You open an email, glance at it for a few seconds, and move on. What many people don’t realize is that the sender may already know you opened it. Modern email tools can track when a message is opened, how many times it’s read, and sometimes even where it was opened from.

Because of this, many users start wondering how to stop email tracking and protect their privacy. Businesses and email marketing services often rely on tracking to measure how their emails perform, but it can feel intrusive if you don’t want your activity monitored.

The good news is that you don’t have to accept it. There are several simple tricks you can use - from adjusting your email settings to blocking certain senders - to reduce or stop email tracking and take back control of your inbox in 2026.

What is Email Tracking

If you have ever wondered how people “know” when you are reading their email, it’s because of email tracking. It’s a method that businesses and email marketers use to determine your behavior when receiving their emails.

Here’s a list of ways they can track your behavior:

• When you read their email - even if it’s just for a second
• How many times you read their email
• Which links you click on

The two most common ways that this is done are:

• Tracking Pixels
  These are tiny images in emails that are invisible to the naked eye. When you open an email in your email client, the sender is notified that you opened their email. You don't see anything, but they know you opened their email.

• Tracked (Redirect) Links
  A redirect link is a URL that sends you through a middleman server before taking you to the final website. The middleman (the tracking server) records information like:

  • Which link you clicked
  • When you clicked it
  • Sometimes your location or device

After that, you’re quickly sent to the real website. For you, it feels like a normal click, but the sender knows you interacted with the email.

Is Email Tracking Legal

Short Answer: Yes

Email tracking is legal as long as it complies with email tracking regulations such as the CAN-SPAM Act (US) and the General Data Protection Regulation (EU).

For Example, the CAN-SPAM Act requires senders to provide an opt-out mechanism if they track email activity, which means recipients can choose not to be tracked.

Email tracking activities that do not comply with these laws are considered illegal.

How to Stop Email Tracking

If you're like most people, you may find email tracking invasive, as it monitors when you open emails and interact with them. Thankfully, there are some steps you can take to stop email tracking.

1. Disable Automatic Image Loading

Most email tracking methods rely on image pixel tracking. Email trackers such as MailSuite embed a tiny invisible image in the email. When the email is opened, and the image loads, the sender is notified that the email was opened.

If you disable automatic image loading in your email client, you prevent these pixels from loading, and the sender won't be able to know you opened their email.

2. How to Stop Email Tracking in Gmail

Email opens are most commonly tracked through image pixels. By turning off automatic image loading, you can avoid the sender from tracking whether you opened their email and when and how often you did so.

In Gmail, click on the gear icon at the top right to open Settings and then click See All Settings. Scroll down to disable automatic download of external images and click "Save Changes".

3. Avoid Clicking Tracked Links

Not clicking links in emails is generally the best practice, whether the email is being tracked or not. Because sometimes, the links could lead to phishing sites.

If you want to avoid getting your link clicks tracked, consider not opening links in an email and directly visiting the websites, e.g. to book a call or place an order.

Another thing you can do is copy the link address and remove the tracking parameters before visiting the link.

4. Use Email Tracking Blockers

There are also tools available that can prevent senders from knowing if you opened their emails. Note that the tools mentioned below don't block link tracking.

Some examples of email tracking blockers are:

• Email Tracking Blocker by CloudHQ (for Gmail)
  This tool lets you know who is using email tracking and disables the tracking for you.

• Ugly Email (Chrome & Firefox)
  Ugly Email is a free browser extension for Chrome and Firefox that detects tracking pixels in your inbox. It shows an eye icon next to emails that contain tracking. This way, you can quickly identify emails that may be monitoring you when you open them.

5. Use Privacy-Focused Email Clients

If you want to avoid email tracking, switch to an email client that automatically blocks email trackers.

• Apple Mail
  If you're an Apple user, Apple Mail already prevents email tracking. Apple Mail uses Mail Privacy Protection, which prevents senders from detecting when an email is opened. There is no way for the sender to confirm whether you actually opened the email. Mail Privacy Protection also masks your personal information, such as region, IP address, etc.

• Proton Mail
  Proton Mail is a privacy-focused email client that provides a secure email experience. Blocking email trackers is one of the security features it provides.

6. Unsubscribe From Marketing Emails

Email tracking is heavily used by email marketers. Most marketing emails are sent in bulk using email automation tools like ActiveCampaign and MailChimp, etc. These platforms have mechanisms to track email opens and link clicks. Email marketers may use this information to send targeted emails based on your interaction with the email.

Unsubscribing from newsletters and marketing emails reduces the number of tracked emails you receive.

7. Block Annoying Senders
If you care about your email privacy and don’t want certain senders tracking your activity, you can block them entirely. Tools like BlockSender make it easy to create rules that automatically block emails from specific senders or domains.

Just install the Chrome extension and link your Gmail account.

Next, open an email from the sender you want to block, click the block icon in the toolbar and select "Emails from this sender".

Conclusion

Email tracking does not have to make you feel as though your privacy is being invaded. By taking back your inbox, you can choose who is privy to your activity and who is not. Basic steps such as turning off automatic images, being careful of tracked links, using private email clients, opting out of marketing emails, and blocking senders can make a huge difference.

Tools like BlockSender make taking back your inbox easy. You have the power to block senders who track your activity. By employing the above tips, you will finally be able to enjoy your emails without feeling as though you’re being tracked.

Coinbase Global, Inc. is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchange companies for buying, selling and storing digital currencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Polkadot. It has over 100 million users.

As a widely used and trusted platform, Coinbase has to deal with scammers impersonating the company and carrying out financial scams against its users. Coinbase email scams are on the rise, with an estimated $300 million lost to Coinbase scams each year.

