How to Stop Spam Emails and Declutter Your Inbox Once and for All

1. Train your inbox

Simply deleting spam emails won’t stop them from appearing in your inbox (nor will replying, but more on that later). However, you can train your email client to recognize which emails you actually want to see and which you consider junk. The way to do this is by using your server’s spam reporting features.

In Gmail, you can do this by clicking the square to the left of whichever email you want filtered, then selecting Report Spam from the top bar (the button looks like a stop sign with an exclamation point on it). It’s a similar process for Microsoft Outlook; just select the suspicious email, then click on Junk>Junk in the upper left to send it to your junk folder. Yahoo users should select any unwanted emails, then click the More icon and select “Mark as Spam.”

Doing this alerts your email client that you don’t recognize the sender and don’t want to hear from them. Over time, your inbox should learn to automatically filter any emails like the ones you’ve been flagging into your spam folder, which automatically deletes anything that’s been in there for longer than 30 days. (Psst, you should also go through your spam folder every once in a while, to ensure that emails you do want aren’t actually ending up in there.)

2. Don’t interact with spam

The less you interact with spam emails (or calls or texts, for that matter) the better. Opening, replying to or clicking the links within an email just alerts the spammer to the fact that this is an active account they should continue to inundate with messages. The best thing you can do is to flag these messages using the methods above and to leave it at that.

There are a bunch of apps that can be employed to help protect you from spam or weed out spammers that already have your info. Mailwasher and SpamSieve are two great options, both of which allow you to review incoming mail before it actually hits your inbox. Like your email client, both apps learn over time and become better and better at sorting the things you actually want to see from the things you consider spam.

For handling junk mail, you can try something like Unroll.Me, which makes it significantly easier to mass unsubscribe from unwanted emails. This free service scans your inbox for any and all email subscriptions which you can then choose to unsubscribe from, keep in your inbox or add to what’s called a rollup, which is one email sent in the morning, afternoon or evening and includes all your subscriptions at a glance. The rollup is great for brands you are interesting in hearing from (gotta keep tabs on those Madewell sales) but don’t necessarily want cluttering up your inbox. Another option is to create a folder that filters any emails containing the word “unsubscribe” out of your inbox, so you can deal with them later.

Fun fact, Gmail doesn’t recognize periods in email addresses so anything sent to janedoe@gmail.com, jane.doe@gmail.com and j.a.n.e.d.o.e@gmail.com all go to the same inbox. One clever way to work around instances in which your email address may have been sold to spammers is to use a version of your email that contains periods any time you sign up for something (like using a guest checkout at a new brand or to get a free trial). Then just create a folder that filters anything addressed to that alternate email out of your inbox. This can also be a good way to figure out where spammers are getting your information from in the first place.

You can also create an independent email with a completely new name just for shopping or handling memberships. Most email servers make it incredibly easy to link multiple accounts so you can quickly switch from one inbox to another without having to log in and out all over again.

If all else fails and you’re still receiving enough spam emails to render your inbox impossible to use, it may be time to switch over to an entirely new account. Be sure to update your information anywhere your real email address is necessary (your Netflix or Spotify subscriptions, online banking account, Aunt Linda’s rolodex) and inform any friends or family of the change.

3 TIPS TO HELP PREVENT SPAMMERS FROM FINDING YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IN THE FIRST PLACE

1. Don’t post your email address

For instance, avoid sharing your email in public spaces, like social media accounts, LinkedIn pages or personal websites. If your job requires you to publicize your email or you want to be easily contactable to non-spammers, consider writing it out in a different way, i.e. “Jane Doe at Gmail dot com” or “JaneDoe @ Google email” rather than janedoe@gmail.com.

2. Think before you enter your email

Signing up for tons of message forums or buying something from a somewhat sketchy international retailer probably isn’t a great idea, especially is these websites aren’t widely recognized or reputable.

3. Consider installing a third-party app

Plugins like Blur work by essentially creating a fake middleman so websites can’t collect your real information. For example, if you go to make a purchase at Madewell and elect to use Blur, the Madewell email database will record the fake address provided by Blur rather than your new one. Any emails Madewell sends this fake address get forwarded to your real inbox where you can decide how to handle them. In this instance if anyone ever hacked the Madewell database, your real email remains safe.