iPhone Email Filter: How To Create Rules And Spam Filters (2023)

How To Set Up An iPhone Email Filter

If your inbox has become cluttered and disorganized on iPhone, it can be difficult to identify your most important messages and stay on top of things. One way to restore order is to implement an email filter that separates out certain emails so they don't get lost in all the chaos.

You can do this inside your email app of choice, or by using an iPhone email filtering service such as Clean Email, which helps you manage an overloaded inbox filled with unread emails while respecting your privacy and keeping your data safe.

In this guide, we'll show you how to set up an email filter for iPhone so that you don't miss important messages in the future, get overwhelmed by all the spam, or go over the storage allowance set by your mail provider.

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iPhone Email Filter: How To Create Rules And Spam Filters (1)

How to Filter Out Emails in Gmail on iPhone

Unfortunately, it's not possible to set up an email filter inside the native Gmail app on iPhone or iPad. However, you can set up email filter rules on the Gmail website that will transfer across to your mobile devices — and anywhere else that you use Gmail. Here's how:

  1. Visit Gmail.com in your web browser and sign into your account
  2. Click the Settings cog in the top-right corner, then click See All Settings
  3. Click on Filters and blocked addresses
  4. Select Create a new filter to begin

By creating a filter in Gmail, you can automatically label, move, forward, mark as read, or delete messages that are sent to or received by a certain contact. You can also filter out emails that include certain subjects or words, and those that include attachments.

So, if you want to ensure that you never miss a message from your boss, you can create a filter that applies a star or label to those messages so that they're easier to find. If you never want to see another message from a certain person, you can set those to delete as soon as they arrive.

How to Filter Out Emails in Outlook on iPhone

Outlook on iPhone and iPad comes with a great feature called the Focused Inbox, which automatically filters your emails for you. It recognizes which messages are most important to you over time, then displays these separately — away from all the newsletters and other spam.

However, if you want to take full control, you can create email filters of your own. Just like with Gmail, these filters cannot be created inside the iPhone app itself, but you can create them in your browser and they will be respected on mobile devices. Here's how:

  1. Visit Outlook.com in your browser and sign into your account
  2. Click the three dots in the top-right corner, then click Settings
  3. Scroll down and click View all Outlook settings
  4. Under the Email section, select Rules

You can now create a new rule by giving it a name, adding a condition and an action, and then saving it. Outlook's options are much the same as Gmail's, allowing you to filter messages sent to or received by certain contacts, and those containing certain words (check out our guide on how to filter emails in Outlook on other devices). They can then be moved or copied to a certain folder, pinned to the top of your inbox, marked as junk, and more.

How to Filter Yahoo Email on iPhone

Just like the others, Yahoo does not offer email filter settings on iPhone, but you can create them on the web by following these steps:

(Video) Gmail Spam Filters & Whitelisting

  1. Visit Yahoo.com in your browser and sign into your account
  2. Click the Settings cog in the top-right corner, then click More settings
  3. Click Filters in the side bar
  4. Select Add new filters

Give your filter a name, then specify your rules. Again, the options are similar; you can separate messages sent to or received from certain contacts, and those containing certain words. However, Yahoo doesn't give you quite as much flexibility as the others (follow our guide on how to filter emails in Yahoo to learn more about the options of this mail service provider). Your only option for these filtered emails is to send them to a certain folder.

iPhone Email Filtering Services

If you find that your email provider's filtering options aren't enough, or perhaps a little too complicated to manage, you might choose to use a third-party email filtering service to filter emails on iPhone. There are many to choose from, and most offer a similar set of features.

Choosing the right one depends on your filtering needs, and your primary reasons for wanting to organize your inbox. You will need to ensure the service you choose has the customizability you're looking for, that it keeps your data safe, and that it includes any extras you're looking for.

For instance, some iPhone email filter services, such as Clean Email, nail down the basics and include things like additional security checks that better identify phishing attacks and other malicious messages to ensure that they don't end up in your inbox.