In this guide, we'll explain what a Coinbase email scam is and how you can identify a Coinbase scam email, so you can safeguard your Coinbase account and digital currencies.

Why Scammers Target Coinbase Users

Users of cryptocurrency platforms such as Coinbase are heavily targeted by scammers, mainly because crypto transactions are irreversible. If a scammer transfers crypto from your Coinbase wallet, there's nothing Coinbase can do to reverse the transaction.

Many Coinbase accounts contain large amounts of crypto, often worth tens of thousands or even millions of dollars.

Coinbase has a large user base, so it's highly likely someone will fall for the phishing attempt, especially new and inexperienced users who may not fully understand how the platform works.

Common Coinbase Scam Email Warning Signs

Scam emails can be convincing at first glance, but the warning signs are usually there. If an email pressures you to take immediate action, pause and verify its authenticity first.

Suspicious Sender Email Address

If the sender's email address ends in anything other than coinbase.com, it's likely a scam email.

Urgent or Threatening Language

Coinbase scam emails often use urgency-based tactics, such as

• "Your password is about to expire"
• "A transaction was made"
• "Update your 2FA"
• "Your account will be locked"

These messages are designed to create panic and push you to act quickly.

Source: Coinbase.com

Fake Login Links

Always hover (on desktop) or long-press (on mobile) over links in an email before clicking them.

If the destination does not exactly match the official Coinbase website domain (for example, coinbase.com), do not click it; it's likely a phishing attempt.

When in doubt, avoid using the email link altogether and manually type the official website into your browser instead.

Requests for Sensitive Information

A Coinbase scam email often asks for sensitive information, such as your password, authentication codes, or recovery phrases. This is a major red flag.

Spelling or Grammatical Errors

Watch for spelling mistakes, awkward phrasing, or grammatical errors. These are common red flags in scam and phishing emails. Legitimate companies typically proofread their communications, so grammatical or spelling errors can be a warning sign.

Example of a Coinbase Scam Email

Below is an example of an actual Coinbase scam email to help you identify Coinbase phishing attacks.

Source: Coinbase.com

How Do I Know If a Coinbase Email Is Real?

With phishing scams becoming increasingly sophisticated, it can be easy to fall for Coinbase scam emails. Therefore, it's strongly advised to verify the authenticity of an email before interacting with it, such as clicking any link or calling a number provided in the email.

Official Coinbase Email Address

Official Coinbase email addresses always end with "coinbase.com".

Coinbase email addresses include but are not limited to [email protected], [email protected] and [email protected].

Pay close attention to slight misspellings such as @coiinbase.com, which scammers use to trick users.

No request for password, 2FA codes or remote access to your computer

A legitimate email from Coinbase will never ask you to share your password, 2-step verification code, or remote access to your device.

Official Coinbase Website Links

Legitimate emails will only link to the official Coinbase website. Scam emails often redirect to fake websites that look similar to the real one.

What to Do If You Receive a Suspicious Coinbase Email

If you receive a suspicious Coinbaseemail, take the following steps immediately:

• Do NOT click any links in the email.
• Do not call phone numbers listed in the email.
• Do not provide any personal information.

Refer to the official Coinbase website to get the official email address or phone number if you need to contact them

3. Access your account only by typing the official website directly into your browser or using the mobile app.

4. Report the email to the Coinbase security team. In Gmail, right-click the email, select Forward as attachment, and send it to [email protected]. Forwarding the email as an attachment ensures that the Coinbase security team can view the full email headers and trace the sender.

5. Report the email to your email provider.

6. Block the sender.

You can block scam emails through your email provider or by using BlockSender, an app designed specifically for blocking unwanted senders. It allows you to block individual addresses or entire domains quickly and easily.

Simply install the Block Sender Chrome extension, sign up and begin blocking.

Open any Coinbase scam email, click the Block button at the top and select "Emails from this sender". We suggest using the "Emails from this domain" to block all emails from the scam domain.

What to Do If You Clicked a Coinbase Scam Email

If you accidentally clicked a link and entered sensitive information, act immediately:

1. Change your Coinbase account password

2. Enable 2 Factor Authentication on your Coinbase account for an added layer of security.

3. Contact Coinbase support

4. Monitor your account closely for unauthorized transactions.

The faster you respond, the better your chances of limiting potential damage.

Conclusion

Scammers frequently impersonate Coinbase to trick users into revealing sensitive information or transferring funds. Because crypto transactions are irreversible, even one careless click can lead to permanent losses. Always verify the sender, avoid urgent or suspicious links, and never share your password or 2FA codes.

If you receive a suspicious email, don’t engage with it. Report it, block the sender, and access your account only through the official website or app. You can also use BlockSender to quickly block scam addresses or entire domains. Staying alert and taking quick action are the best ways to protect your Coinbase account and your digital assets.

Geek Squad is a tech support and repair service owned by Best Buy. Its services are quite popular, especially in the United States. And like any other popular company, Geek Squad also gets impersonated by scammers a lot. Many people report receiving Geek Squad email scam messages that attempt to steal money, personal information, or device access.

Sometimes, scammers trick you into giving them remote access to your computer and installing viruses or spyware on it. So, it's important to be aware of the Geek Squad scam and stay vigilant.

In this guide, we’ll explain:

• Common types of Geek Squad email scams
• How to recognize fake Geek Squad emails
• What to do if you receive or fall for a scam
• How to block Geek Squad scam emails permanently

Types of Geek Squad Scams

Scammers use various tactics to trick users. Below are some types of Geek Squad email scams circulating on the Internet.

