How Clean Email Processes Incoming Mail

Clean Email helps you keep your mailbox clean by automatically applying your cleaning rules, sender settings, and conditions such as Block, Mute or “Deliver to” each time a new message arrives in your account. This article describes the specific steps that Clean Email follows for each new message, to prevent unwanted messages from reaching your inbox.

For each new message in your account, Clean Email automatically applies your cleaning rules in the following sequence. If none of the cleaning rules applies, the message is delivered to your Inbox:

1. Screener - When a new message is received, if the sender has never previously emailed you and you have activated the Screener–which is disabled by default–the sender’s message is screened and kept out of your inbox for your review. You can review all screened messages and choose to accept or block the sender from the Screener page.
   
   When a new sender’s message is screened by the Screener, Clean Email does not apply any further automatic cleaning to the message.
   
   For more information about the Screener, please see Screener.
2. Blocked Senders - If a sender is blocked via the Screener feature, the Sender Settings, or the Unsubscriber, new messages from the sender are immediately moved to the trash so you do not have to see them in your inbox.
   
   For more information about blocking senders, please see Block or Mute a Sender, Unsubscriber, and Does Blocking an Email Address Stop the Sender from Emailing Me?
3. Sender-Specific Cleaning Actions - If a sender is not blocked, Clean Email applies any other cleaning actions you have configured for the message’s sender via Sender Settings or the Unsubscriber. This may include automatic actions such as moving the message to a specific folder or label, marking the message with a star or flag, marking the message as read, or archiving the message.
   
   For complete details on the actions available via Sender Settings, please see Sender Settings and Unsubscriber.
4. Auto Clean - If a sender is not blocked, Clean Email applies any applicable Auto Clean rules last, after any other sender-specific actions you have configured via Sender Settings or the Unsubscriber. The Auto Clean feature–which is recommended for advanced users–gives you direct control over identifying which messages are to be cleaned and applying almost any action to clean them.
   
   For more information, please see Auto Clean Overview.

Do you have more questions?

Please contact us and we will be happy to help.