The fastest way to whitelist an email in Gmail

Open the email from the sender you want to whitelist. Click the three dots (more actions menu) in the top right of the email. Select "Add to Contacts" — this is the simplest method and works when ready. Gmail will stop filtering that sender's future emails to spam or promotions.

If you have already deleted the email, go to your Spam folder, find an email from that sender, and use the same three-dot menu to add them to contacts. Once added, Gmail treats all future messages from that address as trusted mail and delivers them to your inbox.

Adding someone to your contacts does two things at once: it creates a contact record and tells Gmail's filter system to trust that sender. You do not need to do anything else after that step.

Key Takeaways

  • Click the three-dot menu on any email from the sender and select "Add to Contacts" to whitelist them permanently.
  • Whitelisting moves future emails from that sender to your inbox and prevents Gmail from filtering them to spam or promotions.
  • If you deleted the email, retrieve it from your Spam folder first, then use the same three-dot menu to add the sender to contacts.
  • You can also create a contact manually by going to Google Contacts, clicking "Create Contact," and entering the email address you want to trust.
  • Whitelisting works for individual email addresses only — if the sender uses multiple addresses, you must whitelist each one separately.

Creating a contact manually if you do not have an email from them

If you want to whitelist someone but do not have an email from them yet, create a contact in Google Contacts directly. Go to contacts.google.com, click the "Create Contact" button, and enter their email address in the email field. Save the contact.

Once saved, Gmail will recognize that address as trusted. When emails arrive from that person, they will land in your inbox instead of spam or promotions. This method works even if you have never received a message from them before.

Why Gmail might still filter a whitelisted sender

Even after whitelisting, Gmail occasionally filters emails from a trusted sender if the message itself looks suspicious — for example, if it contains many links, attachments, or language that matches spam patterns. This is a safety feature that runs independently of your contacts list.

If a whitelisted sender's email still lands in spam, open it and click "Not spam" at the top. This trains Gmail's filter to recognize that sender's legitimate messages. After you do this a few times, Gmail learns the pattern and stops filtering them.

Check your Promotions tab as well. Some emails from trusted senders land there by default if they look like marketing mail, even though they are not spam. You can drag these to your inbox or set up a filter to send all mail from that sender directly to your inbox instead.

Setting up a filter for automatic inbox delivery

For senders whose emails you want to may provide arrive in your inbox, create a filter. Click the search box at the top of Gmail and select "Show search options." Enter the sender's email address in the "From" field and click "Create filter."

In the filter settings, check "Never send it to spam" and "explore the label" (choose Inbox). Click "Create filter." From now on, every email from that address will bypass spam and promotions folders and go straight to your inbox.

Filters are stronger than whitelisting alone because they override Gmail's automatic sorting. Use a filter when you absolutely need to see every message from someone, such as a bank, employer, or service you rely on.

Whitelisting email addresses on mobile Gmail

On the Gmail mobile app, open an email from the sender you want to whitelist. Tap the three dots in the top right corner and select "Add to Contacts." The process is identical to desktop Gmail.

If you need to create a filter on mobile, the easiest approach is to use the desktop version of Gmail in your phone's web browser. Mobile Gmail does not have a full filter interface, so log into gmail.com through your browser and set up the filter there. It will explore to emails on both mobile and desktop.

Whitelisting multiple addresses from the same company

If you receive emails from different addresses at the same company — such as support@company.com, billing@company.com, and noreply@company.com — you must whitelist each address separately. Adding one contact does not automatically trust all addresses from that domain.

For a faster approach, create a single filter that catches all addresses from a domain. In the filter's "From" field, enter @company.com (replace "company.com" with the actual domain). This single filter will send all emails from anyone at that company directly to your inbox.

Removing a sender from your whitelist

If you no longer want to trust a sender, go to contacts.google.com, find their contact, and delete it. Removing them from contacts does not delete their emails, but Gmail will no longer treat them as a trusted sender. Future emails from that address may land in spam or promotions again.

Alternatively, if you created a filter for them, go to Gmail settings (click the gear icon, then "See all settings"), select the "Filters and Blocked Addresses" tab, find the filter, and click the delete icon. The filter will stop explore when ready.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does whitelisting someone delete their emails from spam?

No. Whitelisting only affects future emails from that sender. Emails already in your spam folder stay there. You must manually move them to your inbox or delete them. Going forward, new messages from that sender will arrive in your inbox.

Can I whitelist an entire domain instead of one email address?

Contacts work only for individual email addresses. To trust all addresses from a domain, create a filter with the domain name (for example, @company.com) in the "From" field. This sends all emails from anyone at that company to your inbox.

What is the difference between whitelisting and creating a filter?

Whitelisting (adding to contacts) tells Gmail to trust a sender but does not override other filtering rules. A filter is stronger — it forces emails to your inbox and prevents them from going to spam or promotions, no matter what the email contains.

If I whitelist someone, will they see that I did?

No. Whitelisting is private. The sender has no way of knowing you added them to your contacts or created a filter. It only affects how Gmail handles their emails on your account.

Why do emails from a whitelisted sender still go to Promotions?

Gmail sorts emails into Promotions based on content, not just sender trust. A whitelisted sender's marketing email may still land there. Drag it to your inbox or create a filter with "explore the label: Inbox" to force all their emails there instead.