• Refund Scam
  You may receive a fake invoice claiming you purchased a service from Geek Squad and your bank account was charged a large amount. They include a fake customer support number in the email to refund the purchase. Oftentimes, people panic and call the fake number in the email to cancel the purchase without checking their bank account first to see if the deduction was actually made.

• Remote Access Scam
  This scam is potentially very dangerous. Scammers pretend to be a Geek Squad support agent and request remote access to your computer to fix a problem. Instead, what they really do is install malware or spyware on your device, take control of your computer or steal sensitive information such as passwords.

• Spoofed Geek Squad Website
  Not clicking links in an email and directly visiting the website is a safe approach. However, you need to make sure that the website is legitimate and not a fake one. Scammers create fake versions of websites to trick users. Always remember to watch out for red flags, such as spelling mistakes in the domain name.

How to Recognize a Geek Squad Scam Email

If you receive a suspicious email from Geek Squad, don't worry and look for the following signs that easily give away whether it's a scam or not.

• Unofficial Email Address
  If you receive a Geek Squad email from an email address ending in @gmail.com or any other email domain other than @geeksquad.com or @bestbuy.com, it's a scam! Sometimes, scammers also use the official domain name with some variations like @geeeksquad.com, so pay attention to these subtle differences.

• Urgency of Cancellation
  Another sign of a Geek Squad scam email is that the sender will prompt you to take quick action, such as cancelling the purchase within 24 hours to get a full refund.

• Poor Grammar or Typos
  You will hardly find any typing errors or grammatical mistakes in a legitimate email from Geek Squad. However, you can notice many mistakes in a scam email. This is one of the easiest ways to tell them apart.

• Generalized Greeting
  Scammers usually don't have access to information such as your name, as these emails are often randomly sent out in bulk and not specifically targeted. You will notice greetings such as "Dear customer/user" or a simple "Hi".

• Request for Personal Information
  Be careful not to share any personal information such as login credentials or bank account details. A legitimate Geek Squad email would never ask for your personal information.

What to Do If You Receive a Geek Squad Scam Email

You should take the following actions if you've been targeted by a Geek Squad scam email:

• Don't click on any links or attachments in the email.
• Don't provide any personal or sensitive information.
• Report the email as spam.
• Block the sender. (read next section)

Use Block Sender to Block Geek Squad Scam and Phishing Emails

Blocking the sender will ensure you never receive scam emails from the same email address ever again, and it's simple and easy to do with Block Sender.

Block Sender is an email productivity tool that lets you take back control of your inbox. You can block email addresses, entire email domains, sub-domains, domain extensions, subject lines, phrases, IP addresses and even bounce back emails to make the sender think their emails are not getting delivered to you. It also comes with a Chrome extension so that you can easily block emails directly within Gmail.

Here's how to use the Block Sender Chrome extension to block Geek Squad scam emails in just a few clicks:

1. Install the Block Sender Chrome extension if you haven't already.
2. Link your Gmail account.
3. Open the Geek Squad scam email.
4. Click on the Block icon in the toolbar and select "Emails from this Sender".

That's it! That's how easy it is to block emails with Block Sender!

What to Do If You've Been Scammed

If you realize you've fallen for the Geek Squad email scam, don't panic, but act quickly to minimize potential damage.

If You Gave Remote Access to a Scammer:

1. Immediately disconnect your device from the Internet.
2. Shut down your computer to stop any ongoing unauthorized access.
3. Change all your passwords, especially for email, banking and any other sensitive accounts. (Use a different, secure device to do so.)
4. Notify your bank or credit card company of the situation.
   Monitor your bank account and credit card accounts for any suspicious activity.
5. Back up important files on your computer. (in offline mode)
6. Consider doing a full factory reset to remove any malware or remote access software.

If you clicked a malicious link:

• Run a full antivirus scan.
• Change your passwords, especially if you entered your login credentials on a suspicious website.
• Clear your browser cache and cookies.

Conclusion

The Geek Squad email scam is one of the most common phishing tactics used today. By learning how to recognize the warning signs of a scam email, such as suspicious sender addresses, urgent language, and requests for personal information, you can protect yourself from falling victim.

If you do receive a scam, taking quick action is key to minimizing the damage.

And with tools like Block Sender, you can easily block these phishing attempts and keep your inbox safe and clutter-free. Stay informed, stay cautious and take control of your online security.

Are you subscribed to a ton of emails that you rarely read, and they only sit cluttering your inbox? Managing email subscriptions can be a hassle. Newsletters that you never read, promotional emails you never open, surveys and feedback requests or social media updates, and the list goes on.

If you ever decide to lighten the load on your inbox and unsubscribe from unwanted email subscriptions, you'll notice that the process is far from easy. It involves sifting through the inbox, finding emails you're subscribed to and unsubscribing from each sender individually.

If that sounds like a lot of work, which, honestly, it is, you'll be relieved to know that Gmail recently launched a feature that makes the process a whole lot easier. It's called Manage Subscriptions. It helps you manage all your email subscriptions in one place.

If that sounds interesting, give this article a read and find out how to use the new Manage Subscriptions feature in Gmail, its limitations and how Block Sender goes even beyond that.

What is Gmail's New "Manage Subscriptions" Feature?

Gmail recently launched a new feature, Manage Subscriptions, which lists all your email subscriptions in one place so you can easily manage them and unsubscribe from unwanted emails.

You can find it by opening the main menu on the right side of Gmail and clicking "More" > "Manage Subscriptions".