How To Filter Email On iPhone With Clean Email App

Clean Email aims to deliver everything you could want in an email filtering service, and it does a great job of filtering emails on iPhone. It offers a number of powerful features that will not only help you get a handle on an overloaded mailbox, but also keep it clean going forward so that it doesn't get overwhelming again in the future.

iPhone Email Filter: How To Create Rules And Spam Filters (2)iPhone Email Filter: How To Create Rules And Spam Filters (3)

Using its brilliant Auto Clean feature, the app can automate many of your routine cleaning tasks, like sending newsletters and similar content to a Read Later folder where they stay out of your way until you have time to look at them.

iPhone Email Filter: How To Create Rules And Spam Filters (4)iPhone Email Filter: How To Create Rules And Spam Filters (5)

(Video) Whitelisting: how to protect valid email from iCloud's spam filter

With Smart Views, Clean Email uses predefined filters to group similar email types together where they're easier to digest separately.

To find Smart Views filters in Clean Email:

  1. Launch the app and connect your mail account.
  2. Smart Views are present on the left sidebar of the main dashboard.
  3. Choose any Smart View and apply any action from the toolbar at the bottom of the screen.

iPhone Email Filter: How To Create Rules And Spam Filters (6)

Another option to filter emails on iPhone using the app:

  1. Launch the app and connect your mail account.
  2. Type something into the search bar on the top of the main dashboard.
  3. Choose Older than... or other filters next to the search bar to filter your messages.
  4. iPhone Email Filter: How To Create Rules And Spam Filters (7)

The app also offers a wealth of filters and sorting options that you don't typically get from your mail provider as standard, and it makes it incredibly easy to unsubscribe from newsletters you no longer want, and block senders that you no longer want to hear from.

iPhone Email Filter: How To Create Rules And Spam Filters (8)

What's more, it is focused on protecting your privacy and security. Its Privacy Guard feature regularly checks your email against known data breaches and security incidents, so if your personal information is stolen, you'll know about it right away. And it vows to keep your data safe and never analyze it, share it, or sell it to third-party organizations.

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iPhone Email Filter: How To Create Rules And Spam Filters (9)iPhone Email Filter: How To Create Rules And Spam Filters (10)

The app works with all mail providers and is verified by Google. It also plays nicely with all your favorite mail apps on iPhone, including Mail, Gmail, Spark, and Newton.

Wondering to learn more email management tips and tricks? Check out our guides on how to filter emails in Apple mail and how Android spam email filtering works.

iPhone Email Filter - FAQs

Can you set rules in iOS mail?

No, it's not possible to set rules in the iOS Mail app itself. However, if you want to filter iPhone emails to folders, you can do so by creating rules through your mail provider or by using a third-party email filtering service.

How do I set up email filters on my iPhone?

To create iPhone email filter rules, you need to set them up through your mail provider — such as Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo — in a web browser.

How do I filter spam emails on iPhone?

You can filter spam emails on iPhone by creating a rule that automatically identifies those messages and then deletes them or moves them to a separate folder. Use our guide to find out how to create filters for Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo. You can also use an iPhone email spam filter app like Clean Email to manage incoming messages automatically.

Why are my email filters on my iPhone?

Your email filters are not available on your iPhone itself; they are created and managed directly through your service provider, or through a third-party email filtering service. Our guide explains how to create and use email filters.

FAQs

Can I set up rules for email on iPhone? ›

You can set up rules to filter incoming messages or reorganize messages you've already received. For example, you can create a rule that sorts messages from a particular sender into a specific folder. You can edit and delete these rules at any time.

How do I create a rule for filtering emails? ›

Create rules to filter your emails
  1. Open Gmail.
  2. In the search box at the top, click Show search options .
  3. Enter your search criteria. ...
  4. At the bottom of the search window, click Create filter.
  5. Choose what you'd like the filter to do.
  6. Click Create filter.

How do I filter email spam on iPhone? ›

Go to Settings > Mail > Privacy Protection. Turn on Protect Mail Activity.

Can you create rules in Apple Mail app? ›

For example, you can create a rule that highlights messages from a specific person, or that automatically moves messages from your inbox to other mailboxes. In the Mail app on your Mac, choose Mail > Settings, then click Rules. To review an example of a rule, select a provided rule, then click Edit.

How do you add rules to emails? ›

Right-click a message in your inbox or another email folder and select Rules. Select one of the options. Outlook automatically suggests creating a rule based on the sender and the recipients. To view more options, select Create Rule.

