Best Unsubscribe Apps To Clean Up Email Inbox

Why You Can’t Unsubscribe From Newsletters

Most of our inboxes are filled with newsletters and other marketing messages. While you might have subscribed to some newsletters, many businesses buy email lists from other companies. This is why you often find yourself getting newsletters you didn't subscribe to. Unfortunately, it’s often much harder to clean up email subscriptions than any of us would like.

Today, most major email clients like Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook provide an unsubscribe button. Unfortunately, though, these buttons only appear for messages where the sender has included an unsubscribe link. This makes it challenging to unsubscribe from emails without an unsubscribe link. Also, there are many instances where a sender will not honor unsubscribe requests sent from email providers and clients, meaning their messages will continue to flood your inbox.

Of course, when you unsubscribe from emails manually using your email provider, you are not always removed from every distribution list a domain uses. For example, when you use the Gmail unsubscribe button, you can only remove yourself from one sender’s list at a time. If you receive, say, 20 unwanted marketing messages per day, it could take you hours to manually remove yourself with the Gmail unsubscribe feature.

Luckily, there are tons of apps to unsubscribe from emails. In many cases, using a third-party service to unsubscribe from emails is the best way to prevent these unwanted messages from returning to your inbox.

The 8 Best Unsubscribe Apps Available Today

A quick internet search for an email unsubscribe app will yield dozens of possible options. Therefore, we’ve carefully tested the best email unsubscribe app recommendations and are sharing what we’ve learned so you can decide which email unsubscribe tool will work best for you.

When comparing these tools, we looked at the ease of use, unsubscribe accuracy, and other included features before recommending what we feel are the best options. Furthermore, we only included options on this list that are privacy-focused because we do not recommend using email unsubscribe apps that sell user data, even when it is anonymized and aggregated.

Based on our testing, these are the top eight apps to unsubscribe from emails available today:

• Clean Email: Best Overall Tool to Unsubscribe from Emails
• Mailstrom: Easy To Set Up Email Unsubscribe App
• Sanebox: Best Unsubscribe Service for Users With Multiple Inboxes
• Leave Me Alone: Simplest Service to Unsubscribe From Emails
• Chuck Email: Great for Apple Users
• Shortwave: Best Unsubscribe Tool for Gmail
• Unlistr: Perfect Option for Outlook Users
• Trimbox: Best Easy-to-use Email Unsubscribe Tool

2. Mailstrom (web)

Price: Begins at $9/month for one email account, with a free option available for managing up to 1,250 emails.

Mailstrom offers a web-based unsubscribe service that is compatible with a wide array of email clients. With Mailstrom, you can declutter your inbox, delete messages in bulk, block senders, and unsubscribe from newsletters with just a few clicks. This email unsubscribe tool also sorts your messages by size, time, sender, subject, and more, which makes it easier to take action on a group of similar messages all at once.

To unsubscribe from mailings in Mailstrom, select Mailing Lists in the View Messages By section in the left menu bar. From here, you can select a sender and then choose Unsubscribe from the options in the top menu bar. When you do this, Mailstrom automatically removes you from the mailing list if an unsubscribe address is present; if not, it directs you to the sender’s website for manual unsubscription in a new browser tab.

Additionally, you can use this service to delete all of the messages in your mailbox from a single sender, mark the sender as spam, block their address, and more. Mailstrom keeps track of how many messages you get rid of per day with a handy tracker, which can help some people stay motivated when clearing out the clutter.

Email providers supported: Mailstrom supports Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo Mail, Live, MSN, and other mailboxes that work with IMAP.

3. Sanebox (web, iOS)

Price: Begins at $7/month per email account, with a 14-day trial available.

SaneBox is an email management service that works with almost any email provider. One of its most notable features, Sanebox Blackhole, helps you clear out newsletters and emails you no longer wish to receive, all with a few clicks. This email unsubscribe tool also offers numerous other options, like automatic email sorting, message archiving, notification pauses, and more.

Before using the Sanebox Blackhole (or any other features), you must first sync your inbox and allow the app to perform a Deep Clean. This will scan your inbox and provide recommendations for deleting messages. After that, you can navigate to Tools in the left menu bar, then select Organize to view your inbox via SaneBox. Select any messages you want to unsubscribe from, then select Train to @SaneBlackHole from the available actions. This will automatically move all messages from that sender into the Sanebox Blackhole and remove you from the subscription list.

