The Ultimate Guide — How To Whitelist Emails — So You Can Get The Emails You Want!

Filtering incoming emails is many times automatically done by email service providers to reduce the number of unwanted emails found in your inbox. Unfortunately, these often result in emails you DO want NOT making it into your inbox. Or they may even go to the junk folder. 

 

Lucky for you— we’ve outlined how to whitelist emails in all kinds of places.

And if you have a newsletter and you want to let your tribe know how to whitelist YOUR email—  feel free to share this comprehensive whitelist guide with your tribe!  

 

For Gmail Users

 

• Begin by opening the email you received from the sender you wish to add to the whitelist (aka safelist) 
• Look to the right corner of the screen. You will find an email icon where an arrow sits next to it. Click the Arrow
• Choose “add to contact,” which you’ll  see on the screen
• At the top of the screen, you will see a pop-up of a text which reads “add email address” to contacts. There you’ve added a new contact to your Gmail safe sender list

For Outlook users

 

• Begin by opening the email received from the sender you wish to add to the safe list.
• Towards the delete button/icon located at the top left corner of the screen, you will find a junk link next to it. Click on Junk.
• Tap on “Never block sender,” which you will find in the drop-down options below the “Junk” icon.
• Automatically the email address of the sender will be added to the safe sender list.

 

Email whitelisting best practices

Have you ever got stuck while trying to reset your password before? Perhaps the site in which you’re in says “check your inbox” for a password reset email.” But you hover to your email now, and you can’t find an email in your inbox. 

 

Do you want to make sure on ensuring that your whitelist emails don’t get junked? 

 

Or perhaps you are an email marketer who delivers campaigns and wishes all your messages get to your subscribers’ inbox? If you are, you should be ready and eager to know how to whitelist emails.

Email service providers like Gmail have created tabs for the inbox to be sorted automatically in recent times. However, for marketers, the emails you use for marketing must be whitelisted by your subscribers.

 

So that the work you’ve put in won’t end up hiding away in your subscribers’  spam folder, and if you’re receiving emails, you may have gotten stuck at one point or the other when you were expecting an email from a person, just to realize that the email was hiding in the wrong tab. This is so frustrating!

 

Sometimes you’ll want a message, and it’s like playing hide and go seek to find what you want. 

 

Whatever the case, whether you’re an email marketer or a regular user and you’re getting emails from your buddies…  you must understand the importance of whitelisting their email addresses just in case. You won’t want to miss an email from Uncle Bob’s or cousin Jenny about the upcoming barbecue. 

 

And you won’t want to miss any of the Hot Marketing Tips From The Copywriting Chick’s e-letter at [email protected].

 

How do you whitelist anyway?

Whitelisting is simple to do. All you have to do is open an email message and verify if the sender is from a trusted source. This way, those messages get added to your “stuff-you-want-to-get” address book or safe sender lists.

 

Keep reading if you want to be email-savvy! 

 

And check out the simple instructions you need to follow so that future emails will get delivered straight to your inbox. Finally, we’ll show you the email whitelisting ropes for some of the most popular email service providers. Hooray. Is this a party or what? 

 

What does Whitelisting an email mean?

Simply put, whitelisting emails mean you will receive messages from the emails you put on your whitelist. 

 

When add/include their mails to your sender's list/contact list, this informs your email service provider that the messages are from trusted sources (like [email protected]).  

 

This makes it easy to find emails of the people you WANT to see in your inbox...

... rather than digging around the social tab, promotions tab, or the ugly spam folder where you get messages.

 

Sometimes you can sign up for a checklist or newsletter, and guess what happens? It can go straight to the trash can. 

 

Quick tip

 

Sake sure if you’re a new person on someone’s list (meaning you filled out a form and probably put your email and your first name), check your inbox, and if you can’t find what you’re looking for, look in the social tab, promotions tab and if you’re desperate to get the goods to dig around in your spam folder— and whitelist their email address! 

 

What’s the reason behind you not receiving emails?

 

You see, malicious or unwanted emails such as scams, phishing, and spams are rampant today. But, unfortunately, they end up screwing over good people who want to give good your email! 

