How to Whitelist an Email: Full Guide for 2024

Understanding how to whitelist an email is key to managing your inbox efficiently. This guide will explain the steps to ensure important messages bypass spam filters and land directly in your inbox. Additionally, you will learn how using the Clean Email app can further improve your email management.

What Does Whitelist Mean?

Whitelisting is a simple yet crucial step in email security best practices. It simply means telling your mail service to always let certain emails in. It works by adding an address to a special list so that its emails arrive in your inbox and never get marked as spam.

If a sender is mistakenly blacklisted, their messages will lend up the junk folder. Since you don’t want that, the following email whitelisting instructions will help you avoid the trouble of having important messages identified as spam.

No matter which service provider you use, understanding what is whitelisting an email will benefit you. So let’s help you make sure all the important emails go to your inbox whether you are using Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, or other email providers.

How to Whitelist an Email in Gmail

If you use Gmail as your email provider, it’s easy to stop certain Gmail messages from going to spam. You just need to set Gmail spam filters to never mark all future communications from that sender as unwanted mail. Whitelisting emails in Gmail can be done quickly through the web client:

  1. Log in to your Gmail account.
  2. Click the Settings gear icon in the top-right corner, then select See all settings.
  3. Select See all settingsSelect See all settings
  4. Navigate to the tab labeled Filters and Blocked Addresses to access information about your existing filters, and select Create a new filter.
  5. Select Create a new filterSelect Create a new filter

    💡 Note: To whitelist a single sender, type the entire address. On the other hand, if you’re trying to whitelist every sender from a certain domain, type the domain alone, such as “@yahoo.com”. This will set Gmail spam settings to approve every message from a Yahoo sender.

  6. Enter the emails or domains you want to add to the Gmail whitelist into the From section.
  7. Click Create filter to confirm.
  8. Put a mark next to Never send it to Spam to add this address to the Gmail safe sender list.
  9. Click Create filter again to save settings.

Using Gmail's filter settings, you can also star these emails, apply a chosen label, mark them as important, or perform other actions.

Whitelisting in Gmail mobile app

The Gmail mobile app does not have an option to create advanced filters, but it offers the possibility to whitelist senders in your spam folder:

  1. Open the Gmail app.
  2. Navigate to Spam or Junk folder.
  3. Click on the message you wish to view.
  4. Select the option Report not spam. You will now receive messages from this sender as normal.

How to Whitelist an Email in Outlook

To whitelist email domain or a specific address in Outlook.com means adding it to a group called Safe senders. A whitelisted address will bypass Outlook spam filters and be delivered to your inbox. To add an address or domain to the Safe senders list:

  1. Sign in to your Outlook inbox on the web.
  2. Select the gear icon in the top right corner to access Settings.
  3. Select the gear icon in the top right corner
  4. On the left sidebar, click on Mail, then navigate to Junk email.
  5. Click on +Add under Safe senders and domains to add a contact to the allowed list.
  6. Enter the domain name or email address you wish to add to Safe senders. Make sure to include the @ character for domain names.

Alternatively, you can simply add an individual address that has sent you a message to your Outlook Contacts. Though they lead to the same result, this method is quicker and more efficient than manually entering information.

Whitelisting in Outlook mobile app

You can also whitelist emails in Outlook using your mobile device. Here’s how:

  1. Open the Outlook mobile app.
  2. Open a message from a sender you want to whitelist.
  3. Click on the three dots on the top.
  4. Click Move to Focused Inbox.
  5. In the pop-up window, click Always Move to save your decision.

How to Whitelist an Email in Yahoo Mail

If you want to move a sender or domain name to the Yahoo Mail whitelist, the process is even simpler than with other service providers mentioned above. If you have already received at least one message from the address and it ended up in the Spam folder, open the message and mark it as Not Spam.

Mark Emails as Not SpamMark Emails as Not Spam

Once you have marked the email as not spam in Yahoo, the Yahoo spam filter will automatically allow future messages from the same address into your inbox.

However, if the person you’re attempting to whitelist hasn’t yet sent you a message, you’ll need to go through the following steps to whitelist the address:

  1. Navigate to Settings icon, then click More Settings from the Yahoo Mail menu.
  2. Click More Settings
  3. Select Filters and hit Add new filters to enter information about the domain name or sender.
  4. How to whitelist Yahoo MailHow to whitelist Yahoo Mail
  5. From here, you can enter any string of text you want to whitelist in future emails. This could be anything from an email address or domain name to something you expect to be in the body of the message.
  6. How to whitelist Yahoo Mail using filtersHow to whitelist Yahoo Mail using filters
  7. Fill in the details and save the filter.

Whitelisting in Yahoo Mail mobile app

To whitelist Yahoo Mail on mobile, just follow these easy instructions:

  1. Open the Yahoo Mail mobile app.
  2. Click on the Inbox folder icon in the bottom left.
  3. Choose Spam from the options.
  4. Find and select an email from the sender you wish to whitelist.
  5. Click Move and then select Inbox.

How to Whitelist an Email Address in AOL

Many people looking for AOL whitelisting instructions are confused by the fact that there’s no traditional email whitelist. Instead, it considers all mail addresses users have in their address books to be trustworthy. This means that the contact list in AOL essentially serves the same purpose as the Gmail and Outlook whitelists.

Here are step-by-step instructions for whitelisting an email address in AOL:

  1. Log in to your AOL account.
  2. Open Contacts from the left navigation pane.
  3. Click the New Contact icon and enter the required information.
  4. Click the Save button at the bottom.