If you're a Gmail user using Sanebox, moving an email to the SaneBlackHole folder will automatically send all future emails from that sender to the trash. You can also move emails to other folders like SaneLater, SaneNews, SaneTomorrow, etc. However, a drawback of Sanebox is that it sends newsletters to Trash instead of unsubscribing, meaning the emails will return once you stop using this unsubscribe service.

Unlike other recommended unsubscribe apps on this list, Sanebox utilizes machine learning and a powerful AI to unsubscribe from emails. The more actions you perform, the more Sanebox pays attention and starts handling those actions for you. It’s an easy way to clear out the clutter automatically.

Email providers supported: SaneBox works anywhere you check your email, on your PC or Mac, desktop or mobile, Gmail, Exchange, Outlook, Yahoo Mail, IBM Notes, and anything in between.

4. Leave Me Alone (web)

Price: $7 for a 7-day full access pass. Subscription starts at $9.00/month.

Leave Me Alone is another best email unsubscribe app that provides excellent unsubscribing service while taking the privacy of its users to heart. It also offers users a robust screening tool to effectively manage and filter incoming emails for a more focused inbox.

To start unsubscribing, just enter your email address to create an account. Once you have verified your email and finished the setup process, Leave Me Alone will provide you with a list of subscription messages it found, sorted by sender. From here, you can mark whether you want to keep the messages from each sender in your inbox or unsubscribe.

The Rollup feature in Leave Me Alone consolidates selected newsletters and sales offers into a weekly digest, keeping your inbox tidy while ensuring you don't miss out on preferred content.

Along with its user-friendly tool to unsubscribe from emails, Leave Me Alone also offers the Inbox Shield feature. It monitors your inbox for new emails and moves any that match your predefined Shield Blocklists to a hidden folder, ensuring they don't clutter your inbox. This feature is compatible with various email providers and allows you to still access blocked emails in a specific folder, giving you control and focus without losing important messages.

Unfortunately, both the Rollup feature and the Shield tool in Leave Me Alone are exclusive to paid subscribers and are not included in the free version.

Email providers supported: This email unsubscribe app supports Gmail, Google Workspace, Outlook, Office 365, Live, Hotmail, MSN, and all other mailboxes that work with IMAP.

5. Chuck Email (iOS, macOS)

Price: Begins at $3.99 monthly.

If you are a die-hard fan of Apple products, then Chuck Email may be the best app to unsubscribe from emails for you. It’s exclusively designed for iOS (and compatible with macOS 11.0 or later), and it makes taking your name off mailing lists a breeze.

Once you download this email unsubscribe app and connect your inbox, you can use the Unsubscribe feature by clicking on it in the bottom menu bar. The tool will display any senders currently in your inbox that you can unlist from. Simply select the messages, then choose ‘Unsubscribe From Lists’ to remove them from your life.

Unfortunately, Chuck’s unsubscribe feature is limited to senders who provide an Unsubscribe button in their communications. We found that the app didn’t allow you to tell it if a message was a marketing email that should go to ‘unsubscribe’, meaning you can’t opt out of many marketing blasts since they don’t have an easy way to opt out already built into the message.

Other features within Chuck Email include a filtering tool, and the ability to perform actions on an entire group of emails. Other than that, it’s a very basic unsubscribe email app without a lot of mailbox management options. Also, Chuck provides a limited seven-day trial, after which you must opt for Chuck Pro with an annual fee.

Email providers supported: Compatible with most common email providers, such as Gmail, Outlook, Hotmail, MSN, Fastmail, Yahoo Mail, iCloud, AOL, and all other mailboxes that work with IMAP.

6. Shortwave (iOS, Android, Mac, Windows)

Price: Starting at $8.50 per user/month for individuals with gmail.com or .edu accounts. Offers a free plan for casual users.

If you are a Gmail user, then Shortwave is a great option for those who need to declutter their inbox. The app developers boast that Shortwave will help users “save an hour a day” when it comes to reading and writing emails.