 

And email providers are getting more strict. 

 

Hence, email service providers such as Gmail, Outlook.com, Hotmail, AOL, and Yahoo! Mail often mistake emails you want from emails you don’t want.

 

Therefore, to solve these hiccups, you need to inform your email service providers which emails to whitelist. 

 

Then emails from your safe list are more likely to go through to your inbox. Read on to see the comprehensive information on how to do whitelisting on Gmail, Outlook.com, Hotmail, AOL, and Yahoo! Mail, including other mailing details.

 

Because these email providers WANT you to get valuable information (and I think they want you to “like” them, so you keep using their service). 

 

But the AI that is doing the sorting is still learning what you want. 

 

So when you whitelist someone’s email address, you are “teaching” your email provider that you want emails from this specific email address. 

 

You might think it’s a pain to add someone to your contacts, but with the steps outlined below, whitelisting is a breeze. 

 

You only know what you know. 

How to Whitelist an email address on Gmail

First of all, keep in mind that whitelisting an email or domain is simple and easy to do. 

 

Sign in to your Gmail.com account and follow the prompts below.

Add the email address to your contact.

You need to add the email address of the sender (e.g., [email protected]) to your Gmail contacts. Usually, Google will automatically deliver emails from an address

uses that you have in your contacts.

 

Mark Messages from your sender as “Not Spam.”

Here, Gmail may have marked emails you wish to whitelist as spam, so you tell Gmail the emails are not spam. Now follow the following steps below:

 

1. Navigate to the spam folder
2. Search for emails that contain the domain you want to whitelist (e.g., Icareaboutyou.net).
3. Select all the emails shown
4. Click More and then Not spam

 

You need to create a filter for the address.

By creating a filter, you tell Google to whitelist email from a domain or an online group. Now follow the following steps below:

 

• Navigate and click on the cog icon located at the top-right corner of the screen, and then settings.
• Tap on Filters and proceed by creating a new filter
• You can either 
• Input/enter the email address of the online group/ sender you want to whitelist in the To field or 
• Input/enter the domain of the email you wish to whitelist in the From field.
• Tap on the Create Filter with this search
• You will see a box entitled When a message arrives that matches this search, ensure to select Never send it to spam.
• Tap the Create filter button

 

Tips to guide you:

 

• Never enter email addresses on both the From and To field as it will be only filtered on emails that meet both criteria by Gmail.
• You can either enter the specific email or the entire domain you wish to whitelist for the From and To fields.

If you want to enter numerous domains in each area, ensure to 

• separate them with OR (e.g., icareaboutyou.com OR groups.hotmail.com.

 

For more information, please check Google’s help on Legitimate mail is marked as spam.

 

 

Here’s an alternative way of whitelisting email addresses on Gmail

 

Follow the simple and straightforward steps of this little-known “sneaky” way of whitelisting email addresses on Gmail. Now you will indeed be a Gmail email ninja. 

 

• Tap on the “Settings” button/icon, which you can locate at the (top-right corner of your screen), then select settings from the resulting drop-down menu bar.
• Navigate to the tab labeled “Filtered” and “Block Addresses” to access information about your existing filters.
• Then, select “Create a new filter” and make sure to enter emails or domains you wish to whitelist.
• To whitelist a single email address, type the complete address (e.g., Icareaboutyou.com. 
• To whitelist every sender from a certain domain, type the domain alone, sending g. “@hotmail.com.” This informs Gmail to approve every message from the Hotmail sender.
• Click “Create Filter” to approve the new filter, then mark “Never send to spam” to whitelist every email within the filter. You can also choose to star these emails, apply a given label, or mark them as necessary.

 

 

How to Whitelist on Gmail mobile app

 

Whitelisting on Gmail mobile app is similar to the one done on Gmail com. Follow the steps below, and you are good to go.

 

• Go to your mobile device and open the Gmail App
• Hover to the spam or junk folder
• Tap on the message you want to view
• Click and select the option entitled “Report, not spam.”
• Once you’ve done that, you will begin to receive messages from this sender directly to your inbox as usual.