Here, you'll find all the emails you're subscribed to in one centralized place. What's more is that the subscriptions are categorized by frequency, so the senders who email you the most appear at the top.

You can click on any sender to view all the emails you received from them in your inbox and decide whether you want to unsubscribe or not.

Another useful aspect of this feature is the one-click unsubscribe option. You don't have to search for the unsubscribe link, which is usually hidden somewhere at the bottom of emails. This new feature displays an unsubscribe button next to each sender, simplifying the process.

How to Access and Use the Feature

The Manage Subscriptions feature of Gmail is quite new and has been gradually rolling out. You can check if it's available to you by opening the main menu on the right side of Gmail and clicking "More" > "Manage Subscriptions".

Here, you can find the list of all mailing lists you're currently subscribed to. The senders are sorted by frequency. The senders who've been mailing you the most frequently appear at the top.

Next to each sender, you'll find an unsubscribe button. If you click it, a pop-up box will appear for confirmation to unsubscribe you from all mailing lists from that particular email address. In some cases, you cannot unsubscribe directly but have to visit the website instead.

Pros and Limitations of the New Feature

The new Manage Subscriptions feature introduced by Gmail is really useful to view and manage all your email subscriptions in one centralized place.

Pros

• Centralized view of all email subscriptions
• Easy 1-click unsubscribe
• Helps you maintain a cleaner inbox

Limitations

• Only works for email subscriptions and not personal or one-time emails
• No option for blocking the sender
• The sender may not remove you from their mailing list despite your unsubscribing
• You may need to visit the website to unsubscribe
• Unsubscribing may take some time to take effect

How Block Sender Complements Gmail's New Feature

Gmail's new feature "Manage Subscriptions" makes it quicker to unsubscribe from unwanted emails, but it also has some shortcomings, such as unsubscribe not working or needing to visit the website. Block Sender for Gmail is the perfect solution to these issues.

Block Sender for Gmail is an email blocking and productivity tool that helps you get rid of unwanted and annoying emails without even unsubscribing.

With Block Sender, you can:

• Block emails by email address, domain, keywords, IP address (included in paid plans) and more
• Complete blocking - not just unsubscribing
• Works for blocking individual emails as well, not just email subscriptions
• Canned response to make the spammer think their emails aren't getting delivered to you or that your email address doesn't exist (bounce-back emails)
• Blocking takes immediate effect, unlike unsubscribing

Installing Block Sender doesn't take long. Once installed, open Gmail, sign up for Block Sender and link your Gmail account.

1. To block a sender, open any email received from them.
2. Click on the Block icon in the toolbar.
3. Select "Emails from this sender" or "Emails from this domain".

Note: The domain blocking option blocks emails from all addresses ending in a particular domain, for example, facebook.com.

Any future emails from the block email address or domain will now automatically move to the Spam folder. You can also configure the settings to completely block the emails so that they don't even show up in the Spam folder. To do so,

1. Click on the Block icon in your Gmail inbox.
2. Select the "Manage Blocks" option from the dropdown.

3. Find the block you want to edit and click Options > Edit.

4. From the pop-up window, select Delete (Skip Trash) from the dropdown and click Save Changes.

Now, all the blocked emails will be automatically deleted from your account instead of going to the Spam folder.

Note: This Delete (Skip Trash) option permanently deletes the emails beyond recovery, so use it cautiously.

Conclusion

Gmail’s Manage Subscriptions feature offers a much-needed solution for organizing and unsubscribing from marketing emails in one place. It’s simple, user-friendly, and helps reduce inbox clutter. However, it doesn't cover all scenarios - some senders might ignore unsubscribe requests, and it doesn’t allow you to fully block emails.

That’s where Block Sender comes in. It goes beyond unsubscribing by letting you block emails entirely, whether they’re from subscriptions, individuals, or even entire domains. Together, Gmail’s new feature and Block Sender can help you take back control of your inbox with minimal effort.

Xfinity by Comcast is one of the largest Internet Service Providers in the US. They also offer other services, including mobile, home security, and streaming services.

Due to the brand's popularity, Xfinity users are frequently targeted by scammers. Once you sign up for Xfinity, your inbox gets flooded with phishing and scam emails. This poses a huge security and financial risk.

The scam emails are meticulously crafted, making it difficult to determine whether an Xfinity email is legitimate or a scam. Even if an Xfinity email looks official, think twice before clicking on any links or calling the support number provided in the email.

In this article, we'll show you how to tell if an email from Xfinity is a scam or not and present an efficient solution to block such emails from your inbox.

How to Recognize an Xfinity Scam Email

Just because an email appears to be from Xfinity doesn't mean it actually is. Always ensure the email is legitimate before clicking any links or contacting the support number provided in the email. With the rise of scam emails, it's best to be extra cautious.

• Unofficial Email Address: Legitimate Xfinity email addresses end in xfinity.com or comcast.net. If you receive an Xfinity email ending in any other domain, it's most likely to be a scam. Even if the email address does end in xfinity.com or comcast.com, it could have been spoofed. Review the email carefully to avoid falling victim to a scam. Also, check the "to" and "reply-to" addresses.

• Random "Reply To" address: The "Reply to" address in the email should be a legitimate Xfinity or Comcast email address. If you see a random email address, it indicates that it is an Xfinity phishing email.

• Wrong "to" address: If you don't see your email address in the "To" field, the email is a scam. Legitimate Xfinity emails will always be directly sent to you. Seeing a random email address shows it's a scam.

• Random Greeting: If the email starts with "Dear User" or "Dear [your email address]", it may be a scam. If you are an Xfinity customer, they will likely address you by your name.

