Inboxes are often overwhelmed with spam and unwanted email, making it easy to miss the messages that truly matter. Whitelisting is a simple way that ensures important emails always reach you, avoiding filters that might redirect them to the junk folder.
This article explains what email whitelisting is and why it’s useful, how to whitelist emails on different platforms, and how Proton Mail can simplify the process.
What is email whitelisting?
Email whitelisting allows emails from specific senders to bypass spam filters and custom rules, so they’ll go straight to your inbox. In contrast, blacklisting blocks all emails that match your custom conditions, preventing them from reaching you.
An email whitelist helps both individuals and organizations guarantee that important messages get delivered. By allowing emails only from trusted sources, you reduce the chances of spam slipping through, which could carry malware or phishing attempts.
How email whitelisting works
Here’s what it means to set up an email whitelist:
- Creating an email whitelist: You manually add specific email addresses to a whitelist that can be usually managed from the settings or filter options of the email service.
- Bypassing filters: Emails from whitelisted addresses or domains bypass spam detection and any custom filters you’ve set up, so they’ll safely land in your inbox.
- Domain-based whitelisting: Whitelisting an entire domain (e.g., @example.com) means that all emails from any address at that domain are trusted. It’s helpful for ensuring that you receive all emails from a specific organization or business.
- Custom action and rules: Many email platforms allow you to set additional rules for whitelisted senders, such as automatically assigning them to specific folders.
- Whitelisting in organizations: In business or enterprise environments, IT administrators manage and regularly update email whitelists at the network or server level to include trusted clients, partners, and service providers, so important messages aren’t mistakenly filtered out.
How to whitelist an email address
Whitelisting an email address depends on the email platform you use. Here’s how you can do it on Proton Mail, Gmail, and Microsoft Outlook:
Proton Mail
- Click the gear icon.
- Select All settings.
- Go to Filters.
- Click Add address or domain and select Allow.
- Enter the email and click Add address.
After adding senders to your allow list, you can easily manage them in the Proton Mail settings.
Gmail
- Click the gear icon and select See all settings.
- Go to Filters and Blocked Addresses and click Create a new filter.
- Enter the email address at From and click Create filter.
- Select what happens when receiving the whitelisting email, such as Never send it to Spam, and click Create filter again.
Outlook
- Click the gear icon.
- Go to Mail > Junk email.
- At Safe Senders and domains, click Add safe sender.
- Enter the email address and click OK.
- Click Save.
Never miss key emails again with Proton Mail
Proton Mail is a secure email service that lets you whitelist emails or domains, ensuring important messages always reach your inbox. You can also set advanced custom filters to whitelist emails based on various criteria, such as sender, subject, recipient, or attachments, to help keep your inbox organized and protect it from spam or unwanted emails.
Our mission is to build an internet where privacy is the default. Proton Mail is just part of a fully encrypted ecosystem for all your data, including email, passwords, internet connections(new window), cloud storage(new window), calendar, and digital assets.
Frequently asked questions
What does “whitelist” mean?
Whitelisting means adding an entity, like an email address, website, or IP address to a “safe” list. For example, approved software or IP addresses can be whitelisted to allow them access to a system, bypassing firewall restrictions.
How do I check if an email is whitelisted?
Go to your email settings or filters section and look for any “Allow” or “Safe Senders” list (or something similar), where you can view approved addresses or domains. If the email in question is listed there, it’s whitelisted. You may also want to check that the email wasn’t accidentally added to the blacklist or blocklist section. In that case, you should delete the rule.
Should I whitelist email addresses?
Whitelisting email addresses can help if you’ve noticed important emails getting marked as spam or if you frequently receive messages from specific senders, like colleagues, clients, or services you rely on.
