How to Stop Unwanted Emails

If you open your email inbox and find it packed with newsletters, store promotions, and offers you never asked for, you are not alone. Unwanted email — often called "junk mail" or "spam" — is one of the most common frustrations for everyday phone and computer users.

The good news is that you have several tools to fight back. This guide walks through each one, including an important rule about when NOT to hit the unsubscribe button.

The difference between legitimate marketing email and spam

Not all unwanted email is dangerous. There are two main types:

1. 1Legitimate marketing email: You shopped at a store, donated to a charity, or signed up for a service, and now they send you newsletters or offers. You may not want them. But they are from a real company that has your address because you gave it to them at some point. These are safe to unsubscribe from.

1. 1Spam from unknown senders: You receive an email from a company or person you have never heard of, often with an urgent subject line ("Your account has been suspended," "You have won a prize," or "FINAL NOTICE"). These are often sent by scammers. Do not click the unsubscribe link in these emails.

Why you should NOT click unsubscribe on suspicious emails

This is the most important rule in this guide. When you click "Unsubscribe" in a suspicious email, you confirm to the sender that your email address is real and actively used. Instead of stopping the mail, you often end up getting more — and your address may be sold to other spammers. For any email from an unknown sender, especially one with an alarming subject line, do not click anything inside the email. Mark it as spam or delete it instead (both options are described below).

How to tell if an email is legitimate or suspicious

Ask yourself these questions: - Do I recognize this sender's name and company? - Did I ever sign up for something from this company? - Does the sender's email address match the company name (for example, does the address end in "@walmart.com" rather than "@walmart-deals-xyz.net")?

If you answer "no" to any of these, treat the email as suspicious.

Using Gmail's built-in Unsubscribe button

If you use Gmail (Google's email service, which you access at gmail.com or through the Gmail app), look at the top of the email right below the sender's name. For many marketing emails, Gmail will show a small gray "Unsubscribe" link directly in that area. You do not need to scroll to the bottom. Tapping that link sends an unsubscribe request through Gmail's own system, which is safer than clicking a link inside the email itself. Look for this option first before scrolling to the bottom.

Finding and using the unsubscribe link at the bottom

Legitimate marketing emails are required by US law (the CAN-SPAM Act) to include an unsubscribe link, usually at the very bottom in small gray text. If you recognize the sender as a real company, scroll to the bottom, find the "Unsubscribe" or "Manage Preferences" link, and click it. You will usually land on a webpage that confirms your unsubscription or lets you choose which types of emails to stop. After unsubscribing, allow up to 10 business days for the emails to stop — the law allows companies that much time to process the request.

Marking email as spam

Marking an email as spam tells your email provider that the message is unwanted. The message moves out of your inbox and helps train the email system to recognize similar messages in the future. Most email services allow you to mark email as spam:

• Gmail (phone or computer): open the email, tap the three dots (menu), and select "Report spam."
• iPhone Mail app: swipe left on the message, tap "More," then tap "Move to Junk."
• Outlook / Hotmail: right-click or long-press the message and select "Mark as junk."

Blocking a specific sender

If the same sender keeps emailing you and unsubscribing did not help, you can block them. Blocking means any future email from that exact address goes directly to your spam or trash folder without appearing in your inbox.

• Gmail: open the email, tap the three dots in the top-right corner, tap "Block [sender name]."
• iPhone Mail: open the email, tap the sender's name at the top, tap their email address, then tap "Block this Contact."
• Outlook: open the email, tap the three dots, then "Block" or "Block Sender."

Using filters to automatically sort email

A filter (sometimes called a "rule") is a set of instructions you give your email program: "Any email from this address — or with this word in the subject — should go directly to a folder I choose, skip my inbox, or be deleted automatically." Filters are the most powerful long-term tool for keeping your inbox tidy.

Setting up filters is slightly different in every email service. In Gmail on a computer: open the email, click the three dots, select "Filter messages like these," then choose what to do (delete, skip inbox, label it). You can also search Gmail's Help at support.google.com/mail for "create a filter" for step-by-step pictures.

Source: FTC.gov — CAN-SPAM Act (ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/can-spam-act) and Google Support — Gmail filters (support.google.com/mail).