• Spelling & Grammar Mistakes: You'll hardly notice any mistakes in a legitimate Xfinity email, as they are written by professionals. If you're unsure about the authenticity of the email, look for any spelling or grammatical errors. If you find a silly typo, the email is most probably a scam! If you receive an email stating that your payment was declined, check the payment status on your Xfinity account or call the support number provided on their official website.

• Sense of Urgency or Threatening Language: Scammers want you to take immediate action and not pay attention to any signs that might give them away. That's why they use urgent and threatening language in their emails. For example, threatening to end your subscription or close your account. In contrast to scam emails, legitimate Xfinity emails will simply inform and remind you to update your payment, without using any threatening language.

What to Do If You Receive an Xfinity Scam Email

Here's what to do and not do once you're certain that the Xfinity email is a phishing attempt.

Do:
✔️ Forward the scam email to [email protected].
✔️ Report the email to your email service provider.
✔️ Block the sender.
✔️ Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2fa) on your Xfinity account.
✔️ Reset your Xfinity account password if you accidentally entered your login credentials on a suspicious link.

Don't:
❌ Don't open any links or download any attachments in the email.
❌ Don't provide any personal information.
❌ Don't call any number in the email.

How to Block Xfinity Scam Emails

Scammers include malicious links in Xfinity phishing emails to steal your personal information. To prevent receiving such scam emails and protect your account, block the sender's email address.

BlockSender tool not only lets you block emails but also provides the option to have them permanently deleted, skipping the Trash folder altogether. Here's how to get started:

1. Sign up for BlockSender.
2. Open the web dashboard.
3. Link your Gmail account.
4. Navigate to "Blocks" and click "+ New Blocking Rule".

5. Type or copy/paste the scammer's email address in the first field.
6. Select the "Delete" option to permanently delete the blocked emails upon receipt.

Note: Don't use the Delete option for blocking a legitimate Xfinity email address. This option permanently deletes the emails from your account, beyond recovery.

7. Optionally, select the "bounce back emails" option to trick the scammer into thinking their emails are not getting delivered to you.
8. Lastly, click "Create".

Setting up this rule prevents all emails from the blocked address from reaching your inbox.

Conclusion

In this article, we explained how you can recognize Xfinity scam emails and how to deal with them. We also showed you how BlockSender can help effectively block such emails from landing in your inbox. If an Xfinity email happens to be a scam or looks suspicious, don't click any links or download any attachments. Don't call any customer support number given in the email.

Taking a few minutes to verify the authenticity of the email before interacting with it can save you from regret later.

If you never delete any emails from your inbox, you may be an email hoarder. You tell yourself you may need those emails later…until the time comes, and your inbox becomes a total mess 💥.

We get it—cleaning the inbox can be a boring task. However, you shouldn't wait until you see the dreaded warning that you are running out of storage space and may not be able to send or receive new emails.

If you never needed those emails all these years, it's a sign to say goodbye. Why spend extra on storage when the space is already sitting there?

Dread the process of deleting so many emails? You don't have to delete all of them manually—let the Gmail search operators do their magic.

Follow along as we guide you through the process of deleting old emails in Gmail with clear, step-by-step instructions ✔️

Why You Should Delete Old Emails?

Deleting old emails periodically is a good approach. Here's why you should do it:

✉️ Reduce your inbox clutter
✉️ Free up storage space
✉️ Find emails easily
✉️ Boost speed
✉️ Enhance Productivity
✉️ Reduce security risks (Emails may contain sensitive information)

To Archive or To Delete?

You may not want to delete all the old emails in your inbox, as some of them may be important. For the emails you don't want to delete, you can archive them instead.

What archiving does is remove the email from your inbox, but it doesn't delete it. You can still access the emails from your account. Archived emails don't occupy less space, but they do help in decluttering your inbox.

If you're unsure about the difference between archiving and deleting, check out our full guide on Archive vs. Delete in Gmail.

Sorting Emails From Oldest to Newest in Gmail

Did you know you can sort your emails from oldest to newest in Gmail? Click the email count on the right of the toolbar and select "Oldest". Gmail will then show the oldest emails first.

Surprised to see emails from many, many years back that you never needed to revisit? Imagine the amount of space that can be cleared in your Gmail account by deleting these old emails.

Follow the step-by-step instructions in the following sections on how to do that.

Using Search Filters to Find Old Emails

The first step in deleting old emails in Gmail is to find them. Fortunately, Gmail offers date search operators that can help with that.

Note: Use the Gmail desktop version for mass deleting emails, as the mobile app doesn't have this feature.

Type your search query in the search bar at the top and hit enter. For example,

older_than:1y

The above query returns all emails that have been sitting in your inbox for more than a year.

You can also find emails that were sent or received before a particular date.

before: 01/01/2025

Combining Search Operators

You can also combine operators for a more precise search result.

older_than:6m AND before:01/01/2025

The above query will delete only those emails sent or received before January 1, 2025, that are also older than six months.

category:promotions AND older_than:1m

Returns all promotional emails older than one month.

from:[email protected] AND before:01/01/2025

Retrieves all emails from the email address [email protected] that were received before January 1, 2025.

is:unread AND older_than:6m
Deletes all unread emails older than 6 months.

Selecting and Deleting Old Emails in Gmail

Once you've filtered out all the old emails you want to delete, the next step is to select them and move them to the Trash folder. To bulk-select emails, click the checkbox at the top. This only selects the emails shown on the current page. To select all emails, click "Select all conversations that match this search".

Next, click the "Trash" icon on the toolbar. Confirm the delete action by clicking "Ok".

