How do I stop emails from going to spam in Gmail?
Open Spam, select the email and click Not spam. Google's help page on reporting spam in Gmail says that after you remove an email from Spam, future emails from that sender won't go to Spam. Two backups make it stick: add the sender to Google Contacts, and on a computer, create a filter with Never send it to Spam ticked. Google's page on fixing valid emails in Spam lists all three (checked 4 Nov 2026).
Check one thing first. The same spam help page warns: "When you block a sender, even when you remove their emails from Spam, Gmail still automatically identifies their emails as spam." If one sender keeps returning to Spam, open Settings, See all settings, then Filters and Blocked Addresses, and unblock them there, as Google's block and unblock page describes.
| Fix | Computer | Android | iPhone and iPad | What Google says it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not spam | Yes | Yes (Report not spam) | Yes (Report not spam) | Future emails from that sender won't go to Spam |
| Add to contacts | Google Contacts | Contacts app | Google Contacts in a browser | Their emails won't go to Spam |
| Filter: Never send it to Spam | Yes | No, needs a computer | No, needs a computer | A specific sender's emails never go to Spam |
What are the exact steps on a computer, Android and iPhone?
These steps come from Google's Gmail help pages for each device, checked 4 Nov 2026. Menu names can shift between app versions; if a button isn't where the page says, the computer route has all three fixes.
Computer: mark Not spam
Open Gmail. In the main menu on the left, click More, then Spam. Tick the box next to the email and click Not spam at the top.
Computer: a filter so one sender never goes to Spam
In the search bar at the top, click Show search options. Next to From, enter the sender's email address. Click Create filter at the bottom of the search window, tick Never send it to Spam, then click Create filter.
Android: Report not spam
Open the Gmail app, tap Menu at the top left, then Spam. Open the email, tap More at the top right, then Report not spam. To add the sender as a contact, open the Contacts app, tap Add at the bottom right, enter the name and email address, and tap Save.
iPhone and iPad: Report not spam
In the Gmail app, tap Menu, then Spam, open the email (Google's other iPhone page says touch and hold it), tap More, then Report not spam. For the contact, Google's page says to open your browser, go to Google Contacts, tap Add, then Create a contact, and tap Save.
On phones, the filter step is missing for a reason: Google's Android version of the same page says "To create a filter, you must open Gmail from your computer." Rescue the email on your phone now and add the filter next time you're at a desk.
What does the warning on a Gmail spam message mean?
Google's spam help page says every email in Spam has a warning at the top that explains why Gmail sent it there. That banner is the fastest diagnosis for both sides, so if you're the sender, ask the recipient to copy its wording to you.
| Warning (Google's label) | What Google says it means | Reader: what to do | Sender: what to fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Messages from an unconfirmed sender | Gmail can't confirm who sent the email | Report not spam only if you're sure the sender is trusted | Authentication: DKIM and SPF (see the Workspace section below) |
| Emails you sent to Spam | You reported an email from this sender as spam | Remove it from Spam; future emails won't go there | Nothing technical; it was the reader's own report |
| You tried to unsubscribe from this sender | Emails sent after you unsubscribe go straight to Spam | Remove it from Spam if you want them again | Stop mailing anyone who unsubscribed |
| Administrator-set policies | A work or school admin set controls that mark certain emails as spam | Contact your admin | Ask the recipient's admin to add you to an approved senders list |
| Spoofed email addresses | The address looks very like a known sender's, for example a 0 in place of an O | Don't reply or click links until you've checked the address | Send only from your real domain |
| Messages content is empty | Spammers send blank emails to test whether addresses are valid | Report not spam if it's from someone you know | Never send a test email with an empty subject and body |
Look at the sender line too. Google's page on checking whether a Gmail message is authenticated says a question mark next to the sender's name means the message isn't authenticated. On a computer, click the Down arrow below the sender's name: an authenticated message shows a Mailed by line with the domain and a Signed by line with the sending domain.
How do Google Workspace admins stop valid email going to spam?
Admins can add an approved senders list that bypasses Gmail's spam filters for a whole organisational unit. Google's admin page on custom spam filters (last updated 26 Oct 2026) gives these steps, and you need the Gmail Settings administrator privilege:
- In the Google Admin console, go to Menu, Apps, Google Workspace, Gmail, then Spam, Phishing and Malware.
- On the left, select an organisational unit.
- Scroll to Spam and click Configure, or Add another rule.
- Name the setting, tick Bypass spam filters for messages from senders or domains in selected lists, and select or create an address list of approved senders.
- Click Save. Google says changes can take up to 24 hours but typically happen more quickly.
Four details from Google's own pages. Spam from an approved sender lands in the inbox with a banner saying it wasn't sent to Spam because of your organisation's settings. Google's troubleshooting page for valid mail marked as spam says a message Gmail finds potentially suspicious can still be rejected or sent to spam even if the sender is on your allowlist. Custom spam filters apply only to incoming messages and can't be applied to groups. And Google says it doesn't recommend the option that bypasses spam filters for all internal and external senders, because it increases the chance of spam and phishing reaching your people.
The same troubleshooting page tells admins to ask external senders to authenticate their mail with SPF, DKIM and DMARC. Personal @gmail.com accounts have no Admin console, so for them, Not spam, unblocking, contacts and filters are the whole toolkit.
Why are my Google Workspace emails going to spam?
