How to Set Up a Contact Only Email Filter

1. THE OUTCOME

When you’re done, Gmail will automatically treat mail from your approved people (your “contacts”) as first‑class: it lands exactly where you want (Inbox + label, or a VIP label), and it’s far less likely to be buried in Spam. Everything else can be routed to a separate label for later review.

This is the “inversion” approach: don’t guess what’s bad—only allow what’s good.

2. BEFORE YOU START

• Required: Gmail on a desktop browser (Chrome/Edge/Safari/Firefox). The Gmail mobile app can’t create filters.
• Required: Permission to open Settings → See all settings (some managed Workspace admins restrict this).
• Required: A short list of people you trust (5–50 senders) or one trusted domain.
• Optional but helpful: Your contacts are already saved in Google Contacts.
• Time estimate: ~5–10 minutes setup + ~2–5 minutes testing.

3. THE STEPS

Step 1: Decide what “contact-only” means for you

Pick one of these models before touching Gmail settings:
- Short allow-list (recommended): Only specific people (your real contacts) get VIP handling.
- Domain allow-list: Anyone from @yourcompany.com and @topclient.com gets VIP handling.
- Hybrid: VIP handling for certain people + separate routing for everyone else.

Expected result: You have a clear rule set (people and/or domains) so your filter won’t sprawl.

Step 2: Create a label for approved senders

1. Open Gmail on desktop.
2. In the left sidebar, click More (if needed).
3. Scroll to Labels and click Create new label.
4. Name it KK:CONTACTS (or Contacts Only).
5. Click Create.

Expected result: A new label appears in the left sidebar.

Step 3: Open Gmail’s filter editor

1. Click Settings (gear icon).
2. Click See all settings.
3. Click Filters and Blocked Addresses.
4. Click Create a new filter.

Expected result: A “Search mail” filter dialog opens with fields like From, To, Subject, and Has the words.

Step 4: Type your allow-list using a precise From rule

In the filter dialog, use one of these patterns.

Option A (best for a handful of people): OR-match multiple emails

In From, paste:
- alice@company.com OR bob@client.com OR ceo@partner.org

Option B (cleanest syntax): Curly-brace group

In From, paste:
- from:{alice@company.com bob@client.com ceo@partner.org}

Option C (domain allow-list): Trust a whole domain

In From, paste:
- *@yourcompany.com

Expected result: The From field contains your exact allow-list logic.

Step 5: Preview matches before you create the filter

1. Click Search (or Search icon in the dialog; Gmail may show “Search” instead of “Create filter” depending on UI).
2. Review the results list.
3. If results are too broad or too narrow, click the filter bar again and adjust your From value.

Expected result: Search results show only messages from the people/domains you intended.

Step 6: Create the filter and choose VIP actions

1. Re-open the filter dialog (search bar caret) if needed.
2. Click Create filter.
3. Select actions:
   - Check Never send it to Spam
   - Check Apply the label → choose KK:CONTACTS
   - Optional: Check Always mark it as important (only if you really mean it)
   - Optional: Check Categorize as → choose Primary (if Categories are enabled)
4. Optional: Check Also apply filter to matching conversations (for retroactive labeling).
5. Click Create filter.

Expected result: The filter appears in Settings → Filters and Blocked Addresses, and matching mail is labeled.

Step 7: Create a label for everyone else (outsiders)

This label is where you’ll review non-contacts on your schedule.

1. In the left sidebar, click Create new label.
2. Name it KK:OUTSIDERS.
3. Click Create.

Expected result: You now have two labels: one for approved senders and one for outsiders.

Step 8: Add a “catch-all” filter for outsiders (optional, but powerful)

Gmail does not have a perfect “NOT in contacts” filter. The practical workaround is: filter “known good” into KK:CONTACTS, then aggressively route common noise patterns into KK:OUTSIDERS.

1. Go to Settings → See all settings → Filters and Blocked Addresses → Create a new filter.
2. In Has the words, paste a broad rule set you want treated as outsiders. Examples:
   - unsubscribe OR "view in browser" OR "manage preferences"
   - list: OR "mailing list"
3. Click Create filter.
4. Choose actions:
   - Check Apply the label → KK:OUTSIDERS
   - Optional: Check Skip the Inbox (Archive it)
5. Click Create filter.

Expected result: Many mass emails are routed out of your Inbox automatically.