The time it takes to delete all the selected emails depends on the number and size of emails.

Emptying the Trash

The old emails you deleted in the previous step will not be removed from your account right away. Instead, Gmail moves them to the Trash folder and waits for 30 days before permanently deleting them.

Note: You have 30 days to restore the emails from the Trash folder if you change your mind. After this point, the emails cannot be recovered.

You can manually clear the Trash folder if you urgently need free space in your Gmail account. To do so, navigate to the Trash folder. Click "Empty Trash now" and confirm the deletion.

Automatically Delete Old Emails in Gmail

You may wonder if there's a way to automatically delete emails after a set period of time, so you don't have to repeat the process every few months or years. Currently, Gmail doesn't have such a feature at the time of writing this article.

Gmail filters also cannot help with this because they only apply to incoming emails. However, you can use a Gmail add-on to automatically delete emails after a certain time. Or if you have basic programming knowledge, you can set up an automation script using Google Apps Script that runs periodically and deletes emails older than one year.

Conclusion

Deleting old and unwanted emails can reduce clutter in your inbox and make it more manageable. It also frees up space for new emails. With Gmail search operators, you can quickly find old emails in your account and mass delete them.

Lighten the load on your inbox today and enjoy a clutter-free experience.

Gmail is a popular email client used by individuals and professionals alike. It offers several features to enhance work productivity and accessibility. One such feature is the Gmail Offline Mode.

With offline mode enabled, you don't need Internet access to view or organize your emails on your desktop. Gmail will store a copy of your emails on your device for offline access.

You can draft and send emails on the go, even when traveling or during an internet outage. Gmail will ensure that the emails are sent when you go online again.

In this comprehensive guide, we'll explain what Gmail offline mode is, how to enable it, its limitations, and security concerns.

What is Gmail Offline Mode?

The offline mode feature in Gmail enables you to access your emails even when you don't have an active internet connection. It works by storing a copy of your emails locally on your device.

You can perform actions on emails and send emails. These actions are pending and will be synced when you reconnect online.

This feature allows you to:

• Access and read emails.
• Search emails.
• Perform actions on emails, such as archiving, deleting, and labelling.
• Draft and send emails.

When you send an email in offline mode, it is stored in the Outbox folder and sent automatically when you reconnect to the Internet. It's like scheduling the email to be sent as soon as you are back online.

Why Use Gmail Offline Mode?

Gmail's offline mode is a useful feature as it doesn't require users to be connected to the internet 24/7. It provides the flexibility to access emails, send emails, and organize them.

If you travel frequently or work remotely, you can greatly benefit from this feature. Having offline access to your emails lets you manage email tasks anytime, boosting productivity. It also comes in handy if you have a weak internet connection.

How to Enable Gmail Offline Mode?

Here's how you can enable offline mode in Gmail:

Note: If you've a Google Workspace account, you need to contact your administrator to allow offline access to emails.

1. Go to Gmail.
2. Click the gear icon and select "See all settings."

3. Navigate to the "Offline" tab and select the checkbox to enable offline mail.

Note: If you require offline access to your emails on multiple devices, you'll have to enable offline mode on each one.

4. Choose the number of days’ worth of emails you want to store for offline use.

Note: If you choose to sync emails from the last 7 days, only those emails will be available for offline use.

5. Choose whether or not to download the attachments in the emails. (Optional)

Note: If you don't select the download option, you will not be able to view the attachments in offline mode.

6. Important: Select what happens to the offline data on your device when you log out of your Gmail account. You can choose to keep the offline data even when you log out or change your Gmail password. If you don't select this option, offline data will be deleted when you log out and needs to be resynced when you sign back in.

Note: The second option is slower but more secure, especially when using a shared computer.

7. Lastly, click the "Save changes" button at the bottom.

Once you enable offline mode, Gmail will start syncing messages. This may take some time to sync, depending on the number of emails and their size.

How to Use Gmail Offline

To use Gmail offline, go to mail.google.com. For easier access, bookmark this tab on your Chrome browser.

Limitations of Gmail Offline Mode

Gmail Offline mode is a handy feature, but it also has a few limitations.

• Only works in the Chrome browser.
• Doesn't work in Incognito/private mode.
• Only syncs emails of the primary Gmail account.

Note: The primary account is the one you're currently logged into. If you want to use offline mode with multiple Gmail accounts, create a separate Chrome profile for each and enable offline access on all Gmail accounts.

Security Concerns

With offline mode enabled, a copy of your emails is stored locally on your device. While this provides flexibility in accessing your emails without an internet connection, it also raises concerns about security and privacy.

If the device is lost or stolen, it puts important and confidential data at risk. This is also one of the reasons why you cannot enable offline mode without your administrator's permission in your Google Workspace account.

How to Disable Gmail Offline Mode

If you decide you no longer want to use Gmail's offline mode, you can disable it from Gmail's settings. Open the offline mode settings and uncheck "Enable offline mail". After disabling offline mode, you won’t be able to access Gmail offline, but the stored data will still remain in your browser unless manually deleted.

To clear the offline data, click the three dots menu at the top right of the Chrome browser. Go to Settings > Privacy and security > Delete browsing data > Cookies and other site data > Delete data.

Following the above steps will remove the saved email data from your browser.

Conclusion

Gmail offline mode ensures you always have access to your emails even while you're travelling or your internet connection is unstable. With the offline mode set up, you can draft emails to be automatically sent when you're online, saving you time and providing the flexibility to work from anywhere.

Venmo is a digital payment service providing fast and secure transactions. It's a casual and convenient way to make payments without sharing bank account numbers.

