We need to address the growing problem of email scraping and unsolicited marketing emails targeting developers.

If you’re like most developers, you put your email out there to collaborate and connect with others. But then the spam starts rolling in. Some shady companies or bots scrape your email and flood you with junk about:

  • Tools you didn’t ask for

  • Webinars you don’t care about

  • Newsletters you never subscribed to

Not only is this annoying, but it’s also often straight-up illegal in many places (erm.. hello, GDPR and CAN-SPAM!?).It’s a waste of your time and a huge invasion of your privacy.

  1. Your Privacy Matters
    No one has the right to use your contact info like that without your say-so.

  2. Time is Precious
    Digging through spam or trying to unsubscribe is a massive time suck.

  3. Trust is Broken
    These tactics make it harder for legit people to reach out in meaningful ways.

Laws like GDPR (EU) and CAN-SPAM (US) exist to protect you from this exact thing. Knowing the rules can help you spot when someone’s breaking them.You don’t have to lock down your email completely, but you can make it harder for spammers by using a seperate email for public profiles or you can obfuscate your email to make it harder to recognize (name [at] domain [dot] com).Sometimes spam still gets through. Don’t let it slide!Here’s a simple email template to shut it down. Also, feel free to forward the email to [email protected] so we can examine and publish it.

Hey (Sender’s Name/Company),I just got your email about (whatever they’re pushing), and I need you to know I didn’t sign up for this. I didn’t give you permission to email me, and scraping my email or adding me to your mailing list without consent is not only unethical but also bad for your reputation. These practices damage trust and create a negative image for your company within the developer community (more about that here: stopdevspam.org/senders).Here’s what I’m asking for:
1) Take my email off your mailing list immediately.
2) Delete my information from your records.Failure to do so may result in me reporting this to (GDPR authorities, the FTC, or whoever applies) and/or the service you use to send these emails.I strongly encourage you to respect email privacy and consent to avoid further consequences.Thanks,
(Your Name)