Step 9: Test the contact-only behavior

1. Ask one approved contact to email you (or send from an approved account).
2. Ask a non-approved sender (or use a second address) to email you.
3. Confirm:
   - Approved sender: labeled KK:CONTACTS and not in Spam
   - Non-approved sender: not mislabeled as KK:CONTACTS

Expected result: Your rule matches the right mail, and false positives are near zero.

Step 10: Review and tune monthly (maintenance step)

1. Open KK:OUTSIDERS once per day (or once per week).
2. For any outsider you actually want, add them to your allow-list filter:
   - Settings → Filters and Blocked Addresses → find the allow-list filter → Edit
   - Add the sender using OR or inside { }
3. Click Continue → Update filter.

Expected result: Your allow-list stays accurate as your real network changes.

4. COMMON PATTERNS (copy/paste)

These are proven patterns that work in the real world. Use them as building blocks.

Pattern 1: VIP people only (executive inbox)

• Filter criteria (From): from:{chief.of.staff@company.com finance@company.com board@partner.org}
• Actions: Apply label KK:CONTACTS, Never send it to Spam, optional Star it
• Why it works: The only mail that gets VIP handling is explicitly named.

Pattern 2: Trust your company + top client domains

• Filter criteria (From): *@yourcompany.com OR *@topclient.com
• Actions: Apply label KK:CONTACTS, optional Categorize as Primary
• Why it works: Domain allow-listing is easier to maintain than individual addresses.

Pattern 3: Route newsletters out of the Inbox (not spam—just not urgent)

• Filter criteria (Has the words): unsubscribe OR "manage preferences" OR "view this email in your browser"
• Actions: Apply label KK:OUTSIDERS, Skip the Inbox (Archive it)
• Why it works: Most marketing mail contains these strings.

Pattern 4: Protect important senders from Spam mistakes

• Filter criteria (From): from:{billing@vendor.com support@criticaltool.com}
• Actions: Never send it to Spam, Apply label KK:CONTACTS
• Why it works: You stop the “good email in Spam” failure mode.

For more filtering mechanics and precision tips, see /blog/how-to-set-up-gmail-filters/.

5. THE BETTER WAY (KeepKnown: Contact-First Filtering)

Gmail filters are manual allow-lists. They work, but they break in two predictable ways:
1. Maintenance debt: Every new real contact requires editing the filter.
2. No true “outsiders” gate: Gmail can’t reliably say “if not in Contacts, quarantine it” using built-in filters alone.

KeepKnown solves this by enforcing the same methodology—strict allow-listing—but at the API/server level instead of per-filter guessing:
- Mechanism: API-based email filter (not a plugin)
- What it does: Automatically moves non-contacts to a KK:OUTSIDERS label/folder
- Why it’s safer: OAuth2 verified, CASA Tier 2, encrypted hashes (no plaintext storage)
- Where it works: Gmail/Google Workspace and Microsoft mailboxes

This is the KeepKnown Protocol:
- Stop relying on algorithmic sorting that guesses.
- Stop playing whack-a-mole with blacklists.
- Use contact-first filtering so only known people reach your attention.

If you want the “contact-only inbox” outcome without maintaining dozens of brittle filters, KeepKnown is the direct path: https://keepknown.com

Related methodology deep-dive: /blog/ai-email-sorting-vs-whitelisting/ and /blog/best-email-filtering-methods-compared/.

6. TROUBLESHOOTING

If the filter “does nothing,” then test the match first

• Go to Settings → Filters and Blocked Addresses → find your filter → Edit.
• Click Search (preview) to see if Gmail finds matching messages.
• Fix common mistakes:
• Use OR instead of commas.
• Use from:{a@x.com b@y.com} for grouped senders.

If approved senders still land in Spam, then isolate the cause

• Confirm your filter has Never send it to Spam.
• Test using Gmail web only (disable third-party clients temporarily).
• Add a second filter for the same sender with only Never send it to Spam (no other actions) to reduce complexity.

If the filter didn’t label older messages, then apply it retroactively

• Edit the filter and ensure Also apply filter to matching conversations is checked during update.
• If Gmail doesn’t show that checkbox on update, use search results:
• Search for the sender(s) → select all → apply label manually once.

If you thought filters were “disabled” because boxes are unchecked, then ignore the boxes

• On Filters and Blocked Addresses, the left checkboxes are for bulk actions (export/delete).
• A listed filter is active by default.