Unfortunately, like other financial services, Venmo is also targeted by scammers. Fraudsters keep devising cunning ways to deceive users. In 2024 alone, 83% of Americans reported being scammed or targeted by fraudsters on payment apps, including Venmo.

This article aims to create awareness about the Venmo email scam. We'll discuss the different kinds of Venmo scam emails to help you recognize them in case you're targeted.

What is the Venmo Email Scam?

Venmo email scams are not new—they have been around for years. Scammers just change their techniques when users stop falling for the old tricks.

Venmo scam emails come in different variations. Scammers may request your email address to send the payment. In another scenario, the scammer may claim they accidentally sent you the money meant for someone else and ask you to return it.

If a Venmo email looks suspicious, trust your gut feeling and don't act hastily.

Common Venmo Email Scams

Random Email Address

Scammers may send you emails pretending to be from Venmo. These emails are designed to look similar to a legitimate Venmo email.

Venmo only sends emails from its official domain, "@venmo.com." If the email address doesn't end in venmo.com, it is a scam email. Don't click on any links in the email or provide your personal information.

If you receive an email that money was debited from your account, check your Venmo account to see if the record exists. The email is likely a scam if you don't find any record of that transaction.

Reward Scam

Venmo users may also be targeted by phishing attempts. Scammers send fake emails telling users they have won a reward from Venmo. First, you must verify that the email has come from the venmo.com domain and not some other email domain.

These emails contain a link to log in to your Venmo account to claim the prize. If the email is a scam, it will redirect to a site made to look like venmo.com. Don't enter your login information on any such site.

If you're uncertain about the scam, go to venmo.com or the app directly and verify if the reward information is there.

Sign-in Attempts

Receiving a Venmo email that someone is trying to log in to your account can be concerning. These emails usually include a link to reset your password.

However, this may be a Venmo phishing email. Firstly, confirm that the email was sent from the official "venmo.com" domain. If not, it's a scam email, and you should forward it to [email protected].

To stay cautious and avoid getting hacked, always sign in to your account directly from the website and never click on any links in the email.

Unexpected Payment Request

In this scam, you receive an email from Venmo that someone has requested money from you. The scammer puts a fake support number in the request note to report the transaction. At first glance, it appears to be a note from Venmo.

If you call the number, the scammer will pose as a support representative and request your personal information. Never call any number in an email before verifying it from the official website.

You may also notice that the To address in the email is random, which confirms that the scammer was the recipient of the original Venmo email and not you. If Venmo sent the email to you, your address would've been mentioned in the To field. The scammer only forwarded the email to you and made it look convincing.

If you receive a suspicious payment request, ignore the email. You can also check your Venmo account to see if the request is actually there.

Fake Payment Scam

In this scam, the person who owes you money claims they need your email address to Venmo you the payment. Note that Venmo doesn't require an email address to send and receive money. The scammer only requests it so they can email you a fake payment receipt.

They may say they need your email address because they have a business account, but don't fall for the trap.

Request to Return Funds

The way this scam works is that a person will send you money out of the blue. Later, they will request that you return it, claiming they accidentally sent you money intended for someone else. Another variation of this scam is that they send you an extra amount than what they need to pay and request that you send back the excess.

This may or may not be a scam, but it's hard to tell. Regardless of the circumstances, you shouldn't send the money back to them. They may also contact Venmo to reverse the transaction, and if that happens, you will ultimately lose money.

What to Do If You Receive a Venmo Scam Email

You don't need to block all suspicious Venmo emails. You should only block those scam emails that appear to be from Venmo but are sent from random email addresses. Blocking emails from the official @venmo.com domain can prevent you from receiving important security alerts and payment notifications.

Our Gmail add-on, BlockSender, helps block not only email addresses but also complete email domains. Install the Gmail plugin and link your Gmail account if you haven't already. Once everything is set up, open a Venmo scam email. Click the block icon at the top and select Emails from this domain. Blocking the domain will stop all emails coming from any email address with that domain.

Note: Don't block any email address ending in the official @venmo.com domain if you rely on email notifications from Venmo.

Moreover, you can also send a fake bounce-back email to the sender that their email was not delivered to you. This will likely discourage them from emailing you again.

Conclusion

Venmo makes it easy to send and receive money from friends and family. However, scammers exploit the platform for fraudulent activities. From unexpected payment requests to accidental payments, these scams can take many forms. One must remain vigilant and know how to identify such scams to avoid falling victim to them.

BlockSender is an efficient tool for blocking fake Venmo email addresses and ensuring that no emails from those addresses ever reach your inbox again.

Emails are an indispensable part of our lives, whether for personal or work purposes. No communication medium can completely replace them. Therefore, not receiving emails suddenly can be concerning.

If you've suddenly started to miss receiving emails on Gmail, this article is for you. Here, we highlight possible reasons behind this and how to troubleshoot it.

1. Check your Internet Connection

If you're not receiving emails on Gmail, you should first check your internet connection. A slow Internet speed can affect email delivery.

Not being able to receive emails on Gmail can also be attributed to using a VPN or proxy. VPNs may slow down the connection and cause delays in receiving emails. In some cases, Gmail may also block VPNs or proxies.

2. Check Gmail Spam Folder

Sometimes, emails can be misclassified as 'spam,' and Gmail automatically moves them to the Spam folder, skipping the inbox. This can cause you to miss emails accidentally. Check your spam folder if you were supposed to receive an email for order confirmation, password reset, etc., but didn't get any, as it may have ended up there.

To prevent this from happening again, click the "Report not spam" button on the email. By doing so, no future emails from the sender of that email will be sent to spam but always land in the inbox.

