Mark an email as junk in three clicks

The fastest way to mark email as junk depends on which email service you use, but all three major platforms — Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail — let you do it in seconds. In Gmail, open the email and click the trash icon, then select "Report spam" from the menu. In Outlook on the web, right-click the email and choose "Junk" from the dropdown. In Apple Mail on Mac or iPhone, select the email and click the trash icon in the toolbar, or swipe left on your phone and tap trash.

Marking email as junk does two things at once: it moves that single message out of your inbox, and it trains your email service to catch similar messages automatically in the future. The more you mark, the smarter the filter becomes. Most people see a noticeable drop in spam within a week or two of marking consistently.

Key Takeaways

  • Gmail's "Report spam" option is stronger than just deleting — it tells Google's filter this sender is unwanted so future emails land in spam automatically.
  • Outlook and Apple Mail both have junk buttons in their toolbars; right-clicking also works if you forget where the button is.
  • Marking legitimate mail as junk by mistake trains your filter wrong, so double-check the sender before you report.
  • Once you mark an email as junk, you can usually undo it within a few seconds if you change your mind.
  • Unsubscribe links in legitimate marketing emails work faster than marking as junk, because they remove you from the sender's list entirely.

How to mark junk in Gmail

Open the email you want to report. At the top of the message, look for the trash icon (it looks like a bin) in the toolbar. Click it. A menu will appear with options including "Report spam" — click that option. The email moves to your spam folder, and Gmail adds this sender to your spam filter.

If you are on Gmail's mobile app, tap the three dots in the top right corner of the email, then tap "Report spam." The process is the same — one email gone, and the filter learns.

Gmail also lets you report spam without opening the email. In your inbox list, hover over the email and click the trash icon that appears on the right side. A menu pops up; select "Report spam." This is faster if you are clearing out several junk messages at once.

How to mark junk in Outlook

Open the email or select it in your inbox list. On the web version of Outlook, right-click the email and a menu appears. Click "Junk" and then choose either "Junk" (to move it to your junk folder) or "Phishing" if the email looks like a scam trying to steal your information. Outlook treats phishing reports more seriously than regular junk, so use that option if the email is asking for passwords or personal details.

In Outlook's toolbar, you can also click the email once to select it, then look for the "Junk" button in the top menu bar. Click it and select your option. On Outlook's mobile app, tap the three dots next to the email and select "Mark as junk."

Outlook keeps junk emails for 10 days before permanently deleting them, so you can recover a message if you marked it by mistake. Go to your Junk folder, find the email, right-click it, and select "Not junk" to move it back to your inbox.

How to mark junk in Apple Mail

On a Mac, select the email in your inbox and click the trash icon in the toolbar at the top of the window. A menu appears; click "Mark as Junk." The email moves to your Junk folder, and Apple Mail's filter learns to catch similar messages.

On iPhone or iPad, open the email and tap "Mark" at the bottom of the screen (you may need to scroll down to see it). Select "Mark as Junk" from the options. Alternatively, swipe left on an email in your inbox list and tap the trash icon, then confirm you want to delete it.

Apple Mail stores junk emails in a separate Junk folder for 30 days. If you marked something by mistake, go to your Junk folder, select the email, click "Mark" and choose "Mark as Not Junk" to send it back to your inbox.

The difference between deleting and marking as junk

Deleting an email removes it from your inbox but does not teach your filter anything. Marking it as junk does both — it removes the email and it tells your email service that this sender is unwanted. Over time, marking as junk is more powerful because future emails from that sender (or similar senders) are caught automatically.

If you delete an email from a spammer, the next email from them still lands in your inbox. If you mark it as junk, the next one goes straight to your spam folder. This is why marking as junk is the better choice for unsolicited mail, even though deleting is faster.

Some emails are worth unsubscribing from instead of marking as junk. Legitimate marketing emails from companies you have done business with usually have an "Unsubscribe" link at the bottom. Clicking that removes you from their mailing list entirely, which is cleaner than training your filter to ignore them.

What happens after you mark email as junk

The email disappears from your inbox when ready and lands in your Junk or Spam folder. Your email service begins filtering similar messages — same sender, same subject line patterns, same suspicious links — into that folder automatically. This process is not when ready; it usually takes a few hours to a few days to take full effect.

If you mark many emails from the same sender as junk, your filter learns faster and more aggressively. Some senders change their address slightly to get around filters, so marking consistently helps catch those variations too.

You can undo a junk report within a few seconds on most platforms. In Gmail, a notification appears at the top of your inbox saying "Marked as spam" with an "Undo" button. In Outlook and Apple Mail, you can go to your Junk folder and mark the email as "Not junk" to restore it to your inbox. After a few minutes, the undo window closes and the email stays in junk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I mark an entire sender as junk instead of one email at a time?

Yes. In Gmail, open any email from that sender and click the three dots menu, then select "Block [sender name]." In Outlook, right-click an email from that sender and choose "Junk" then "Block Sender." In Apple Mail, select an email from that sender and go to Mail menu > Junk Mail > Add Sender to Junk Mail List. All future emails from that address go straight to junk.

What if I marked an email as junk by mistake?

You have a short window to undo it. In Gmail, look for the "Marked as spam" notification at the top of your inbox and click "Undo." In Outlook and Apple Mail, go to your Junk folder, find the email, and mark it as "Not junk." After a few minutes, the undo option disappears and you will need to manually move the email back.

Does marking as junk delete the email permanently?

No. Marking as junk moves the email to your Junk or Spam folder, where it stays for 10 to 30 days depending on your email service. After that, it is permanently deleted. You can recover it during that window by going to your Junk folder and marking it as "Not junk."

Will marking as junk stop all emails from that sender?

Marking one email as junk trains your filter to catch future emails from that sender, but it does not may provide every email will be caught. Spammers often change their sender address slightly to get around filters. For more reliable blocking, use your email service's block or filter feature to stop all emails from a specific address or domain.

Should I mark marketing emails as junk or unsubscribe?

If the email is from a legitimate company and includes an "Unsubscribe" link at the bottom, unsubscribing is better — it removes you from their list entirely. Mark as junk if the email looks suspicious, has no unsubscribe link, or is from a sender you do not recognize. Unsubscribe is cleaner for legitimate mail you straightforward do not want.