Tame Your Inbox: A Simple Guide to Spam Control

If viewing your email inbox feels like a hassle because it’s crowded with unwanted messages, you are not alone. Spam happens to everyone, and it does not mean you did anything wrong.

Why do I get so many spam emails?

Spam builds up because your email address gets shared behind the scenes.

It's common for people to enter their email on a website for a coupon, discount, or special offer. Even some free games, tools, and comparison sites ask for your email. A lot of those “free” online offers are paid for with your information. Think of it like this: if you do not have to pay for the product, you are the product.

When you submit your email for any reason, the company may add you to a mailing list so they can contact you. Sometimes, the company will share or sell your information to marketing firms, which means other companies can contact you, too.

How can I get my email inbox to automatically push aside spam?

You may not be able to control who already has your email, but you can control what shows up in your inbox. Start seeing only what matters and move unwanted messages out of sight.

Most email services can automatically send unwanted emails to a spam folder. When things automatically go to spam, your inbox feel calmer and easier to manage.

The most helpful tool for this is called “mark as spam.”  On a computer, right click the email and select mark as spam from the dropdown menu. On a phone, press and hold the email for three seconds, and select mark as spam.

When you make things as spam, it teaches your email system to send future messages from that sender directly to the spam folder.

If you ever notice that an email was incorrectly directed to the spam folder, you can follow the same steps listed above to move it back to your inbox. This way, any new mail from that sender will arrive to your inbox.

When should I clean my spam folder?

If your spam folder looks huge, that’s actually a good sign: it means the email service is doing its job. Most services automatically delete spam after a while.

You only really need to check your spam if you’re expecting and waiting for something important that hasn’t arrived, or if your email service let you know that you are running out of storage space.

Is unsubscribing from an email list safe?

Be a little picky when unsubscribing. If the email feels suspicious, extremely urgent, or just “off,” avoid clicking any links inside it.

If you do want to click unsubscribe, look for an unsubscribe button that is outside of the email itself. Another option is to block the mailer. See the image below.

If you would like to reduce the amount of spam that hits your inbox, call Bright Concierge so we can talk about it.

Can I just start fresh with a new email address?

Yes! Sometimes an email address gets so full of spam that the kindest thing you can do for yourself is start fresh. Your inbox should feel useful, not pushy and loud.

Steps to start fresh:

• Create a new email address (we recommend Gmail)

  
  

• Add an automatic reply on your old email explaining your new address to contacts reaching out to you there

  
  

• Turn on email forwarding from your old account with a 'rule' or 'filter' in place so only important messages still reach you.

  
  

• Test access your new email on your phone, computer, and tablet

We can help you with all of this.

As you log in to important places like your bank, doctor, or utilities, slowly update your email there. After a while, the old inbox becomes mostly junk, and you don't need to watch it closely anymore.

If you would like help cleaning up your inbox of spam, or are interested in our Fresh Start Email service, our tech team is here to guide you through it.