e-mail program and outgoing server use to speak and ship the message to the proper e mail deal with. When the message author hits ship, this info is created earlier than the e-mail lands within the recipient’s inbox (hopefully not the spam folder).

Lastly, the e-mail header is a log of an e mail’s technical particulars that each the sender and recipient can see, although it could possibly’t be as simply seen as the e-mail physique. It accommodates particulars relating to the sender, receiver, and message. This contains any e mail addresses which might be concerned within the dialog, the servers the e-mail handed via whereas being despatched, and extra.

Electronic mail headers seem difficult, however they embrace priceless info for e mail professionals and SMB entrepreneurs.

Electronic mail headers are sometimes used to see info, similar to who despatched and acquired a message, the place the message handed via a mail server, and what sort of errors could have prevented the e-mail from reaching its meant vacation spot.

Let’s discover the multitude of the way e mail headers can be utilized.

Bettering e mail deliverability

For e mail deliverability, headers can present useful details about optimistic or adverse interactions with a message. They assist determine any errors which will have impacted supply. This information is invaluable to understanding why messages could also be failing to achieve the meant recipient and might present clues on find out how to repair deliverability issues.

Checking for errors or adjustments

Electronic mail headers provide help to confirm if the message was safe in transit and reached its recipient with out errors or adjustments. If the message encountered an issue on the way in which to its vacation spot or was by no means delivered in any respect, a tech-savvy consumer can assessment the header and determine precisely what affected the message. Did Harry’s e mail go to Aberfoth Dumbledore, as an alternative of Albus?

After figuring out points, the consumer can then repair issues that assist new emails get the place they should go.

Defending towards spam and phishing

Electronic mail headers are an effective way to confirm the supply of an e mail and might help defend towards spam and phishing assaults. It is suggested to all the time examine e mail headers to confirm the sender’s deal with earlier than responding to an e mail. Doing this might help be sure that messages are coming from trusted sources, and might warn customers towards responding to spoofing or malicious emails. Nobody desires to be duped!

Monitoring an e mail’s route

For the reason that header accommodates the e-mail’s routing info, you may view precisely which mail servers, ISPs, and e mail platforms the message has been via. This might help with monitoring the originator of a message, in addition to figuring out any factors the place the e-mail could have been tampered with. Understanding all of the stops an e mail has gone via is very useful in circumstances of malicious actions.

Figuring out the sender and receiver

Electronic mail headers can be used to determine who despatched an e mail in addition to the recipient’s info. That is particularly helpful in understanding whether or not or not a message was really despatched from the sender in query, or if it was a 3rd social gathering making an attempt to impersonate the purported sender.

Attributable to their skill to rapidly assist clear up many points, headers are a priceless useful resource for organizations involved with deliverability and the technical technique of sending an e mail.

If you happen to’re starting an e mail advertising and marketing marketing campaign, it’s necessary to appropriately configure your supply techniques beforehand and ship just a few check emails. With the appropriate instruments in place, it is possible for you to to offer your self a leg up in deliverability earlier than your e mail even leaves your outbox.

What are the usual elements of an e mail header?

Electronic mail headers give you necessary info. The customary elements of an e mail header are under:

Elsewhere within the header, you too can discover the next:

Nearly all webmail suppliers comprise e mail headers for every message. Beneath, you may see directions for locating headers on fashionable e mail shoppers.

To search out headers in Gmail, you:

1. Click on on the three dots within the prime proper nook of the e-mail message
2. Choose “Present Authentic”
3. It will present you the e-mail header

Just a few clicks is all it’s essential to discover e mail headers in Gmail.

Electronic mail headers in Microsoft Outlook (Hotmail) web site and app

To search out mail headers on the Microsoft Outlook internet browser, you:

1. Click on the three dots within the higher proper nook of the e-mail
2. Click on “view message supply” within the drop-down menu
3. The total e mail header ought to then seem

The favored Microsoft Outlook e mail consumer makes it simple to seek out e mail headers.

Within the Microsoft Outlook app, you:

1. Double-click the e-mail to open it in a separate window.
2. Then, proper click on “file” and “properties”.
3. Then, you may see the header info within the “web headers” part on the backside of the display screen.

To search out e mail headers in Yahoo Mail:

1. Open the message within the webmail consumer
2. Click on the “extra” icon (three dots) above it.
3. Then, proper click on “view uncooked message.”
4. The mail header ought to then seem.

Shortly find e mail headers with Yahoo Mail.

To search out e mail headers in Apple Mail, you:

1. Open the message and choose the “view” choice within the menu.
2. Then, select the “message” choice
3. Then, click on on “All Headers”.
4. It will show your message’s e mail header.

Apple’s emphasis on transparency contains making headers simple to find on the Apple Mail consumer.

Viewing e mail headers in Thunderbird is easy as nicely:

1. Merely open an e mail message
2. Then click on “View”, “Headers”, and “All”
3. It will make the e-mail header seen

To search out headers in ProtonMail:

1. Log in to your e mail ProtonMail account
2. Then, open your e mail message
3. Click on the three-dot icon on the prime of the message.
4. Subsequent, choose “View headers.”
5. The e-mail headers will pop up in a brand new window.

Easy methods to discover e mail headers in ProtonMail with only a few clicks.

To view the complete headers for an e mail message in AOL Mail:

1. Open an e mail message
2. Then click on, “Extra” within the prime menu.
3. Then choose “View Message Supply.”

To search out e mail headers in Zoho mail:

1. Open the e-mail that you simply’d prefer to view
2. Then click on, the downward arrow for “Extra Actions” within the higher proper nook.
3. Subsequent, click on “Present Authentic”.
4. It will nonetheless present solely the key header particulars. To view all the HTML supply of the formatted e mail, click on the “Present Full Content material” choice.

Zoho has various choices for viewing and downloading full e mail headers.

To search out e mail headers in GMX:

1. Log in to your GMX account
2. Open an e mail message
3. Then, click on the “info” icon, which is positioned within the prime proper nook of the message.
4. A popup will seem that exhibits the “Prolonged Header Info”.

It simply takes two steps to seek out and look at full e mail headers in GMX.

To entry the complete e mail headers on Mail.com:

1. Log in to your account
2. Open an e mail message
3. Then, click on the data icon within the prime proper nook.
4. A popup ought to seem that gives “Prolonged Header Info”.

It simply takes two steps to seek out and look at full e mail headers in Mail.com.

Electronic mail headers could seem unfamiliar to those that have by no means seen them. Nevertheless, they’re an necessary a part of an excellent deliverability technique.

You should utilize e mail headers to seek out outdetailed details about your emails’ journey and in the event that they’re being correctly delivered. Changing into accustomed to them will provide help to launch profitable e mail campaigns and look at their outcomes.

Writer:
Dale Hart

Content material Supervisor at Sinch Mailjet