As you can see, the entire process is straightforward, and deleting existing contacts is similarly easy. All you need to do is select the address you want to delete, click Edit contact, and click Delete contact at the bottom of the page.

If you want to block the deleted contact, you need to go to SettingsSecurity and privacyBlocked addresses. There, you can add the contact to your email blacklist or even choose to clock all senders except contacts.

How to Whitelist an Email Address in Zoho

Because of its enterprise-oriented nature, Zoho does a lot to protect its users from spam emails (which are the biggest source of phishing scams), and it equips them with many effective tools to help them ensure that illegitimate messages are blocked and legitimate ones are delivered.

One such tool is the Zoho whitelist, and this is what you need to do to add a mail address to it:

  1. Login to Zoho Mail.
  2. Go to Settings.
  3. Navigate to Anti-Spam and click on the Email Address option.
  4. In the Allowlist / Blocklist Emails tab, click + Add.
  5. Enter the address and click Add again or press the Enter key.

How to Whitelist an Email Address in ProtonMail

ProtonMail is a secure email provider that uses end-to-end encryption to protect its users from spammers, hackers, and other unauthorized third parties. It has a built-in smart spam detection system capable of automatic mail filtering.

While ProtonMail’s spam detection system is typically very reliable and accurate, it can make a mistake from time to time and place a legitimate message in the spam folder. To prevent this from happening, users can whitelist trustworthy mail addresses by adding them to the ProtonMail whitelist.

  1. Log in to your ProtonMail account.
  2. Click the Settings gear icon in the top right and press All settings button.
  3. Click the Filters tab.
  4. Press Add address or domain button under Spam, block, and allow lists. Then select Allow.
  5. Enter the sender’s email or domain name and click Add address.

How Clean Email Can Simplify Email Management

Clean Email is a bulk online email cleaner that brings inbox management to the next level. Not only can you secure your important messages, but you can also block unwelcome senders, unsubscribe from marketing newsletters, automate recurring email tasks, and much more.

Here's how to create a rule in Clean Email to ensure important emails go to your Inbox:

  1. Log onto the app at https://app.clean.email/ using your email account credentials.
  2. Choose the Auto Clean tool and press the Plus icon at the top.
  3. Automatic rules with feature Auto Clean in Clean EmailAutomatic rules with feature Auto Clean in Clean Email
  4. Define your filter criteria by entering the email addresses you wish to filter and deciding the action for matching messages (e.g., Move to Inbox or a custom folder) to ensure they don't go to the Spam folder.
  5. Confirm by clicking the Create Rule button.

Now that you've secured important senders, it's time to explore the other advanced features that Clean Email offers.

Consider the Screener feature: it acts as a gatekeeper for your inbox, isolating emails from new senders. This means you can review and either allow or block emails from these senders before they reach your main Inbox. This is particularly useful for avoiding spammers and phishing threats.

Stop spam emails with Screener feature in Clean EmailStop spam emails with Screener feature in Clean Email

The Auto Clean feature helps you automate email management. You can set it to automatically star replies or flag important senders. With Auto Clean, you have the option to create rules to send promotional messages directly to Trash or organize newsletters into a specific folder.

Auto Clean feature with Clean EmailAuto Clean feature with Clean Email

With the Unsubscriber tool, reducing inbox clutter becomes effortless. It enables easy unsubscribing from newsletters and marketing emails with just a few clicks. Moreover, the tool processes opt-out requests and even fills out unsubscribe forms on your behalf.

Unsubscribe from emails with Clean EmailUnsubscribe from emails with Clean Email

The Cleaning Suggestions tool is designed to offer smart recommendations for managing your main inbox. It analyzes your past actions and data from other users to suggest quick and effective actions for your emails, such as deleting or archiving, helping to keep your inbox clear and focused.

Cleaning Suggestions feature in Clean EmailCleaning Suggestions feature in Clean Email

In addition to these features, Clean Email offers a range of other tools to explore, each designed to enhance your inbox management experience. The app is conveniently available for download on Mac, Android, or iOS devices.

Check out our blog to learn more about email encryption, and what spoofed emails and disposable email addresses are.


How to Whitelist an Email - FAQs

What does it mean to whitelist an email?

A whitelisted email address is considered trustworthy, ensuring messages from it consistently reach the inbox. Email whitelisting helps ensure that important messages from known senders won’t end up in the spam folder.

How to whitelist in Gmail?

You need to log in to Gmail in your web browser and whitelist the email address from there: create a filter in the Settings under 'Filters and Blocked Addresses,' enter the email address you wish to whitelist, and select 'Never send it to Spam.'

How to whitelist an email address in Outlook?

In Outlook, users can mark senders as safe, achieving the same effect as whitelisting in other mail providers. The 'Safe Senders' list is located under 'Junk Email Options' in the Settings.

Where to find a Gmail safe sender list?

In Gmail, there isn't a specific 'safe sender list' feature. Instead, you can manage safe senders by creating filters in the 'Filters and Blocked Addresses' section under Settings, where you specify email addresses to never send to Spam.

How do you get whitelisted?

Getting whitelisted on servers can be challenging for newer companies not yet recognized by major email providers. To improve your chances, consider including instructions in your initial emails for subscribers to whitelist you. Also, incorporate whitelisting requests in your messages for visibility. Remember, moderation is key; sending too many messages might lead to them being marked as spam.

How to whitelist a mail in Yahoo?

To whitelist in Yahoo Mail, create mail filters for trusted addresses or mark messages as 'Not Spam'. This helps ensure important emails aren't missed.

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