Mark an email as spam in the way your email service works

The exact steps depend on which email service you use. Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo Mail, and Apple Mail all have a spam button, but it is in a different place in each one. The fastest way is usually a right-click on the message, though some services put a trash or flag icon at the top of the email instead.

Marking mail as spam does two things: it moves that message out of your inbox and it trains your email service to catch similar messages in the future. The more you mark, the better your filter learns what you do not want to see. Your email service keeps a record of what you marked, so the same sender will not slip through as easily next time.

Key Takeaways

  • In Gmail, click the three dots at the top right of an open email and select "Report spam", or right-click the message in your inbox list and choose "Mark as spam".
  • In Outlook on the web, select the message and click the trash icon, then choose "Junk" from the menu that appears.
  • In Apple Mail, select the message and click the trash icon in the toolbar, or use the keyboard shortcut Command+Delete.
  • Marking spam trains your email filter over time, so messages from that sender are more likely to land in spam automatically in the future.
  • If a sender keeps getting through after you mark them as spam, you can create a rule to block them entirely or unsubscribe from their mailing list.

How to mark spam in Gmail

Open the email and look at the top right corner. You will see three vertical dots (called a menu icon). Click it and select "Report spam" from the dropdown. The email disappears and Gmail adds it to your spam folder.

If you want to mark an email as spam without opening it, go to your inbox list, right-click the message, and choose "Mark as spam" from the menu. This is faster when you have many unwanted emails in a row. Gmail will move all of them to spam at once if you select multiple messages before right-clicking.

After you mark something as spam in Gmail, you can still find it in your Spam folder for 30 days if you need to recover it. After 30 days, Gmail deletes it automatically. If you marked something by mistake, go to your Spam folder, open the message, click the three dots, and select "Report not spam".

How to mark spam in Outlook (web and desktop)

In Outlook on the web, select the email by clicking the checkbox next to it. At the top of the inbox, click the trash icon. A menu appears with options including "Junk". Click "Junk" and Outlook moves the message to your Junk folder and learns from it.

In Outlook on your computer (the desktop app), right-click the message and hover over "Junk". A submenu appears with options like "Block Sender" and "Report Phishing". Click "Junk Email" to move it to your Junk folder. If you want to block the sender entirely, click "Block Sender" instead — Outlook will send all future emails from that address straight to Junk without showing them to you.

Outlook keeps junk mail for 10 days before deleting it, so you have a window to recover something if you marked it by mistake. Go to your Junk folder, right-click the message, and select "Not Junk" to move it back to your inbox.

How to mark spam in Yahoo Mail and Apple Mail

In Yahoo Mail, open the email and click the trash icon at the top. A menu appears asking where you want to send it. Select "Spam" from the options. Yahoo will move the message and add the sender to your blocked list so future emails from them go straight to spam.

In Apple Mail on Mac or iPhone, select the message and click the trash icon in the toolbar. This moves it to your Trash folder. To mark it as spam instead, go to your Mail settings and create a rule that sends emails from that sender to spam automatically. On iPhone, swipe left on the message and tap the trash icon, then tap "Mark as Junk" if that option appears.

What happens after you mark something as spam

Your email service learns from every message you mark. Over time, emails that look similar to ones you marked as spam are more likely to land in your spam folder automatically, even if they come from a new sender. This is why marking spam consistently makes your inbox cleaner — the filter gets better at recognizing what you do not want.

The sender's reputation also changes. If many people mark emails from the same address as spam, email services start treating that sender as less trustworthy. This can slow down their emails or block them entirely. One person marking an email as spam does not do much, but thousands of people doing it has real weight.

When marking as spam is not enough

If a sender keeps getting through after you mark them as spam, you have other options. Most email services let you block a sender entirely, which is stronger than marking as spam. In Gmail, open an email from that sender, click the three dots, and select "Block [sender name]". In Outlook, right-click and choose "Block Sender". Blocked senders go straight to spam and you will not see notifications when they email you.

If the emails are from a mailing list you signed up for, look for an "Unsubscribe" link at the bottom of the message. Clicking it removes you from the list entirely, which is often faster than blocking. Be careful with unsubscribe links from unknown senders — some spam emails use fake unsubscribe links to confirm your email address is real. If you do not recognize the sender at all, mark as spam instead of unsubscribing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does marking an email as spam delete it right away?

No. Marking as spam moves the email to your spam or junk folder, where it stays for a set number of days (usually 10 to 30 days depending on your service) before being deleted automatically. You can recover it during that window if you marked something by mistake.

Will the sender know I marked their email as spam?

No. The sender does not get a notification that you marked them as spam. Your email service records it internally to improve your filter, but the sender has no way to know what you did with their message.

What is the difference between marking as spam and blocking a sender?

Marking as spam moves one email and trains your filter. Blocking a sender is permanent — all future emails from that address go straight to spam without you seeing them. Use blocking when a sender keeps getting through after you have marked them multiple times.

Can I mark multiple emails as spam at once?

Yes. In most email services, you can select several messages by clicking the checkbox next to each one, then click the spam or trash button once. All selected messages move to spam together, which is faster than marking them one at a time.

What should I do if I accidentally marked a legitimate email as spam?

Go to your spam or junk folder, find the message, open it, and look for a "Report not spam" or "Not junk" button. Click it and the email moves back to your inbox. Your email service also learns that you did not want that sender marked as spam, so it adjusts your filter.