You receive dozens, maybe even hundreds, of email messages each day. But not all those email messages are helpful or even wanted. Fortunately, Gmail has a pretty good spam management system. Even so, there are still times that you’ll receive messages you don’t want.
It could be that you’re still on an email list from a former project, despite asking to be removed. It could be that someone you know has been sending you distracting messages. Or maybe, you’ve subscribed to an email newsletter you no longer want to receive. Perhaps, the unwanted messages are spam—messages from a complete stranger.
No matter what the circumstances, if you’re receiving unwanted emails and you use Gmail there are steps you can take to manage or even eliminate those unwanted messages. In this tutorial, I’ll explain how to block spam and filter emails in Gmail.
Before you go further into this tutorial, consider downloading our new eBook: The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery. (It’s available for FREE with the Tuts+ Business Newsletter.) Spam is just one of the many problems to address with cleaning up your email inbox. Learn more inside:
Your Quick Start Guide to Filter & Block Unwanted Emails (Spam) in Gmail(Video)
Are you ready to learn more about filtering and blocking spam messages in Gmail? Watch this quick screencast to learn all about how to manage unwanted messages.
Why You Get Unwanted Messages
There are basically two sources of unwanted messages:
- contacts you know (or knew)
- contacts you don’t know
Unwanted messages from people you know (or knew) can happen when you leave a job or project. Often, your email address stays on mailing lists associated with that job or project. For example, after I left a corporate job I still received emails related to that job.
A year after leaving the job I was surprised to receive an email invite to their annual tradeshow. They didn’t really want me to attend, but I had gone the year before as an employee. The people putting the tradeshow together still had my name on their email list.
Sometimes, you receive unwanted emails from people you don’t know. Spammers can get your email address through various methods. Here are just a few:
- Guessing – They may use an algorithm to generate variations of an email. They then send the same spam message to every email address generated.
- Hacking – Occasionally secure lists are hacked and details are leaked, including email addresses.
- Purchase – Some companies sell lists of email addresses. Often these lists are created when you respond to a free offer.
- Scraping – Spammers may use a tool to search the web for email addresses posted online. They then send spam messages to the addresses they have found.
Gmail already has some pretty strong spam filters in place. Also, by using the techniques below, you further reduce your chances of receiving an unwanted message.
How to Block Messages From a Sender
Now we’ll review how to create a filter in Gmail to block messages from someone by email address. Start with a message open from the sender you want to block. In this case, I no longer want to receive these status reports.
Automatically Filter Out Messages From a Certain Sender
Let’s look at how to filter emails in Gmail automatically. You can also use the filter to send messages from a specific sender straight to a certain label (folder). For example, perhaps I want to filter all messages from a former employee so that they automatically go to a certain label. Here’s how to do it. Click the arrow on the right of the Gmail search bar to display the Advanced Gmail search box. Type the name of the sender whose messages you want to filter into the From field. You can be more specific with your filter by specifying more information in the other fields. When you are done entering information, click the Create filter with this search link. The Create filter box appears.
This box asks you what you want to do with every message that meets the criteria you defined in the Advanced Gmail search box.
Note that several options, such as Delete it and Skip the Inbox, would keep these messages out of your Gmail inbox. The Delete it option, in particular, would keep an unwanted message from a sender out of both your inbox and Spam folder.
Today we are going to choose to send the specified messages to a label I created called Former Employees.
Check the box next to the Apply the label option. Click the arrows in the Choose label box. A drop-down menu displays showing the available labels.
Click the label where you want to file messages from a particular sender, in this case Former Employees. Click Create filter to create the filter. A message displays at the top of your inbox saying Your Filter was created. Learn more.
All messages from the specified sender will now be labeled and easy to see. Use the Move To icon (it looks like a folder) to remove these message from your Primary tab so you don’t have to see them.
How to Block Unwanted Group Emails
As a small business owner, you may find yourself on an email list that you no longer wish to be on. Fortunately, most countries have anti-spam laws in place that require the sender to provide a way for recipients to opt out of future emails. To learn more about the laws surrounding email, review trend 4 in this article.
How to Find Subscriptions Using Search
It can be hard to find messages that are subscriptions. That’s because they are likely spread over several folders or labels. You can use Gmail’s search feature to find all messages with unsubscribe links.
How to Unsubscribe From a Message
In Gmail, you have several methods for unsubscribing to newsletters and other mailing lists:
- Use the Unsubscribe Email Link – You can still scroll to the bottom of the email and click the unsubscribe link. (This works on other email platforms as well.) The downside to this approach is that it forces you to scroll through the message to find the link.
- Use Gmail’s Unsubscribe Feature – Gmail detects when an email has an unsubscribe link. An unsubscribe link displays at the top of the Gmail message, next to the sender’s name.
How to Report Spam Messages
Gmail has sophisticated algorithms in place to send some messages straight to your spam folder. Here are some examples of types of messages that go directly to your spam folder:
- messages with no content
- messages with misleading email addresses that appear to be from a well-known company, but are not
- messages that appear to be phishing for your personal or financial information (more on this later)
Google has a complete list of email types they consider to be spam on their support page.
How to Flag a Message as Spam
You can flag an unwanted message as spam. Doing this helps Gmail to “learn” what types of emails you consider to be spam. Here’s how to flag a message as spam.
Start with your Gmail inbox open. Don’t open the suspected spam email. Instead, click the checkbox next to the message. Then click the Report Spam icon above your messages.
How to Report Scams and Phishing Messages
There is a special category of spam messages that are particularly harmful. These are scam and phishing messages.
A scam message contains an offer that is false. A phishing message goes one step further. It uses the email to gather your personal or financial information.
An example of a scam message is a message that claims to be selling a product. If you buy the product through a link in the message and never receive it (or receive something other than what was promised) the message may be a scam.
Phishing messages often appear to come from a reputable source such as a government agency or a financial institution. An example is a message that claims to be from your bank asking you to click a link and enter your account number.
In most countries, email fraud is illegal. It’s also a violation of most internet provider’s terms of service and of Google’s policies. You can report a fraudulent message to Gmail using this form.
You should also report email fraud to the proper authorities. Reporting fraud prevents other people from becoming victims. In the United States, you can contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) using the FTC Complaint Assistant. In the United Kingdom, use the links on this website.
