Preventing Spam in General
Refrain from giving out your email address when possible. Naturally, you'll use your email address for social networks, bank accounts, and official websites (e.g., work services). However, if you can avoid entering your email on sites you only intend to use once or twice, you'll notice a significant reduction in the number of emails you receive.
Look for an "unsubscribe" button in emails. When you receive an email from a service such as LinkedIn, Best Buy, or a blog site, you can usually opt out of future correspondence by opening one of their emails, finding a link or button that says "Unsubscribe", and clicking it. The "unsubscribe" button may say something like "Click here to stop receiving these emails" or something similar. After clicking the "unsubscribe" button or link, you will likely be redirected to another webpage to confirm your decision.
Create a secondary email account for spam. There are times at which you'll need to provide a working email address to a service in order to prove that you're an active Internet user. To avoid receiving spam from other services that may purchase your email address from the original service, you can use an email address separate from your main account. This doesn't apply to official accounts like Facebook, Google, and so on.
Block a spam sender's email address. The process for doing this varies depending on the email provider you're using, but you can typically do so from within the desktop version of the offending email.
Using Gmail (iPhone)
Open Gmail. It's a white app with a red "M" on the front. If you aren't logged into Gmail, first enter your email address and password.
Tap and hold a spam email. After a moment, it will be selected. If you need to switch inboxes or accounts, first tap ☰ in the top-left corner of the screen and select the folder or account from the pop-out menu.
Tap any other spam emails. Doing so will select them as well.
Tap …. It's in the top-right corner of the screen. You'll see a drop-down menu appear.
Tap Report spam. This option is at the bottom of the drop-down menu. Your selected emails will be moved from their folder into the "Spam" folder, and similar emails in the future will be moved to the "Spam" folder automatically. You may have to categorize emails from this sender as spam a few times before Gmail begins moving them to the "Spam" folder of its own volition.
Tap ☰. It's in the top-left corner of the screen.
Tap Spam. You'll see this folder toward the bottom of the pop-out menu; you may first need to scroll down in order to find it.
Tap EMPTY SPAM NOW. It's on the right side of the screen, directly above the top email in the "Spam" folder.
Tap OK when prompted. Your selected spam will be permanently deleted from your Gmail account.
Using Gmail (Android)
Open Gmail. It's a white app with a red "M" on the front. If you aren't logged into Gmail, first enter your email address and password.
Tap and hold a spam email. After a moment, it will be selected. If you need to switch inboxes or accounts, first tap ☰ in the top-left corner of the screen and select the folder or account from the pop-out menu.
Tap any other spam emails. Doing so will select them as well.
Tap ⋮. It's in the top-right corner of the screen. You'll see a pop-out menu appear.
Tap Report spam. This option is at the bottom of the pop-out menu.
Tap REPORT SPAM & UNSUBSCRIBE. Doing this will both move your email to the "Spam" folder and unsubscribe you from its mailing list. If you don't see REPORT SPAM & UNSUBSCRIBE, just tap REPORT SPAM.
Tap ☰. It's in the top-left corner of the screen.
Tap Spam. You'll see this folder toward the bottom of the pop-out menu; you may first need to scroll down in order to find it.
Tap EMPTY SPAM NOW. It's on the right side of the screen, directly above the top email in the "Spam" folder.
Tap Delete when prompted. Your selected spam will be permanently deleted from your Gmail account.
Using Gmail (Desktop)
Go to the Gmail website. You can do so by visiting https://mail.google.com/. If you're already logged into your Gmail account, doing so will open your inbox. If you aren't logged in, enter your email address and password before continuing.
Click the box to the left of a spam email. This will select the email. If you want to select multiple emails, repeat this process for each email. To select every email in your inbox, click the box icon above the "Primary" tab.
Click the stop sign icon. It has an exclamation mark in the middle of it; you'll see it to the left of the trash icon. Clicking this will move all selected emails to the "Spam" folder.
Click Spam. This option is in the list of options on the right side of the page. You may first have to click More labels to view Spam.
Click the "Delete all spam messages now" link. It's at the top of the inbox. Doing so will permanently delete all emails in the "Spam" folder.