How do I create a filter in Apple Mail? ›

Turn filters on

In the Mail app on your Mac, click the Filter button at the top of the message list, or choose View > Filter > Enable Message Filter. You can also click and hold the Filter button, then choose Enable Message Filter from the menu that appears.

How do I automatically move emails to a folder? ›

Open an email message from the sender whose messages you want to automatically move into a specific folder. Open the Home tab and click Rules → Always Move Messages From [Sender]. Select the folder where you want to move all new messages from the sender. Click OK to confirm.

What is an email filter rule? ›

What are email filter rules? Simply put, this feature allows you to automatically sort your incoming messages as well as emails you've already received. You can create an email filter rule to move certain categories of messages into a particular folder or even delete them if you wish.

Does iPhone have a spam filter? ›

How to Filter Spam Messages on iPhones. Apple provides an inbuilt message anti-spam filter in its Messages app. This filter can be activated by going to Settings => Messages and activating the "Filter Unknown Senders" slider.

How do I stop spam emails permanently on iPhone? ›

To block emails on iPhone, tap on the sender's name in the Mail app and select Block this Contact. To automatically send blocked emails to trash, change the Blocked Sender Options. The Blocked Sender Options are located in the iPhone Settings app under the Mail heading.

Does iPhone have a built in spam blocker? ›

With iOS 13 and later, you can turn on Silence Unknown Callers to avoid getting calls from people you don't know. This blocks phone numbers that you've never been in contact with and don't have saved in your contacts list.

Does Apple Mail have a To Do list? ›

If you manage your emails on macOS using Apple Mail, you can quickly add emails as tasks to Todoist. Here's how: In Todoist, open quick add by pressing the + symbol at the top. Switch to Apple Mail and find the email you want to add as a task.

How do I get emails to go directly to a folder in Apple Mail? ›

Move email into a folder

If you selected one message: Click. at the top right, choose a folder or create a new folder, then click Move. If you selected multiple messages: Click Move, choose a folder or create a new folder, then click Move.

How do I set up automation on my Iphone? ›

Enable an automation
  1. In the Shortcuts app on your iOS or iPadOS device, tap Automation .
  2. Tap the automation you want to enable.
  3. Turn on Enable This Automation.
  4. Tap Done. When triggered, the automation will run or will ask you to run it, depending on the setting you choose in the next task, below.

What does BCC mean in email? ›

For security and privacy reasons, it is best to use the Blind Carbon Copy (BCC) feature when sending an email message to a large number of people. When you place email addresses in the BCC field of a message, those addresses are invisible to the recipients of the email.

What are the 5 email rules? ›

5 Golden Rules of E-mail Etiquette
  • Address your recipient accordingly. Double, triple check that you have the correct spelling of the recipient's name and their corresponding title. ...
  • Use proper salutations and closing statements. ...
  • Format appropriately. ...
  • Avoid ALL CAPS. ...
  • Compress large files.
5 Jun 2014

What are the six rules of email? ›

Rules for email etiquette
  • Use a clear, professional subject line. ...
  • Proofread every email you send. ...
  • Write your email before entering the recipient email address. ...
  • Double check you have the correct recipient. ...
  • Ensure you CC all relevant recipients. ...
  • You don't always have to "reply all" ...
  • Reply to your emails.

How do I use smart mailbox in Apple Mail? ›

In the Mail app on your Mac, choose Mailbox > New Smart Mailbox Folder. Enter a name, then click OK. Drag one or more Smart Mailboxes into the folder. When you view the folder, emails from the Smart Mailboxes that the folder contains are shown.

How do you make a custom filter on iPhone? ›

What to Know
  1. Open the Camera app and tap the three interlocking circles icon to display the available filters. Select one, then take the photo.
  2. Apply filters to old photos via the Photos app. Tap the photo, then select Edit. ...
  3. Remove a filter by tapping on a photo and selecting Edit > Revert > Revert to Original.
4 Feb 2021

How do I create a custom spam filter? ›

First, click on the Settings icon that looks like a gear. Then, navigate to “Filters and Blocked Addresses.” Choose “Create New Filter.” Click in the “From” section, and type in the email address from the sender that you want to keep out of your spam folder.