 

How to Whitelist an email address in Outlook.com

Keep in mind that whitelisting an email address or domain in Outlook.com is relatively easy. It’s similar to that of Gmail.com. 

 

First, make sure you sign in to your Outlook.com account. After you’ve logged in, the following steps are essential to whitelist on Outlook.com so important emails never go to spam.

 

Make sure you add the email address to your contacts.

 

Don’t forget to add the sender’s email address to your Outlook.com Contacts (e.g., [email protected]). Once this is done, Outlook.com will automatically begin to deliver emails from the address to your contacts. Yeah! You win, and you’ll receive the good emails, not the threatening emails.

 

Ensure to add the address to your whitelist, aka the “safe senders.” 

To add an email address to your safe senders. Please follow the steps below:

• Navigate and click the gear icon found at the upper-right corner of the screen and select More mail settings.
• You will see safe and blocked senders. Kindly select it and then safe senders.
• Proceed by adding the domain of the email you wish to whitelist to the list of safe senders.
• Go back to Safe and blocked senders and select Safe mailing lists
• Once that has been done, ensure you add the email address of the online group you wish to whitelist to the list of safe mailing lists.

 

Tips to guide you:

 

• To whitelist an email address or an entire domain, both can be done either in safe senders or safe mailing lists.
• Multiple email addresses or domains can be entered in safe senders and safe mailing lists.

 

Alternative ways of whitelisting emails address on Outlook.com

 

Follow the simple and straightforward steps of the alternative way of whitelisting email addresses on Outlook.com. Outline below.

• Navigate and click on “Settings,” then you will “see all outlook settings.”
• Click on “junk email,” then select "safe senders” and domains” or “safe mailing lists” to choose the domain or email you wish to whitelist.
• Input the email address or domain name you want to add to safe senders. Ensure to add the @ character for a domain name to whitelist only emails with the same string characters entered and nothing more.

As an alternative, you can add the sender’s email address who has sent you a message to your Outlook Contacts. This method is more efficient and quicker than manually entering the information.

 

How to whitelist email address in Hotmail

To whitelist email addresses or domains in Hotmail, follow the steps outlined below.

• Ensure you sign in to your Hotmail account
• Select and tap on the Settings icon located at the top right side of the screen, enlarge it and click on More Mail Settings
• Tap on safe and blocked senders
• Tap safe senders
• Input the email address or domain you want to whitelist
• Tap the “add to list” on the screen
• Then you will see a pop-up of “email address has been whitelisted,” and spam-check by Hotmail will be skipped.

 How to whitelist email address in AOL

 To whitelist the email address or domain in Aol, follow the steps below carefully.

• Add the email address or the corporate domain of the sender who sent you the message to your address book.
• Tap Contacts which is located at the left navigation bar of your inbox screen.
• Tap the New Contacts icon on the top bar and add the new contact information to the required fields.
• Once completed, tap the Add Contacts button at the bottom.

 

There you have the simple way of whitelisting email addresses or domains in Aol. Wow. I’m sure that you are impressed, and you feel so techy and intelligent!

 

How to whitelist email address in Yahoo! Mail

Whitelisting an email address or domain in Yahoo! Mail is similar to the guidelines above for other email service providers. Always ensure you sign in to your Yahoo! Mail account and follow the prompt below:

 

 Make sure you add the email address to your contacts first

This is done by adding the sender’s email address to the Contacts of your Yahoo! Mail. Once this is done, emails from the addresses will be delivered by Yahoo!

 

Make sure you create a filter for the email address

• Select “Settings” by hovering on the settings icon
• Tap on Filter and afterward click Add
• Proceed by entering a filter name
• Choose the options of
• Inputting the email address of the group you wish to whitelist in the Recipient Field OR
• Whitelist the domain name you want by entering the name in the Senders field.
• 5 Click inbox to be the folder you wish to the email to be delivered to
• 6 Finally, tap Save and ensure you Save again by clicking it.

 

Tips to guide you:

 

• Make sure you create a new filter for each email address or the domain you wish to whitelist.
• Ensure you are careful not to input email addresses in the Recipient and sender fields because Yahoo! Mail will usually filter it to emails that fit both criteria.
• For the Sender and Recipient fields, you can input an entire domain or a specific email address in it.

