Phone & Tablet

Beginner

4 min read 5 stepsApril 19, 2026Verified April 2026

How to Set Up VIP Contacts in Apple Mail

Mark your doctor, family, and other important senders as VIPs in Apple Mail so their emails always stand out and alert you right away.

At a Glance

Add someone as a VIP on iPhone or iPad

~32s

Open the Mail app. Find an email from the person you want to make a VIP. It can be any email from them, even an old one. Tap the sender's name at the top of the email (where it says "From: [Name]"). A small menu will appear — tap "Add to VIP." You'll see a brief confirmation. That's it — that person is now a VIP.

Quick Tip

You can also add a VIP by tapping the VIP Mailbox in your inbox list, tapping the info button (a small "i" in a circle), and tapping "Add VIP."

Add someone as a VIP on Mac

~20s

Open the Mail app on your Mac. Find an email from the person you want to add. In the message, hover your mouse over the sender's name in the "From" field. A small dropdown arrow appears — click it. Choose "Add to VIPs" from the menu. A star will appear next to their name to confirm.

Find your VIP mailbox

~26s

In the Mail app on iPhone or iPad, go back to the main mailbox list (the screen that shows "All Inboxes," "Inbox," etc.). You should see "VIP" listed there with a star icon next to it. Tap it to see all emails from your VIP contacts in one place. On Mac, the VIP mailbox appears in the left sidebar under "Favorites."

Quick Tip

If you don't see the VIP mailbox listed, scroll down in the mailbox list. It may be below the fold.

Set up special notifications for VIP emails

~28s

On iPhone or iPad, go to Settings (the gear icon on your home screen), then scroll down and tap "Mail," then tap "Notifications," then tap "VIP." Here you can turn on sounds, alerts, and badge counts specifically for VIP emails. This way you can have quiet notifications for regular email but immediate alerts for your most important senders.

Quick Tip

This is especially helpful if you've turned off general Mail notifications but still want to know right away when your doctor's office or a family member writes.

Remove someone from your VIP list

~16s

Open an email from that person, tap their name, and tap "Remove from VIP." Or go to your VIP mailbox, tap the small "i" info button at the bottom right of the screen, find their name in the VIP list, and swipe left to delete them.

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When you get dozens of emails a day, it is common for something important to get buried — a message from your doctor, a note from your child or grandchild, or something from your bank. Apple Mail has a feature called VIP that solves this problem.

When you add someone as a VIP in Apple Mail, a few things happen: - Their emails get a special star icon so they're easy to spot - All their emails are collected in a dedicated "VIP" mailbox folder - You can set up separate notifications just for VIP emails. So you get alerted even if you've turned off general email notifications

VIP works on iPhone, iPad, and Mac — and your VIP list syncs across all your Apple devices automatically if you use the same Apple ID.

This is a great tool if you want to make sure you never miss an email from a specific doctor's office, pharmacy, your children or grandchildren, your lawyer, your accountant, or any other person whose messages matter most to you.

You can add up to several dozen VIP contacts. And you can remove anyone from the VIP list just as easily. Apple Mail is the built-in email app on iPhones and Macs. It comes with your device and doesn't require any downloads or subscriptions.

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Official Resources

Apple Support — iPhone Google Help — Android Samsung Support

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