There are two distinct control levels in the email verification process: Bounced and Invalid.
These statuses represent different stages of email validation and delivery handling.
An email is marked as Bounced when the system receives a delivery failure message from the email provider, indicating that the email was returned (not delivered).
In this case, the email address is automatically marked as “Invalid” - red dot - to prevent future failed sends.
An email address can be labeled as Invalid in multiple ways:
Detected by provider: the provider flags the address as invalid, and Bounce Shield confirms it as such.
Triggered by a bounce event: if an email bounces, it is automatically marked Invalid.
Manually set by a user: a user can manually mark an address as Invalid.
Verified during manual input or CSV import: when manually added or imported, an address may be checked and flagged as Invalid.
If many addresses are marked Invalid during a campaign or sequence, potential causes include:
Actually invalid email addresses that naturally bounced.
Provider-specific issues (e.g., Outlook) incorrectly returning messages as spam.
Review bounce logs to determine if errors are temporary or permanent.
Report unusual patterns (e.g., valid domains like Outlook returning messages).
Avoid re-sending to addresses already marked as Invalid.