For more information, visit Yahoo! Mails help on An email was wrongly filtered as spam.

 

Here’s an alternative way of whitelisting email address in Yahoo! Mail

 

If the person you are trying to whitelist hasn’t sent you a message/mail yet, then carefully follow these alternative steps of whitelisting the address:

• From the Yahoo mail menu, navigate to the settings icon and tap on More Settings.
• Click on Filters and tap Add to enter the domain name or the sender whom you are anticipating to send a message to you.
• Enter the string (any) of text you wish to whitelist for future emails. This text could be the domain name, email address, or something you expect will be in the body of the message that will be sent to you.

How to Whitelist Emails on iPhone

Whitelisting emails on iPhone is pretty straightforward and straightforward. Follow the guidelines outlined below, and you’re good to go.

• Navigate to the Mail app on your device
• Open it and hover to the Mailboxes screen
• Click on the Junk folder
• Once you have clicked on the junk folder, you will find the email address you wish to whitelist
• Proceed by swiping towards the left of the screen to see More options
• Click on the More button
• Click the Mark Button
• Click the Mark as Not Junk button

 

How to add an email address to Gmail

Adding an email address to the Gmail app is quite simple to do. All you need to do now is to follow the guide below:

• Open your Gmail app
• Look through the top right corner of the screen, click on your profile picture.
• Click on add another account.
• Select the account type you’re keen on adding to the Gmail app
• For example, if you want to add Yahoo! Mail, Outlook.com, Hotmail, and live, Select the one you want to add.
• If you’re not adding any of the email providers in step 4, Select Others
• You will be directed to the interface of the mail service provider you want to add.

 

How to use Google address book

 Have you tried sending messages on Gmail and noticed some people’s email address being outdated and filled with wrong names? Well, with the help of Google address book, this challenge can be solved successfully. Follow the guidelines outlined below, and you’re good to go.

 

• Log in to your Gmail account.
• Navigate to the top left corner of the screen and click the word Gmail
• Select contacts from the menu
• If you’re using the new version of the Google address book, the one Google calls Contact Preview Select the entry you wish to change
• Click the gray pencil icon located at the right side of the screen (if you wish, open the entry first and then click the pencil icon found at the top right corner of the contact card to edit the information)
• Click the Save button

 

Note! If you wish to clean up your address list by deleting old entries, you can do that once you’re in the contact area. To do this, follow the guide below:

 

• Open the contact
• Click the More button designed with three dots
• Choose the delete option
• To delete multiple contacts, click the trash icon in the contact preview or select the delete command located in the More menu.
• If you mistakenly delete an address book, go back to the More menu at the left side of the Contact Preview.
• Choose to restore contacts

 

How to create a new folder in Gmail

Creating a new folder in Gmail is simple, first of all, fix it in your mind that another word for the folder in Gmail, is Label. Now follow the guide below:

• Navigate to the left-hand side of your inbox and click More
• From there, you will see the option Create a new label
• Click on Create a new label and name your label as the window pops up

 

How to create labels in Gmail 

The steps below outline how to create labels in Gmail. Ensure to follow the guidelines carefully.

 

• Go to Gmail on your computer and open it
• Scroll down to the left and click More
• Click create a new label
• Name your label if wish as the window pops up
• Click create

 

 

How to whitelist an email address in Mimecast

To whitelist email addresses in Mimecast, the following instructions are to be followed to achieve successful whitelisting.

• Ensure you first log in to the Mimecast Administration Console
• Navigate to Administration
• Once you click on Administration, select Gateway on the drop-down 
• Go to policies after selecting Gateway
• Navigate to permitted senders (the email address you want to whitelist)
• Once you’re in, you’ll see the New policy button, select it including all the appropriate policy settings seen under options, Emails From, Emails To, and Validity sections.
• Complete all the sections of the appropriate policy settings
• Click the Save and Exit Button

We’re so glad that you’re here, and now you know how to whitelist our email address (or other people’s email addresses). 

When you have a little know-how, it will make your life easier!