Apple Mail Rules vs. iCloud Mail Rules: Everything You Need to Know

Mac Rules vs. iCloud Rules

With two options for creating automated inbox rules on Mac, it’s important to understand the differences between them before selecting one. Here’s a brief rundown of Apple Mail rules versus iCloud Mail rules.

After reviewing the above table, you’re likely deciding which option is right for you. If you want cross-device behavior for handling emails, go with iCloud rules. But if you want complex conditions or rules for non-iCloud accounts, choose Apple Mail rules on Mac.

Now, maybe you have a specific scenario and aren’t sure which rule system fits it best. Here are several common situations with which method is a better choice and why.

With all of this in mind, let’s walk through how to create rules in both Apple Mail on Mac and iCloud Mail.

How to Create Rules in Apple Mail on Mac

To automatically act on emails as they arrive and save time managing messages on Mac, you can set up Apple Mail filters in the form of rules. This allows you to do things like move emails from a particular sender to a folder or flag messages containing PDF attachments.

Open Mail on your Mac and follow these steps:

1. Select Mail → Settings in the menu bar.
2. Go to the Rules tab in the pop-up box.
3. Choose Add Rule.
4. Enter a Description (aka Name).
5. Pick any or all for the matching conditions. This is important if you add multiple conditions.
6. Add the first condition and select or enter the corresponding detail.
7. Add the first action and select or enter the corresponding detail.
8. Use the plus sign to add another condition or action.
9. Click OK to save the rule.

How to Create Rules in iCloud Mail

Now you may be wondering how to set up rules in Apple Mail on iPhone. For this, you have two options: The Mail app in your Settings and iCloud Mail in your web browser.

If you’re creating iCloud Mail rules on Mac, you’ll use the same steps. Just note that the available conditions are more limited than with Apple Mail rules.

iPhone Settings App

1. Open the Settings app and select Apps → Mail.
2. Choose Mail Accounts and pick iCloud.
3. Tap iCloud Mail Rules under Organize Your Inbox.
4. Select Add Rule and enter a Rule Name.
5. Beside Message, pick the condition and add the corresponding detail directly beneath.
6. Beside Action, pick the action and add the corresponding detail directly beneath.
7. Tap the checkmark in blue to save the rule.

When you finish, you’ll see all of your rules where you can select one to view or change it. You can also tap Edit to remove a rule or rearrange the order.

iCloud.com

1. Visit iCloud.com, sign in, and pick Mail.
2. Click Settings (gear icon) on the left and select Settings.
3. Choose Rules and use the plus sign to add a rule.
4. Enter a rule name.
5. Follow Steps 5 and 6 above to add the condition and action.
6. Click Add to save the rule.

You’ll then see a list of your rules. You can pick one to view, change, or delete it or rearrange the order.

Apple Mail Spam Filter: Junk Mail on Mac vs. iPhone

Apple Mail provides a built-in spam filter on both Mac and iPhone. However, there are some differences between how the feature works on each device.

The junk filter on Mac can be enabled or disabled, is configurable, and uses advanced training. However, on iPhone, the filter is enabled by default, not configurable, and allows for only basic training.

On Mac, you can choose from Training Mode or Automatic Mode for the junk filter:

• Training Mode: You decide which emails are junk and mark them as such.
• Automatic Mode: The filter works on its own and decides which emails are junk.

To configure the junk mail filter on Mac:

1. Open Mail and select Mail → Settings.
2. Go to the Junk Mail tab.
3. Mark the checkbox for Enable junk mail filtering.
4. Under When junk mail arrives, choose one of the following:
   • Mark as junk mail, but leave it in my inbox for Training Mode.
   • Move it to the Junk mailbox for Automatic Mode.
1. Mark any other options per your preference and then close the window.

With Training Mode, you can manually mark a message as Junk or Not Junk in a variety of ways. If you use Automatic Mode and notice the filter not correctly marking some messages, you can use these actions for better training as well.

To mark a message as Junk, do one of the following:

• Click the Junk button in the toolbar.
• Drag the email to the Junk folder.
• Right-click and pick Move to Junk.
• Select Message → Move to Junk in the menu bar.