How do I create a custom filter? ›

Procedure
  1. Select the data item on which you want to filter. ...
  2. On the toolbar, click the filter icon .
  3. Click Create Custom Filter.
  4. Under Condition, select the type of condition you want.
  5. Optional: Type a value to search for in the Keywords box.

When I move emails to a particular folder Why do they still appear in the Inbox folder? ›

When I move emails to a particular folder, why do they still appear in the Inbox folder? Unfortunately, the individual emails are still tagged as "Inbox". You must remove that tag so they only appear in the other folder.

What is the 3 email rule? ›

The rule is simple. If you can't complete an email conversation within three emails, then it should shift to a more personal platform.

What do you mean by filter rules? ›

A filter rule is a trading strategy in which a technical analyst sets rules for when to buy and sell investments, based on percentage changes from prior prices. The filter rule is generally based on price momentum, or the belief that rising prices tend to continue to rise and falling prices tend to continue to fall.

What does filter junk mail before applying my rules meaning? ›

This helps Mail more accurately identify junk. The last option, Filter Junk Mail Before Applying My Rules is worth enabling if you use Rules to filter your e-mail. If you leave it off, it's possible that a rule you've created will grab a junky message because of some errant word in the message body or header entry.

Does Apple have a spam blocker for email? ›

Mail can filter junk mail from your inbox, based on what it learns from you when you mark email messages as junk or not junk and the settings in Junk Mail settings. Tip: If you don't like spam, make sure the junk mail filter is on.

How do I stop spam emails permanently? ›

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  1. Report the email as spam.
  2. Block spam email addresses.
  3. Change your email privacy settings.
  4. Unsubscribe from unwanted newsletters or mailing lists.
  5. Use a secondary email address.
  6. Use a third-party email filter.
  7. Delete suspicious emails.
  8. Protect your device against malicious spam.
31 Aug 2022

Why am I getting so many spam emails on my iPhone? ›

This indicates to a spammer that your mailbox is active - and this can attract further unwanted mail. All the spammer has to do is monitor the source that serves the embedded content (such as an image) to determine that the email content, sent to you, has been accessed - thus confirming the mailbox is live.

How do I stop annoying spam emails from filling up my iPhone's inbox? ›

If you're an Apple user, you can minimize spam with the built-in Hide My Email tool, which helps keep your inbox lean by preventing junk emails from showing up in the first place. The feature is part of a trio of privacy-focused services for iCloud users that pay for iCloud Plus, which ranges from $1 to $10 per month.

How do I stop spam emails on my iPhone without opening them? ›

How to stop spam messages on your iPhone in 60 seconds
  1. Open Settings. Open the Setings app on your iPhone and scroll down and down until you find Messages. Tap it. ...
  2. Scroll until you find "Filter Unknown Messages" This is the magic. ...
  3. That's it. Now, if you go into your messages app, you'll see tabs at the top of the screen.
27 Oct 2022

Is it better to block or mark as spam? ›

But if you find a spam email in your regular inbox, don't delete the message — mark it as spam. Marking a suspicious email as spam will send it to the spam folder. Moving forward, if you receive any more emails from this address, the spam filter will know no to let it into your inbox.

How do I block all spam from my Phone? ›

To block spam messages on an Android, follow these steps:
  1. Go to the Messaging app and tap the three dots icon in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. rd.com.
  2. Tap on Settings, –> Spam Protection. rd.com.
  3. Scroll down until you find Enable Spam Protection. rd.com.
  4. Turn it on by swiping the button to the right. rd.com.
8 Aug 2022

Can I make a list on iPhone? ›

Create a new list: Tap Add List, choose an account (if you have more than one), enter a name, then choose a color and symbol for the list. Create a group of lists: Drag a list onto another list; or tap. , tap Edit Lists, tap Add Group, enter a name, then tap Create.

Does Apple have a checklist? ›

Go to Settings > Notes, tap Sort Checked Items, then tap Manually or Automatically. Check items as you complete them or uncheck all items to start over.

Does Apple have a checklist app? ›

Apple lets you automatically sort checklists, add indentations, rearrange items, and share them whenever you want to using the Notes app on your iPhone or iPad. It's pretty good for a free offering, but if you're looking for even more functionality, there are plenty of third-party notes apps to choose from as well.

