Reduce junk mail in Mac Mail

Mac Mail can filter junk mail from your inbox, based on what it learns from you when you mark email messages as junk or not junk and the settings in Junk Mail preferences.

If you don’t want spam, make sure the junk mail filter is on

Go to : Mail > Preferences, click Junk Mail, then verify “Enable junk mail filtering” is selected.

Mark messages as junk or not junk

  1. In the Mac Mail app  on your Mac, select a message.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • If Mail incorrectly marked the message as junk: Click Move to Inbox in the message banner or click the Not Junk button  in the Mail toolbar Mail moves the message to your Inbox.

    • If Mail failed to mark the message as junk: Click the Junk button  in the Mail toolbar. Mail moves the message to the Junk mailbox.

Each time you confirm a message as junk or not junk, the junk mail filter improves so Mail can better identify junk mail.

Change junk mail filter settings

  1. The default settings catch most of the junk mail you receive, but you can customise the filter.

    1. In the Mail app  on your Mac, choose Mail > Preferences, then click Junk Mail.

    2. Specify what Mail should do when junk mail arrives.

      • If you want to verify what the filter identifies as junk mail, select “Mark as junk mail, but leave it in my Inbox”.

      • If you’re sure the filter accurately identifies junk mail, select “Move it to the Junk mailbox”.

      • To set up other actions, select “Perform custom actions”, then click Advanced.

        Note: To make sure the filter’s database is used to identify junk mail, don’t change the default condition “Message is Junk Mail”.

    3. Select options for exempting messages from being evaluated, such as messages received from people who use your full name.

    4. To include in the filter any junk mail detection inherent in messages, select “Trust junk mail headers in messages”.

Reset the junk mail filter

  1. Resetting the junk mail filter to its original state removes what Mail learned from you whenever you marked emails as junk or not junk.

    1. In the Mail app  on your Mac, choose Mail > Preferences, then click Junk Mail.

    2. Click Reset.