Delete on Arrival: How to Filter Out Unwanted Email
Managing your inbox can be a daunting task, especially when unwanted emails keep piling up. Thankfully, Gmail provides a handy feature that allows you to create filters to automatically manage your incoming messages. If you find yourself overwhelmed by spam or promotional emails, you can set up a filter to send specific emails directly to the trash. Here’s how to do it:
Open Gmail
Sign in to your Gmail account on your computer. Note: it is not possible at this time to create filters from the mobile app.
Find the Email to Filter
Navigate to your inbox and locate the email you want to filter. This could be a promotional email, a newsletter, or any other message you wish to manage. This is a particularly good technique for emails that you have unsubscribed to or have marked as SPAM that keep popping up in your inbox.
Create your Filter
Select the email either by opening it or using the checkbox next to the email. Then, click the more menu in the upper right corner of the email; the three little dots (⋮). Select “Filter messages like these.”
A filter creation dialog box will appear with pre-filled criteria based on the email you selected. You’ll see options to filter by From (the sender’s email address), Subject, and Has the words (keywords in the email body). Adjust any criteria as necessary to be more specific or broad, depending on your needs.
Click on “Create filter” at the bottom right of the dialog box.
You will see options for actions you can apply to emails that match your filter criteria.
To keep your inbox clear and reduce your environmental impact we recommend choosing, “Delete it”. This will send the filtered emails directly to trash. Messages that have been in Trash more than 30 days will be automatically deleted.
Make a bigger impact! Check the option for “Also apply filter to # matching conversations.” Gmail will automatically display the number of emails that have matched your filtering criteria so you can see exactly how much progress you are making.
Click on “Create filter” at the bottom to finalize the filter.
Creating filters in Gmail to automatically send unwanted emails to the trash can save you time and help keep your inbox organized. By following these simple steps, you can take control of your email experience and focus on what matters most. Happy filtering!