The Tool Desk
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Choose how Mail handles suspected junk
Open Mail, select Mail > Settings, then click Junk Mail. Make sure Enable junk mail filtering is selected. Under When junk mail arrives, choose the behavior that suits how closely you want to review the filter’s decisions.
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| Option | Inbox visibility | Automation | Customization |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mark as junk mail, but leave it in my Inbox | Flagged messages remain visible in the Inbox. | Lower: you can review classifications where they arrive. | Uses the standard junk filter behavior. |
| Move it to the Junk mailbox | Flagged messages are removed from the Inbox and placed in Junk. | Higher: Inbox cleanup happens automatically. | Uses the standard junk filter behavior. |
| Perform custom actions | Depends on the actions you configure. | Depends on your conditions and actions. | Greatest: define matching conditions and what Mail does with matching messages. |
Apple documents these choices in its Junk Mail settings guide. If you choose automatic moving, check the Junk mailbox periodically so you can catch legitimate messages that were misclassified.
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In Mail, select a message and use the Junk control to identify it as junk. If a legitimate message was flagged, use Not Junk or Move to Inbox to correct the classification. Apple says, “Each time you confirm a message as junk or not junk, the junk mail filter improves so Mail can better identify junk mail.” See Apple’s guidance on reducing junk mail.
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Set custom conditions and actions
For more control than the standard handling choices provide, select Perform custom actions in Junk Mail settings and click Advanced. Apple’s Junk Mail Advanced settings guide describes the available conditions and actions.
- Optionally enter a description for the custom action.
- Choose whether any or all of the listed conditions must be true.
- Add the conditions you want Mail to evaluate.
- Choose the action or actions Mail should take, such as moving a matching message to a selected mailbox.
Keep the default Message is junk mail condition if you want Mail’s learned junk database to remain part of the identification. Apple recommends leaving that condition in place when adding custom criteria.
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Adjust exemptions, headers, and rule order
The Junk Mail pane includes options that change which messages are considered or when filtering happens:
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- Exempt senders and messages: Apple lists people in Contacts, people you have previously corresponded with, and messages addressed using your full name as exemption categories. These exceptions can help keep expected correspondence out of junk filtering.
- Trust junk mail headers in messages: Mail uses junk-detection information already present in incoming messages.
- Filter junk mail before applying my rules: Mail applies its junk filter before user-created rules, including rules that might otherwise move a message out of the Inbox.
These controls are documented in Apple’s Junk Mail settings guide.
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Reset the junk filter only if needed
The Reset option restores the default criteria Mail uses to identify junk. Apple warns that resetting also deletes what Mail has learned from you about junk mail, so use it as a troubleshooting measure rather than routine tuning.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Blocking a sender is a separate setting
Blocking a sender is different from customizing the general junk classifier. Apple documents blocked-message handling under Mail > Settings > Junk Mail > Blocked. There, enable blocked mail filtering and choose whether blocked messages are marked but left in the Inbox or moved to Trash. Blocked senders can also be managed through Blocked Contacts settings. See Apple’s Blocked settings guide.
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Menu names and controls can vary as macOS and Mail are updated; the paths here reflect Apple’s cited Mail User Guide pages.
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