Hey everyone, I’m having a weird problem with Gmail. It’s hiding images in my transactional emails that I’m sending through Resend. This is happening even though I’ve set up everything correctly (I think).
Here’s what I’ve got:
A Turborepo project on Vercel with multiple apps
Each app has its own subdomain
I’m using Resend for emails and React Email for templates
DNS and email stuff are all set up right (Resend dashboard shows green checks)
The issue is that when Gmail users get these emails, they see a message saying the images are hidden because the email might be spam. This only happens in Gmail though. Other email clients show the images fine.
Some extra details:
Emails do reach the inbox, not spam
There’s just one image per email (our logo)
No tracking stuff or anything fishy
The image is in the app’s public folder
The image URL matches our domain
I’ve tried all the usual fixes like setting up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, using HTTPS for the image, and adding proper image tags.
Any ideas on why Gmail is being so picky? It’s driving me nuts!
I encountered a similar issue with Gmail and transactional emails. One effective solution I found was to host the images on a well-established CDN like Amazon S3 or Cloudinary. These services have better reputations with email clients, which can help bypass image blocking.
Another approach that worked for me was implementing AMP for Email. It’s supported by Gmail and can improve the display of dynamic content, including images. However, it does require some additional setup and coding.
Have you considered using a service like Postmark for your transactional emails? They specialize in this type of communication and often have better deliverability rates, especially with Gmail.
Lastly, ensure your email authentication is rock solid. Sometimes, even small misconfigurations in SPF, DKIM, or DMARC can cause unexpected issues with image display in Gmail.
I’ve dealt with similar Gmail image issues before. One thing that worked for me was gradually ramping up email volume. Start by sending a small batch daily, then slowly increase over a few weeks. This helps build sender reputation with Gmail.
Another tip - try adding some plain text content before the image. Sometimes having just an image right at the top can trigger spam filters. A brief intro paragraph might help.
Also, ensure your HTML is fully compliant. Even minor formatting issues can cause problems. Run it through a validator to be safe.
If all else fails, you might want to look into using a dedicated email service provider. They often have better deliverability rates and can help troubleshoot these kinds of issues more effectively.
hey there, i’ve run into this before. gmail can be super finicky w/ images. have u tried inlining the image as base64? that might bypass the issue. also, double-check ur domain reputation - sometimes that trips up gmail. good luck!