How to Add a Contact to a Safe Sender List in Gmail
Have you been looking high and low and can’t figure out how to find the safe sender list in Gmail? There’s a simple explanation for the mystery — there is no such Gmail feature.
📌 Unlike providers like Microsoft Outlook that allow you to whitelist emails, Google does not offer this option for its Gmail users.
That being said, there are a few workarounds you can use to create a safe sender list in Gmail.
Create a Gmail Filter or Rule for Safe Senders
You may be familiar with Gmail filters for automating tasks like applying labels or forwarding messages. You can use this same feature to ensure that emails from certain senders aren’t marked as spam.
📌 For an option to create inbox rules directly on your mobile device, try Clean Email’s Auto Clean feature, as the Gmail mobile app does not support creating filters or rules.
Gmail on the Web
There are a couple of ways to create a Gmail filter. But to eliminate extra steps, we’ll show you the simplest method for a message from a particular sender.
Visit Gmail on the web, sign in, and follow these steps:
- Open an email from the sender and click the three dots on the top right.
- Select Filter messages like this.
- When the email address appears at the top, optionally enter additional addresses.
- Click Create filter.
- Check the box for Never send it to Spam along with any other actions you wish to apply.
- Click Create filter.
📌 Tip: To view, edit, or create new filters, you can go to Settings → See all settings → Filters and Blocked Addresses.
Clean Email
Similar to Gmail filters, Clean Email offers inbox rules for saving safe senders from being delivered to the Spam folder. What’s nice about this method is that you can create your rule using Clean Email on the web, Mac desktop, or mobile (both Android and iOS).
Also like Gmail filters, you have a few different ways to set up a rule in Clean Email. But, we’ll show you the quickest method if you have the sender’s email already in view.
Using Clean Email on the web, follow these steps:
- Beside an email in your list, click the arrow next to Settings.
- Select Deliver To Folder.
- Use the Choose or create Label menu to pick Inbox or another label if you prefer.
- Optionally apply the rule to existing messages and Confirm.
All future emails you receive from that sender will land in your Inbox or labeled per the option you selected.
💡 Tip: You can set up a single rule for multiple safe senders by going to Auto Clean, creating a new rule, and adding all sender email addresses to the list.
Gmail on Mobile
Unfortunately, you can’t currently create advanced filters using the Gmail mobile app.
✅ Instead, you can use the Clean Email app on Android or iPhone to set up a rule for safe senders as described above. This feature, as well as all others, works in Clean Email on all your devices!
Mark Emails From Safe Senders as “Not Spam”
If Gmail designates an email as spam that’s from one of your safe senders, you can mark it as “not spam” to teach Gmail that the sender’s messages are welcome.
Gmail on the Web
Marking a message as not spam takes only a few steps on the web.
- Display the left-hand menu, if necessary, using the three lines on the top left.
- Select Spam. Note that you may have to expand More to see the Spam label.
- Open an email and click the Report not spam button in the shaded area of the message.
You should notice new emails you receive from that sender are no longer labeled as spam. However, you may need to allow a few days for the action to take effect.
Clean Email
Clean Email provides a handy feature called Screener which displays emails from unknown senders in one spot. By visiting this section, you can allow messages from safe senders contacting you for the first time as well as stop unwanted emails from entering your inbox.
- Select Screener in the Tools section of the left-hand menu.
- To the right of a message from your sender, choose Allow.
- Optionally, use the arrow next to Allow to deliver future messages to a particular folder.
💡 Tip: If you only have a few messages in the Screener area that are all safe senders, you can save time by choosing Allow All at the top.
Gmail on Mobile
You can also mark messages as “not spam” using the Gmail mobile app on Android and iPhone.
- Open the left-hand menu using the three lines on the top left.
- Select Spam.
- Open an email and tap the Report not spam button. If you don’t see this button, tap the three dots on the right and pick Report not spam.
Add an Email Address to the Gmail Contact List
One more option to add someone to a safe sender list in Gmail is by saving them as a Google Contact. While there is no guarantee that the sender’s messages will avoid being labeled as spam, it does tell Gmail’s spam filter that you want emails from that sender.
Gmail on the Web
You can add a contact directly from an email in Gmail on the web without the need to open the Google Contacts webpage.
- Select or open a message from the sender.
- Hover your cursor over their name or email address.
- Click the Add to contacts icon on the top right of the pop-up card.
The sender is then added to your Google Contacts which you can view by opening the card.
Gmail on Mobile
Like adding a sender to your Google Contacts in Gmail on the web, you can do so in the mobile app too. This allows you to use a makeshift safe sender list in Gmail on iPhone and Android.
- Open an email from the sender and tap their profile icon.
- Tap the Add to contacts icon on the top right of the pop-up card.
- You will be taken to the Google Contacts website in your selected web browser.
- Optionally add more details in the card that appears and choose Save.
Get a Gmail Productivity Boost With Clean Email
We’ve already explained a couple of Clean Email’s helpful features for managing your emails from important senders. But Clean Email does even more to assist with mailbox management. You can filter important messages, stop spam from taking over, and keep your inbox organized.
Smart Folders: See related messages in one convenient spot. Smart Folders filter emails like social notifications, food delivery confirmations, automated messages, online shopping communications, and more. This lets you read or act on emails in bulk.
Unsubscriber: Remove yourself from multiple mailing lists at one time. Plus, you can temporarily pause subscriptions for a quick cleanup or resubscribe if you change your mind.
Cleaning Suggestions: Get recommendations for cleaning up your inbox. You can do things like trash, archive, or mark messages as read. The suggestions learn from your actions over time for easily managing several groups of emails at once.
Wrap-Up
Now that you know how to update a safe sender list in Gmail using workarounds, you can make sure that messages from people you know aren’t missed or marked as spam. And by using Clean Email, you’re on your way to a tidier, more organized mailbox.
FAQs
How to add email to the safe sender list in Gmail?
Gmail doesn’t have a native safe sender list, but you can create a filter to prevent emails from specific senders from being marked as spam or use Clean Email’s Auto Clean feature to achieve the same result.
Where is the safe sender list in Gmail?
Gmail does not provide a dedicated safe sender list feature. Instead, you can use filters or mark emails as “not spam” to manage safe senders.
How to update the safe sender list in Gmail?
To manage safe senders, modify existing filters in Gmail or adjust inbox rules in Clean Email for more control. Additionally, adding senders to your Google Contacts can help.
