How to Create Email Filters

How to create a filter in Gmail on a computer

Gmail builds every filter from a search. You describe the messages, check that the search finds the right ones, and then tell Gmail what to do with them.

1. Open Gmail in a browser on your computer.
2. In the search box at the top, select Show search options, the sliders icon at the right end of the box.
3. Fill in only the fields you need: From, To, Subject, Has the words, Doesn't have, Size or Has attachment.
4. Select Search and look through the results. If they include mail you want to keep, tighten the criteria and search again.
5. Open search options again and select Create filter.
6. Tick the actions, such as Skip the Inbox (Archive it), Apply the label or Never send it to Spam.
7. To sort the mail you already have as well, tick Also apply filter to matching conversations.
8. Select Create filter.

Shortcut from a message: tick the box next to an email, select More (the three dots), then Filter messages like these. Gmail fills in the sender for you.

Want a sender gone rather than sorted? Blocking them in Gmail sends their future mail to Spam without a filter. A filter with Delete it does the same for a whole domain.

What each Gmail filter action does

Search operators you can use in a filter

You can type these in Has the words, or straight into the search box before you select Create filter. Write OR in capitals.

Operators about a message's state, such as is:unread or older_than:30d, are only useful for a one-time cleanup: a filter checks each message once, when it arrives. The full list is in the Gmail search operators guide.

How to create a Gmail filter on iPhone or Android

The Gmail app for iPhone and Android can't create or edit filters. You can still make one on your phone by opening Gmail's desktop site in a browser.

1. Open Safari or Chrome on your phone and go to mail.google.com.
2. Switch to the desktop site. In Safari, open the page menu in the address bar and tap Request Desktop Website. In Chrome, open the menu and choose Desktop site (Android) or Request Desktop Site (iPhone).
3. Sign in if asked, then follow the computer steps above. Zoom in or turn the phone sideways if the controls are small.
4. Go back to the Gmail app. The filter is already working there.

Gmail runs filters on Google's servers, not on your device. A filter you create anywhere applies to new mail on every device: the Gmail app, the website and any mail app connected to the account.

How to apply a Gmail filter to existing emails

Filters act on new mail as it arrives. To run one on the mail already in your account, tick Also apply filter to matching conversations before you select Create filter. For a filter you made earlier:

1. Select Settings (the gear icon), then See all settings.
2. Open Filters and Blocked Addresses.
3. Find the filter and select Edit, then Continue.
4. Tick Also apply filter to matching conversations.
5. Select Update filter.

Labels, archiving, stars, categories and read status apply to old mail. Forwarding never does. If the filter deletes mail, old matches go to Trash too, so check the search results first. More detail is in applying Gmail filters to existing emails.

How to edit or delete a Gmail filter

1. In Gmail on a computer, select Settings (the gear icon), then See all settings.
2. Open Filters and Blocked Addresses. Every filter is listed with its criteria and actions.
3. To change one, select Edit, adjust the criteria, select Continue, change the actions and select Update filter.
4. To remove one, select Delete and confirm with OK.

Deleting a filter doesn't move any mail back. Messages it archived, labeled or deleted stay where they are.

Back up or copy filters: on the same page, tick the filters you want and select Export to download a mailFilters.xml file. Use Import filters at the bottom of the page to add them to another Gmail account. The creator above makes files in the same format.

How to create a rule in Outlook on the web and new Outlook

Outlook calls filters rules. These steps work in Outlook.com, Outlook on the web for Microsoft 365 and the new Outlook for Windows and Mac.

1. Select Settings, the gear icon at the top right.
2. Select Mail, then Rules.
3. Select Add new rule and type a name for it.
4. Under Add a condition, choose what to match, such as From, Subject includes or Has attachment. Add more conditions if every one must match.
5. Under Add an action, choose what happens, such as Move to, Mark as read, Categorize, Forward to or Delete.
6. If some matching messages should be left alone, select Add an exception.
7. Stop processing more rules is ticked by default. Clear it if later rules should also act on the same messages.
8. Select Save.

Shortcut: in new Outlook, right-click a message, choose Rules, then Create rule. To run a rule on mail you already have, go to Settings, Mail, Rules and select the run icon next to it.

New Outlook doesn't run rules for Gmail, Yahoo or iCloud accounts added to it. Create those filters in the provider's own settings instead.

For ready-made recipes and fixes when a rule stops running, see the Outlook rules guide. To stop a sender outright, block them in Outlook instead of writing a rule.

How to create a rule in classic Outlook for Windows

1. On the Home tab, select Rules, then Manage Rules & Alerts. You can also find it under File.
2. Select New Rule.
3. Under Start from a blank rule, select Apply rule on messages I receive, then Next.
4. Tick the conditions, such as from people or public group or with specific words in the subject. Click each underlined value to fill it in, then select Next.
5. Tick the actions, such as move it to the specified folder, fill in the underlined values and select Next.
6. Add any exceptions and select Next.
7. Name the rule. To sort the mail already in your inbox, tick Run this rule now on messages already in "Inbox". Select Finish, then OK.

Outlook marks some rules as client-only. Those run only while Outlook is open on that computer.

How to create a rule in Apple Mail on a Mac

1. In Mail, choose Mail > Settings and select Rules. On macOS Monterey and earlier, it's Mail > Preferences.
2. Select Add Rule and type a description.
3. Choose whether any or all of the conditions must be met, then set them, for example From contains example.com.
4. Under Perform the following actions, choose what happens, such as Move Message to a mailbox. Select the add button for more than one action.
5. Select OK. Mail asks whether to apply the rule to messages already in your mailboxes: choose Apply or Don't Apply.

To run your rules on existing mail later, select the messages and choose Message > Apply Rules. Rules made in Mail on a Mac run only while Mail is open on that Mac.

iCloud Mail on the web

The Mail app on iPhone and iPad has no rules. If you use an iCloud email address, create rules on iCloud.com instead: they run on Apple's servers and apply on every device.

1. Go to icloud.com/mail and sign in.
2. Select the Settings button at the top of the Mailboxes list, then choose Settings.
3. Select Rules, then Add.
4. Name the rule, choose which messages it applies to under Message, and what happens under Action.
5. Select Add.

iCloud allows up to 500 rules, applies them in list order, and can take up to 15 minutes to start using a new or changed rule.

How to create a filter in Yahoo Mail

1. Select Settings, the gear icon, then More Settings.
2. Select Filters, then Add new filters.
3. Name the filter.
4. Set the rules, such as From or Subject, and what the text contains.
5. Choose the folder matching mail should move to, or create a new one.
6. Select Save.

Yahoo filters can only move mail to a folder, including Trash. You can have up to 500. When two filters match the same message, the one higher in the list wins, so use the arrows on the Filters page to reorder them.

Frequently asked questions

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