{
  "id": 3448799,
  "title": "Self-hosted email is in steep decline, Microsoft and Google are taking over",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/self-hosted-email-is-in-steep-decline-microsoft-and-google-are-taking-3448799",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-08-26T02:40:14.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Register Science",
    "slug": "the-register-science",
    "url": "https://www.theregister.com/software/2026/08/26/self-hosted-email-is-in-steep-decline-microsoft-and-google-are-taking-over/5292471"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Self-hosted email servers are becoming increasingly rare, with their usage declining rapidly over the past decade, according to a researcher from Live Direct Marketing. By examining DNS records, the researcher found that the percentage of top million domains hosting their own mail servers has plummeted from 44.6% in 2016 to just 22.4% in 2026. This self-hosting trend is being eclipsed by the dominance of major tech giants, such as Google and Microsoft, which account for 38.6% of email server detections. The reliance on just two providers for email delivery raises concerns, as any disruption, policy change, or outage from these providers could have widespread consequences. Moreover, the use of DMARC records, which help filter untrustworthy messages, remains low, despite regulations implemented by Google and Yahoo in 2024. The researcher emphasizes the need to address this systemic dependency on a few email providers and the lack of visibility into the infrastructure behind email delivery.",
  "summary": "Oh great, Big Tech is now in prime position to decide which messages get through",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Register Software",
        "title": "Self-hosted email is in steep decline, Microsoft and Google are taking over",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/self-hosted-email-is-in-steep-decline-microsoft-and-google-are-taking",
        "published": "2026-08-26T02:40:14.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}