How to Open Email Header in Gmail?

Email headers carry all the crucial metadata data messages comprise, such as bouncing information, message timestamps, and so on. Though generally hidden from the email clients' view (e.g., Gmail), email headers may be viewed if needed for a specific reason. Viewing email headers is very helpful for detecting email delivery problems, investigating spam, and detecting viruses.

What Information is Contained in Email Headers?

Email headers contain a variety of information about the email message, including:

• Date and Time: The reinforced email sent out the date and time.

• From: The sender's email agency.

• To: The email address of the recipient(s). Recipient(s) and an email address can be turned into plural.

• Subject: It is the first thing that the recipients of the email notice, so choose it wisely.

• Message ID: An identifier assigned to the email indicates the path it travels.

• Received: The record may be supposed to record the mail servers that the mail passed through on its delivery path to the recipient. This is showing as the destination of the email.

• Return-Path: An email address to bounce messages to the undeliverable account is required.

• Reply-To: The reply-to address that maintains the identity is the one to which other people should receive mail if it differs from the From address.

• X-headers: Further headers were added for anti-spam, anti-virus mail servers, or other data transmission tools, along with authentication results, spam scores, and any other related metadata.

How to View Email Headers in Gmail

To see the whole of the email header in Gmail, you should take the following steps:

1. Open Gmail through the website interface and enter your inbox.

2. Open the mail you want to browse the headers for and locate the requested email.

3. Click the More options menu (3 vertical dots) next to the Reply button.

4. Select "Show original" from the dropdown menu.

This will open a new window or tab displaying the entire raw email file, including the complete header information.

The email header will be at the top of this view, separated into different sections by blank lines. These header sections contain most of the routing and metadata information you need.

Alternatively, you can enable showing email headers directly in the Gmail message view by:

• Go to the Settings menu (gear icon) in Gmail.

• Select "See all settings".

• Scroll down to the "Email headers" section.

• Check the "Email headers" checkbox to show email headers in the message pane.

When you open a message with email headers enabled, a "Headers" section will expand below the subject line.

Common Uses for Viewing Email Headers

Some of the main reasons you may want to view an email's full header include:

Troubleshooting Delivery Issues

You may be troubleshooting a problem with a specific email not being delivered to its proper destination. In this particular instance, the Received headers provide information on the path the message travelled, where it was blocked or delayed, and when it was blocked or delayed.

Tracking Spam Sources

The header data can reveal critical indicators that an email is spam, such as mismatched sender addresses or suspicious routing. This can help you block prolific spam sources.

Email Authentication

Significant provider header data often includes email authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC status. This allows you to verify whether emails passed authentication checks.

Forensic Analysis

Law enforcement, cyber investigators, and security teams may closely analyze email headers to gather evidence about potentially malicious emails as part of an incident response.

While most users won't need to check email headers frequently, understanding how to access this metadata can be helpful when issues arise with specific messages. The detailed trail of information can help diagnose email flow problems.