Reduce junk mail in Mail on 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.
Tip: If you don’t like spam, make sure the junk mail filter is on. Choose Mail > Preferences, click Junk Mail, then verify “Enable junk mail filtering” is selected.
Mark messages as junk or not junk
In the Mail app
on your Mac, select a message.Do one of the following:
If Mail incorrectly marked the message as junk: Click Not Junk in the message banner or click the Not Junk button
in the Mail toolbar (or use the Touch Bar). Mail moves the message to your Inbox.If Mail failed to mark the message as junk: Click the Junk button
in the Mail toolbar (or use the Touch Bar). Mail moves the message to the Junk mailbox.
If you don’t see the buttons, make sure the junk mail filter is turned on in Mail preferences.
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
The default settings catch most of the junk mail you receive, but you can customize the filter.
In the Mail app
on your Mac, choose Mail > Preferences, then click Junk Mail.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.”
Select options for exempting messages from being evaluated, such as messages received from people who use your full name.
To include in the filter any junk mail detection inherent in messages, select “Trust junk mail headers in messages.”
Reset the junk mail filter
Resetting the junk mail filter to its original state removes what Mail learned from you whenever you marked emails as junk or not junk.
In the Mail app
on your Mac, choose Mail > Preferences, then click Junk Mail.Click Reset.