Mark or unmark Spam in Gmail

You can mark or unmark emails as spam. Gmail also automatically identifies spam and other suspicious emails and sends them to Spam.

Mark or unmark emails as spam

Mark emails as spam

The more you report spam, the better Gmail gets at automatically marking similar messages as spam.

Make sure you've downloaded the Gmail app.
On your iPhone or iPad, open the Gmail app .
Tap the sender's profile image next to the message you want to mark as spam.
In the top right, tap More Report spam.

Note: When you tap Report spam or manually move an email into your Spam folder, Google will receive a copy of the email and may analyze it to help protect our users from spam and abuse.

Delete the emails in Spam

Make sure you've downloaded the Gmail app.
On your iPhone or iPad, open the Gmail app .
In the top left, tap Menu Spam.
Tap Empty spam now.

Unmark an email as spam

If an email was incorrectly marked as spam, follow the steps below to remove it from Spam.

Make sure you've downloaded the Gmail app.
On your iPhone or iPad, open the Gmail app .
In the top left, tap Menu Spam.
Select the message that isn't spam.
Tap More Not spam.

To stop a message from being sent to Spam in the future, you can:

Add the sender to your Contacts
Filter these messages

Why emails are automatically marked as spam

Gmail automatically identifies spam and suspicious emails and marks those emails as spam. When you open your Spam label, you'll see any emails that were marked as spam by you or Gmail. Each email will include a label at the top that explains why it was sent to Spam.

Spoofed email addresses

What this warning means

An email address looks confusingly similar to the email address of a known sender. For example, the email address may replace the letter "O" with the number "0."

What to do if you see this warning

Don't reply to the email or open any links until you can verify that the email address is correct.

If you happen to notice a spoofed email address, but it’s not marked with a warning, be sure to report it as spam.

Phishing scams

What this warning means

The email may be trying to trick you into sharing personal information, like passwords or credit card numbers.

What to do if you see this warning

Don't reply to the email or open any links.
If you aren't sure the email is from a trusted sender, report the email as phishing.

Note: Google will never ask for personal information over email. Learn how to avoid and report Google scams.

Messages from an unconfirmed sender

What this warning means

Gmail can't confirm that the email was actually sent by the particular person or company that appears to be sending it.

What to do if you see this warning

Don't reply to the email or open any links.
If you aren't sure the email is from a trusted sender, report the email as phishing.

If you're confident the message is not malicious:

In the top right, tap More Not spam.
To prevent messages from a trusted sender from going to Spam, follow these troubleshooting steps.

Administrator-set policies

What this warning means

If you use Gmail through your work, school, or organization, your admin might set controls to mark certain emails as spam.

What to do if you see this warning

If you see emails that are incorrectly marked as spam, contact your admin.

You tried to unsubscribe from this sender

What this warning means

If you unsubscribed from someone's emails but they keep messaging you, their emails will go directly to Spam.

What to do if you see this warning

If you don't want these emails showing in your Spam, unmark the email as spam.

Messages content is empty

What this warning means

Spammers often send messages with no content in the body or subject to check whether email addresses are valid. Then, they spam those addresses later.

What to do if you see this warning

If the email looks suspicious, don't reply. You can report it as spam or phishing.

If the email is from someone you know and you think it was sent by mistake, unmark the email as spam.

Messages you sent to Spam

What this warning means

When you mark a message as spam or phishing, it gets removed from your inbox and sent to your Spam folder. Messages from the same sender might be sent to Spam in the future.

What to do if you see this warning

If you don't want the email to be in Spam, unmark the email as spam.
If you mistakenly reported the message as phishing, unmark the message as phishing.
To stop a message from being sent to Spam in the future, filter these messages.

Gmail account is under a spam attack

What this warning means

You're getting a lot of unwanted emails, such as subscriptions or promotional offers. A hacker is filling your inbox so that you can't find important security alerts from websites or services you've signed up for using your Gmail account.

For example, if the hacker is trying to get into your bank account, your bank can notify you by email. If your inbox is full of junk mail, you might miss that alert.

What to do if you see this warning

Search your inbox and Spam for security alerts, then respond to the emails you find.
Do a Google Security Checkup and follow these security tips.

I'm getting spam from one of my contacts

If someone on your Contacts list is sending you spam, it's possible that a malicious user has compromised their account.

Don't respond to the email.
Report the email by clicking Message looks suspicious in the spam alert. This sends a report to the Gmail team to investigate. You'll continue to get emails from this contact in the future.
Let your friend know, and suggest they follow these Gmail security tips.

Andrea is a Gmail expert and the author of this help page. Leave her feedback about this help page.

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