What does automation do on iPhone? ›

What is automation? Automation is a type of shortcut that's activated by an event, rather than manually. You can use the Shortcuts app to set up a personal or home automation and then have the automated shortcut run when you arrive or depart, when you change a setting on your iPhone, at a time of day, and much more.

What is automation tools on iPhone? ›

lets you automate tasks you do often with just a tap or by asking Siri. Create shortcuts to get directions to the next event in your Calendar, move text from one app to another, and more. Choose ready-made shortcuts from the Gallery or build your own using different apps to run multiple steps in a task.

What is iOS automation? ›

UI Automation is a JavaScript library provided by Apple Inc, which can be used to perform an automated test on real devices and on iOS Simulator. This framework is added to iOS SDK4. 0. Using UI Automation, you can automate testing the application not only on the simulator but also the real device.

How do I make emails go to a specific folder in Apple Mail? ›

In Mail on iCloud.com, select the message or messages, then do either of the following: If you selected one message: Click. at the top right, choose a folder or create a new folder, then click Move. If you selected multiple messages: Click Move, choose a folder or create a new folder, then click Move.

Do Outlook rules work on iPhone? ›

Creating a rule or junk filter to automatically redirect emails to your preferred folder is an unavailable feature in Outlook for iOS as of this writing.

How do I limit emails on iPhone? ›

Go to Settings->Passwords & Accounts->"account name". From there, you may see an option for "Mail Days to Sync" that will determine how far back emails are kept. If you set to 3 days for instance, you will only have 3 days worth of emails for that account on your iPhone at any time.

How do I set up Gmail rules on iPhone? ›

How to Create Rules in Gmail on an iPhone or iPad
  1. Open “Gmail” and press the “Settings” button from the menu.
  2. Select your account and hit “Inbox Type.”
  3. Choose “Default Inbox.”
  4. Press the “Back” button, followed by “Inbox Categories.”
  5. You can now remove the existing categories and add new ones.
20 Aug 2022

How do I automatically organize emails into folders? ›

Create Rules to sort your email automatically
  1. Right-click a message.
  2. Select Rules.
  3. Choose Always move messages from [name of sender].
  4. Choose a folder or select New to create a new one.
  5. Select OK. Note: To make your rule more complicated, right-click a message and select Rules > Create Rule.

How do I automatically move emails from Inbox to a folder? ›

With a message selected and previewed in the Reading Pane or open in its own window, in the Move group, click Rules, and then click Always Move Messages From. Select a folder, and then click OK.

Is Mail or Outlook better on Iphone? ›

Outlook is more organized, secure, and stable, whereas Apple mail is simple and much easier to use. Overall, both have their merits and demerits based on which you can choose the one that fits your needs. We have discussed the major pros and cons of both email clients in this article.

Can you make Outlook rules on mobile? ›

Creating and managing rules from the mobile apps is not currently supported.

Do Outlook rules work on mobile? ›

While Microsoft's Outlook apps for Windows and macOS support client-side mail rules (those that run on your device), the Outlook apps for Android and iOS don't.

How do I clean up thousands of emails on my iPhone? ›

How to delete multiple email messages
  1. Open Mail and go to your Inbox.
  2. Tap Edit in the upper-right corner, then individually select the emails that you want to delete, or tap Select All.
  3. Tap Trash or Archive. If you only see Archive, touch and hold Archive to see other options like Trash Selected Messages.
19 Mar 2021

Does deleting emails free up space on your iPhone? ›

You can free up iCloud space when you delete email messages from your iCloud email account. You can also move email messages from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your Mac or PC, where they no longer count against your iCloud storage. Use the steps below to delete messages from your account.

How do I block multiple spam emails on my iPhone? ›

To block emails on iPhone, tap on the sender's name in the Mail app and select Block this Contact. To automatically send blocked emails to trash, change the Blocked Sender Options. The Blocked Sender Options are located in the iPhone Settings app under the Mail heading.

How do I create labels in Apple Mail? ›

Choose File > Print. Click the Style pop-up menu, then choose Mailing Labels. If you don't see the Style pop-up menu, click Show Details near the bottom-left corner. Click Layout or Label to customise postage labels.

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