Mark as spam in your email program, not just delete
Marking an email as spam tells your email provider that a message is unwanted and trains the filter to catch similar messages in the future. Deleting sends it to trash but does nothing to stop the sender. The spam button is usually one click — a trash icon with an exclamation mark, a flag, or the word "spam" itself — and it lives in the toolbar above your message or in a right-click menu.
Where you find it depends on which email service you use. Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail all have the button in slightly different places, but the outcome is the same: the message goes to your spam folder and the sender's address gets flagged as unreliable.
Key Takeaways
- In Gmail, click the trash icon above the message or right-click and select "Report spam" to mark an email as spam.
- In Outlook on the web, click the trash icon in the toolbar, then select "Junk" from the dropdown menu.
- In Apple Mail, click the flag icon in the toolbar and choose "Mark as Junk" from the menu.
- Marking as spam trains your email filter to recognize similar messages, while deleting alone does not.
- Unsubscribe links in legitimate marketing emails are safer than marking as spam if you straightforward do not want future messages.
How to mark spam in Gmail
Open the email you want to mark as spam. In the toolbar above the message, look for the trash icon (it looks like a garbage can). Click it, and Gmail will move the message to your spam folder and ask if you want to unsubscribe from future messages from that sender.
If you prefer a right-click menu, right-click anywhere on the message and select "Report spam." This does the same thing. Gmail will also learn from your choice and filter similar messages more aggressively in the future.
Once you mark an email as spam in Gmail, you can still find it in your Spam folder for 30 days. After that, Gmail deletes it automatically. If you mark something as spam by mistake, go to your Spam folder, open the message, and click "Not spam" to move it back to your inbox.
How to mark spam in Outlook
Open the email in Outlook on the web or in the Outlook desktop app. In the toolbar at the top, click the trash icon. A dropdown menu will appear with options including "Delete," "Junk," and "Phishing." Click "Junk" to send the message to your junk folder and train Outlook's filter.
On a mobile device, swipe left on the message (iPhone) or press and hold it (Android), then tap the trash or junk icon. The exact button depends on your device, but the result is the same.
Outlook keeps junk messages for 10 days before deleting them. If you need to recover a message you marked as junk by mistake, go to your Junk folder, select the message, and click "Not junk" to restore it to your inbox.
How to mark spam in Apple Mail
Open the email in Apple Mail on your Mac or iPhone. On a Mac, look for the flag icon in the toolbar above the message. Click it and select "Mark as Junk" from the menu. On an iPhone, swipe left on the message in your inbox, tap the trash icon, then tap "Mark as Junk" if that option appears (it depends on your iOS version).
Apple Mail moves junk messages to a folder called Junk, separate from your trash. Messages stay there until you empty the folder manually, so you have time to recover something you marked by mistake. To undo, go to your Junk folder, select the message, and click "Not Junk."
The difference between spam and unsubscribe
If an email is from a company you once did business with — a store, a news site, a service you signed up for — and you straightforward do not want future messages, use the unsubscribe link instead of marking as spam. Unsubscribe links are usually at the very bottom of the email in small text. Clicking it removes you from their mailing list without flagging them as a spammer.
Mark as spam for messages from people you do not know, messages that look fake or suspicious, or repeated messages from senders you have already told to stop. Unsubscribe for legitimate companies whose emails you just do not want anymore. The distinction matters because marking a legitimate business as spam can sometimes cause their future emails to bounce, which may affect their ability to reach customers who do want to hear from them.
What happens after you mark an email as spam
Your email provider adds the sender's address to a blocklist and uses the message content to improve its spam filter. If many users mark emails from the same sender as spam, that sender's reputation drops and their messages are more likely to land in spam folders for everyone.
You will not hear from that sender again unless they use a different email address. Some spammers do exactly that, which is why you may see similar messages from slightly different addresses. Mark each one as spam, and your filter will learn to recognize the pattern.
If you mark a message as spam and the sender is someone you know — a friend, a family member, a coworker — their future emails may go to your spam folder too. If that happens, go to your spam folder, find their message, and click "Not spam" to restore them to your trusted senders.
When to mark as spam versus reporting phishing
Most spam is just unwanted marketing or repetitive messages. Phishing is a different threat: an email that pretends to be from your bank, your email provider, or another trusted company and asks you to click a link or enter your password. If you see a phishing email, do not just mark it as spam — report it as phishing if your email provider offers that option.
In Gmail, click the trash icon and select "Report phishing" instead of "Report spam." In Outlook, click the trash icon and choose "Phishing" from the dropdown. In Apple Mail, forward the message to your email provider's abuse team (you can find the address in their help section). Reporting phishing alerts your provider to a security threat and helps protect other users.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will the sender know I marked their email as spam?
No. Marking an email as spam is private. The sender will not receive a notification, and they have no way to know you marked them as spam. They may eventually notice their emails are not reaching you if enough people mark them as spam and they get blocked entirely, but they will not know it was you specifically.
Can I mark multiple emails as spam at once?
Yes. In Gmail and Outlook, you can select multiple messages by clicking the checkbox next to each one, then click the spam or junk button once to mark them all at the same time. This is faster than marking them one by one.
What if I marked something as spam by mistake?
Go to your spam or junk folder, find the message, open it, and look for a button that says "Not spam" or "Not junk." Click it to move the message back to your inbox. Your email provider will also adjust its filter based on your correction.
Does marking as spam stop the sender from emailing me again?
It reduces the chance that you will see their emails, because they go straight to spam. However, a determined spammer can use a different email address or domain to contact you again. If that happens, mark those messages as spam too, and your filter will learn to recognize the pattern.
Is marking as spam the same as blocking someone?
No. Marking as spam trains your filter but does not prevent the sender from reaching you if they use a different address. Blocking (sometimes called "mute" or "block sender") prevents all future emails from that exact address from reaching your inbox. Most email providers offer both options — use blocking for people you know and want to avoid, and spam for unknown senders.