Using iOS Mail
Open Mail. It's a blue app with a white envelope on it. Mail is a pre-installed app on all iPhones, iPads, and iPods.
Tap Edit. It's in the top-right corner of the screen. If Mail opens to the "Mailboxes" page, first tap an inbox.
Tap each spam email. Doing so will select each email you tap.
Tap Mark. It's in the bottom-left corner of the screen. You'll see a pop-up menu appear.
Tap Mark as Junk. Your selected emails will be moved to the "Junk" folder.
Tap the "Back" button. This will take you back to the "Mailboxes" page.
Tap Junk. Doing so will open the "Junk" folder. You should see your recently marked emails in here. If you're using more than one email inbox in the Mail app, make sure the "Junk" folder you open is beneath the proper inbox's heading.
Tap Edit. It's in the top-right corner of the screen.
Tap Delete All. You'll see this option in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
Tap Delete All when prompted. This will delete all mail from your "Junk" folder.
Using iCloud Mail
Go to the iCloud Mail site. It's located at https://www.icloud.com/#mail. If you're already signed into iCloud, doing so will take you to your iCloud inbox. If you aren't signed in, enter your iCloud email address and password and click →.
Click an email you wish to mark as spam. This will open the email on the right side of the webpage. You can hold down Ctrl or ⌘ Command and click emails to select multiple emails at once.
Click the flag icon. It's at the top of the open email. Doing so will prompt a drop-down menu.
Click Move to Junk. Your selected emails will be moved to iCloud's "Junk" folder.
Click Junk. It's a tab on the left side of the page.
Click an email. If you moved multiple emails to the "Junk" folder, select all of them.
Click the trash can icon. It's near the flag icon at the top of the email side of the screen. Doing so will delete all selected emails.
Using Yahoo (Mobile)
Open Yahoo Mail. It's a purple app with a white envelope and "YAHOO!" written below it. If you're logged into Yahoo, this will take you to the inbox. If you aren't logged in, first enter your Yahoo email address and password.
Press and hold an email. Doing so will select it after a moment.
Tap other spam emails. They will be selected as you tap them.
Tap …. It's in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
Tap Mark as spam. This option is at the bottom of the screen. Doing so will move your selected emails to the "Spam" folder.
Tap ☰. It's either in the top-left corner of the screen (iPhone) or on the left side of the "Inbox" search bar (Android)
Scroll down and tap the trash icon to the right of Spam. This option will prompt a pop-up window. If you don't see the trash icon, tap Spam, select any emails in the folder, and tap the trash can icon.
Tap OK. All emails in the "Spam" folder will be deleted.
Using Yahoo (Desktop)
Go to the Yahoo website. It's located at https://www.yahoo.com/. Doing so will open the Yahoo home page.
Click Mail. You'll see this option in the top-right corner of the page. This will take you to the inbox. If you aren't signed into Yahoo, click Sign in near the top-right corner of the page and enter your email address and password.
Click the box to the left of a spam email. Doing so will select it. You can do this for all spam emails in your inbox. Click the box icon above the top email on the left side of the page to select all emails in your inbox.
Click Spam. It's in the toolbar near the top of your inbox. This option moves all selected emails to the "Spam" folder.
Click the trash can icon right of the "Spam" folder. This folder is on the left side of the webpage, directly below the "Archive" folder.
Click OK when prompted. Doing so will permanently remove all emails in the "Spam" folder from your Yahoo account.
Using Outlook (Desktop)
Go to the Outlook website. It's at the following url: https://www.outlook.com/. If you're logged into Outlook, doing so will take you to your inbox. If you aren't logged into Outlook, first enter your Outlook email address and password. You cannot mark emails as spam on the Outlook mobile app.
Click the box to the left of a spam email. This will select the email. Repeat this process for all emails in your inbox that you consider spam.
Click Junk. It's an option at the top of your inbox. Doing so will mark the selected email(s) as spam and move all selected items into the "Junk" folder.
Click the Junk folder. You'll find it on the left side of the page.
Click Empty folder. This button is at the top of the "Junk" folder.
Click OK when prompted. Doing so deletes all mail that's in the "Junk" folder.
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