Shortwave offers an easy-to-operate, one-click unsubscribe feature. All you have to do is set up your Gmail account with Shortwave, then select a message you want to opt out from. You can click on the three dots to see all the available actions for the message, one of which will be Unsubscribe. It’s that simple!

That being said, we noticed during our testing that the Unsubscribe button was not available for every message. Only senders who provide a clear path to unsubscribe will be included. If you find a message you don’t want but can’t unsubscribe, you can utilize Shortwave’s Block Spam tool instead.

Another drawback to Shortwave in comparison to other apps on this list is the fact that it only works with Gmail. If you use Outlook, Yahoo, AOL, or other email providers, you’ll have to skip over Shortwave. It is also the one “free forever” option on this list, which makes it more appealing to Gmail users who just need to unsubscribe from emails free.

Providers supported: Works exclusively with Gmail. It does, however, support Google Workspace accounts.

7. Unlistr (Outlook plugin)

Price: $19.99/year.

Like Shortwave, Unlistr is an app to remove email subscriptions that is exclusive to just one email provider. In this case, however, it is Outlook, not Gmail, that Unlistr supports.

Instead of being a proprietary app that you log into, we discovered that Unlistr is just a simple plug-in you install to work alongside your Outlook inbox. This is great for Outlook users who love the look and feel of the Outlook desktop app, because you don’t have to relearn a new system — you just need to know where the button is to unsubscribe.

To determine subscription-based messages, Unlistr scans messages for key information. Then, when you press ‘unsubscribe’, Unlistr handles unsubscribe requests on your behalf. Unfortunately, this scanning method doesn’t always work, and we found that not all subscription messages get caught.

Unlistr isn’t made to perform other inbox management tasks, either. It’s just made for removing mass mailings from your inbox.

Providers supported: Unlistr works exclusively with Outlook and Office365.

8. Trimbox (Chrome extension)

Price: From $3.33 monthly, billed annually at $39.99. Offers unsubscribing from 10 subscriptions for free.

Like Unlistr, Trimbox isn’t a separate unsubscribe email app, but rather an add-on. However, this one works via a Chrome extension, meaning you can only use it via the Google Chrome web browser for your Gmail account.

Here’s how it works: You download the Chrome extension. Then, just open your Gmail inbox as usual. Trimbox will identify messages you can unlist from in your inbox and mark them with a simple logo. Click the scissor logo, and Trimbox will unsubscribe for you. It will also provide a pop-up that lets you delete all messages from that sender as it unsubscribes.

We didn’t notice any immediate issues during our testing. However, we did read several reviews from veteran users who claim the app simply blocks each email address you request to unsubscribe from. This means that if the owner of the mailing list changes the address they use, you may start receiving emails from them again.

Because of its simplistic design, Trimbox isn’t meant to serve as an inbox management solution. It just helps you clear out newsletters and other mass mailings.

Providers supported: Trimbox works exclusively with Gmail as a Chrome extension.

What About Free Unsubscribe Apps?

In addition to the unsubscribe apps outlined above, there are also completely free options. Many of these apps, such as Unroll.me and Cleanfox, offer similar features in terms of unsubscribing you from unwanted newsletters and marketing mailings. Like the paid versions listed above, you give these apps access to your email inbox, then they create lists of newsletters and other mailings you receive so you can choose which ones to keep and which to unlist from.

Unfortunately, the perk of receiving these services for free comes with a different kind of price tag — your privacy. For example, Unroll.me has been caught selling customer data. Similarly, Cleanfox collects and anonymizes data for research purposes, which still can be problematic in its own way.

If you care about privacy and keeping your data out of the hands of marketers or anyone else, then it’s absolutely worth the small price to go with an Unroll.me alternative, like any of the paid apps mentioned above. This is the only way to guarantee that the contents of your messages and other personal data are secure.

Conclusion

When looking to declutter your mailbox, any of the best apps to unsubscribe from emails mentioned above will serve you just fine. However, if you are looking for extra features such as the ability to set parameters for quicker email cleaning, read later features, and more, Clean Email is the number one app to unsubscribe from emails. It also lists all newsletters you've unsubscribed from, simplifying resubscription if needed.

Wondering how to unsubscribe from YouTube emails or stop Twitter notifications? Our blog will help you learn how to stop spam emails from cluttering your inbox and achieve Inbox Zero.