Start by checking that your mail is authenticated as your domain. Google's email sender guidelines require everyone sending to personal Gmail accounts to set up SPF or DKIM, and its authentication help page says unauthenticated messages are very likely to get rejected. The sender guidelines FAQ says those rules don't apply to messages sent to Google Workspace accounts, but Workspace mailboxes are still filtered: Google's admin page says Gmail scans all email messages for spam and admins can't turn that off. Check these in order:
- DKIM is generated and switched on. Signed in as a super administrator, go to Apps, Google Workspace, Gmail, Authenticate email in the Admin console, and click Generate New Record. Add it at your domain host as a TXT record (google._domainkey with the default selector), then come back and click Start authentication. Google's DKIM page says you must wait 24 to 72 hours after turning on Gmail before you can get the key, and DKIM can take up to 48 hours to start working. Our DKIM checker tries the common selectors, including google.
- One SPF record that lists every sender. Google's SPF page says the record should include all servers that send for your domain, naming services such as Contact us forms, and allows up to 10 include: tags. Workspace alone is v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all, and Google's examples add one include per extra service. The SPF checker flags a second record or too many lookups.
- Test with someone else's Gmail. Google's DKIM page says you can't verify DKIM by sending yourself a test. Send to a colleague, open it, click More, then Show original, and look for DKIM=pass in Authentication-Results.
- Honest names and subjects. The guidelines say a display name shouldn't contain subject or message content, the recipient's name, or anything implying a thread, such as User (2). Subjects shouldn't start with Re: or Fwd: unless the message really is a reply or forward.
- Separate kinds of mail. Google says messages of the same category should share a From address (receipts, promotions, alerts), and not to mix promotions into receipts.
- Don't report your own team. The guidelines say marking internal messages as spam can hurt your domain's reputation, so future messages might be marked as spam.
If the mail is cold outreach, the next levers are pace, spam reports and list quality. Our spam fix list for cold email works through Google's 0.1% and 0.3% spam-rate figures at small volumes. For Gmail's daily caps and what gets an account suspended, see cold email from Gmail.
A note to send a client whose Gmail puts you in spam
For one important client, the fastest fix is asking them to rescue your email, which takes them a few clicks. Fix your own authentication first, because Google says unauthenticated messages are very likely to get rejected. Copy this and change the sample names:
If you send cold email with Siela's Lead Finder, it goes from a Gmail mailbox you connect, up to 100 emails a day per mailbox, so the DKIM and SPF checks above apply to that mailbox's domain. Clients on Outlook.com or Microsoft 365 have different menus, and Microsoft 365 adds a quarantine; our guide to stopping emails going to spam in Outlook covers them.
Frequently asked questions
How do I stop spam in my Gmail inbox?
Select the email and click Report spam on a computer, or open it in the app and tap More, then Report spam. Google says that as you report more spam, Gmail identifies similar emails as spam more efficiently. For one persistent sender, open their email and choose More, then Block, which sends their future emails to Spam. For newsletters you signed up to, Google suggests Unsubscribe instead.
Why are my emails going to spam instead of the inbox?
Ask a recipient which warning Gmail shows above your message, because it names the reason: an unconfirmed sender, an earlier spam report, an unsubscribe or an admin policy. The unconfirmed-sender case is yours to fix. Google requires SPF or DKIM from everyone sending to personal Gmail accounts, so check that one of them passes in Show original before changing anything else.
Why is my GoDaddy email going to spam?
One thing to check is whether your SPF record lists every service that sends as your domain. Google's SPF help page gives v=spf1 include:secureserver.net ~all for GoDaddy alone, and adds include:_spf.google.com when Google Workspace sends too. Keep a single SPF record, add each sender to it, then test by emailing a colleague's Gmail and reading Show original.
Can I whitelist a sender in Gmail on my phone?
Partly. In the Gmail app on Android, iPhone or iPad you can open Spam, tap More and choose Report not spam, and you can add the sender to your contacts. Filters with Never send it to Spam need Gmail on a computer, as Google's phone help pages say. Google's personal Gmail pages describe contacts and filters rather than a separate safe senders list (checked 4 Nov 2026).
Why does Gmail keep sending a sender to spam after I click Not spam?
Check whether you blocked them at some point. Google says a blocked sender's emails are still identified as spam even after you remove them from Spam. On a computer, open Settings, See all settings, then Filters and Blocked Addresses, tick the sender and click Unblock selected addresses. If mail still lands in Spam, add a filter with Never send it to Spam for that address.
Sources
- Gmail Help: Report spam in Gmail (computer, Android, iPhone and iPad) (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- Gmail Help: Fix issues with valid emails in Spam (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- Gmail Help: Fix issues with valid emails in Spam (Android version) (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- Gmail Help: Block an email address in Gmail (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- Gmail Help: Check if your Gmail message is authenticated (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- Google Workspace Admin: Add custom spam filters to Gmail (last updated 26 Oct 2026; checked 4 Nov 2026)
- Google Workspace Admin: Gmail marks valid email messages as spam (last updated 26 Oct 2026; checked 4 Nov 2026)
- Google Workspace Admin: Set up DKIM (last updated 26 Oct 2026; checked 4 Nov 2026)
- Google Workspace Admin: Set up SPF (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- Gmail Help: Email sender guidelines (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- Gmail Help: Email sender guidelines FAQ (checked 4 Nov 2026)