To mark a message as Not Junk, do one of the following:

• Click the Not Junk button in the toolbar.
• Drag the email to your Inbox.
• Right-click and pick Move to Inbox.
• Select Message → Move to Inbox in the menu bar.

For additional options, learn how to block emails on Mac along with how to block iCloud emails.

Why Apple Mail Rules Stop Working

Have you encountered your Apple Mail rules not working correctly? Maybe the rules weren’t triggered as expected or disappeared after a system update.

Here are the top three failures users experience along with how to fix them.

Mail was closed when the email arrived: Because Mail rules run locally on your Mac, the Mail app must be open for the rules to process.

• Keep your Mac powered on and the Mail app running or switch to iCloud rules.

Rules disappear every time Mail quits: When Mail is enabled under iCloud Drive app syncing, it overwrites local rule changes on every launch with the stored iCloud version.

• Go to System Settings → Apple ID → iCloud → iCloud Drive → Apps syncing to iCloud Drive and turn off the Mail toggle.

Rules stopped auto-running after a macOS update: A common user problem where your rules exist but don’t trigger on incoming emails after a system update.

• Before walking through the fix below, ensure that:

The rule order is correct. Remember, rules run from top to bottom in the list. Upon the first match, Mail stops processing rules for that email. Try moving more specific rules above general rules.

There is a sender address mismatch. When using the From condition, it shows a display name, not the actual email address. Edit the rule using the exact address by going to View → Message → Raw Source and look for the From: email address.

If both of the above are configured correctly, perform these troubleshooting steps in order:

1. Confirm that rules are active in Mail → Settings → Rules. Be sure the checkboxes are marked.
2. Rebuild the affected mailbox by selecting it in Mail and choosing Mailbox → Rebuild.
3. Remove and recreate the rule(s).
4. Reset the Mail settings. Quit Mail, go to ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail/Data/Library/Preferences/, move the file com.apple.mail.plist to the Desktop, and relaunch Mail. This resets settings like signatures, preferences, and smart mailboxes, but does not affect your email accounts.

Rules Are Running But You’re Not Getting Notified

When you create a rule to move an email to a folder, the Mail app can suppress the alert. So, although the rule works correctly, you are not notified when it happens.

To receive notifications:

On Mac, you can add the Play Sound action to the rule. This provides you with an audio clue if your system notifications aren’t being triggered.

To add this action:

1. Go to Mail → Settings → Rules.
2. Select the rule and click Edit.
3. Use the plus sign to add an action.
4. Choose Play Sound and select the sound.
5. Click OK to save your change.

On iPhone, you can mark the rule’s destination folder as a Favorite and then enable alerts for Favorite Mailboxes.

This works for email accounts that support Push notifications such as iCloud and Exchange. For standard IMAP accounts like Gmail and Yahoo Mail, you may not receive an alert until you manually open the folder.

You can set this up in just two steps:

1. Open Mail and go to Mailboxes → Edit and choose the Folder.
2. Open the Settings and select Apps → Mail → Notifications → Customize Notifications → Favorite Mailboxes and enable Alerts.

Why Rules on Mac Don’t Apply to iPhone

The reason that rules work differently on Mac versus iPhone is the local versus server-side architecture. On Mac, rules run locally which means they process on your actual Mac. But on iPhone, rules run on the email server and not your iPhone.

With this in mind, the way in which your rules are processed depends on which platform receives the email first. For example, if you’re using Mail on your iPhone and your Mac is asleep, then the rule you set up on Mac won’t be triggered.

The solution for situations like this is to use iCloud Mail rules. But there’s a trade-off. The rules apply to both Mac and iPhone devices; however, the setup criteria are limited, and the rules only work with iCloud emails.

Conclusion

Whether you create Apple Mail rules on your Mac or set up an iCloud Mail filter on the web, be sure to keep the differences between the two systems in mind. Consider the depth of conditions you need, whether it’s for iCloud Mail or another service, and where you need the rules to run.

And remember, tools like Clean Email that complement the Mail app can help you bypass its limitations. You can use smart features and perform effective mailbox management on any device by adding Clean Email to your toolbox.