3. Check Your Gmail Storage

By default, Google provides 15GB of free storage space, which is shared across several Google services, such as Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos. If this storage space is exhausted, you won't be able to send or receive emails.

Check whether your Google storage is full if you're not receiving new emails. You can do so by going to Gmail and clicking your profile icon. You can manage your storage by clicking on the cloud icon. Here, you can get a detailed view of how the storage space is used across all Google apps. You will see an option to clean up space.

4. Check Your Gmail Filters & Forwarding Settings

If you're not receiving new emails on your Gmail account, it could be that your email filters or forwarding settings are causing this to happen. For example, you may have set a Gmail filter to automatically delete or archive emails that meet specific criteria. Or it could be because your emails are deleted from your inbox and forwarded to another email address.

To resolve this issue:

• Review your Gmail filters.
• Check the forwarding settings on your account and ensure that the option to keep a copy of the emails being forwarded in your inbox is selected.

5. Blocked Email Address

One of the reasons for not receiving an email on Gmail could be a blocked sender. If you accidentally block a sender, all the emails sent to you by them will end up in the spam folder, causing you to miss them.

If that's the case, you can simply unblock the sender to start receiving their emails in your inbox again. As for the already blocked emails, you can find them in the spam folder.

To unblock a sender in Gmail, follow the below steps:

1. Click on the gear icon found at the top-right of the screen.
2. Click on "See all settings".
3. Navigate to the Filters & Blocked Addresses tab.
4. Find the blocked email address and click "unblock".

On the Gmail mobile app, you can unblock a sender by opening an email from them and clicking "Unblock sender".

6. Incorrect Email Address

Another reason for not receiving an email could be an incorrect email address. For example, the sender makes a typo, or you could make a typo while entering your email address on websites, thus not being able to receive emails.

Always double-check your email address to ensure you don't miss any emails.

7. Server Outage

Sometimes, the issue might be with Gmail itself. If Gmail servers are down or undergoing maintenance, you may experience trouble receiving emails.

Check the status of Gmail online to see if it is experiencing an outage.

8. Issues with Syncing

If you're using the Gmail mobile app, ensure that syncing is enabled. This way, you will automatically receive new emails without refreshing your inbox.

Syncing is enabled by default in the Gmail mobile app (for both Android and iOS). You can find this setting by opening the Gmail mobile app, going to Settings, tapping your email address, and scrolling to the bottom of the screen.

Conclusion

Not receiving emails on Gmail can be frustrating and cause you to miss important emails accidentally. In this article, we discussed a few reasons to help you pinpoint what could be causing this behaviour and provided troubleshooting solutions for each possible reason. We hope you found this article helpful.

Receiving spam emails is no fun. All they do is clutter your inbox, waste your time, and cause frustration. However, the biggest issue is that some of them also intend harm, making you wonder how spammers even got your email address in the first place.

In this article, we'll help you get to the bottom of this issue and present solutions to reduce spam emails for a calmer inbox.

Common Reasons for Spam Overload

Getting a few spam emails occasionally is usually nothing to worry about. However, you should figure out the reason if you suddenly start receiving too many spam emails.

Here are a few reasons that might be the cause:

• Publicly Available Email
  Having your email address publicly available online is like inviting all sorts of spam and phishing emails into your inbox. Spammers will start flooding your inbox with unwanted emails to the point where they get out of hand.

• Data Breaches
  Companies may face data breaches, and personal data can be leaked. You can check if your email address has been compromised using tools like HaveIBeenPwned. If it's found in a data breach, that explains why you could be receiving so many spam emails.

• Misclassification of Spam Emails
  Your email provider can affect how many spam emails you receive. If they don't have strong email filters, a lot of spam emails can make it into your inbox, being misclassified as legitimate emails. Therefore, selecting a secure email provider with advanced spam filtering capabilities is essential. Gmail can block more than 99.9% of spam and malicious emails.

• Unsecured or Suspicious Websites/Services
  You could have entered your email address on an unsafe website that doesn't use HTTPS. Use a secure browser that can alert you of potentially dangerous websites while browsing the internet. Only enter your email address on safe and trusted websites, as some companies may sell your data.

How Spammers Obtain Your Email Address?

This thought may have crossed your mind: "Where did the spammers even get my email address from? Was it the website I signed up on recently?"

There are many ways a spammer could've gotten your email address. For instance:

• Web Scrapers
  Spammers use bots to scrape websites, online forums, and social media sites for publicly available email addresses. Therefore, it's advised not to make it visible online.

• Guessing
  Your email address can also be guessed based on your personal information. Spammers may use email permutation tools that suggest possible email addresses based on first and last names and common email domains.

• Leaked Email Addresses
  Spammers purchase email addresses that are leaked as a result of data breaches or hacking and add them to their spam list. Not all email addresses are accidentally leaked—some companies even sell your data to spammers. Be wary of offers that look too good to be true.

Why Spam Emails Can Be Risky

Spam emails are not only annoying but can also be potentially malicious, so it's important to get rid of them.

• Malware
  Never open links or download attachments in a suspicious email without verifying the email's authenticity first. The email may contain malicious links or infected attachments that can install malware on your device.

Read our detailed article How to Identify and Avoid Malicious Email Attachments for more information.

• Phishing
  Have you ever received an email that looked legitimate at first, only to realize it was a scam when you paid close attention? That's a phishing email. It's designed to trick users into revealing personal information, which can lead to hacked accounts, identity theft, or financial scams.

• Overloaded Inbox
  If you receive too many spam emails, they can overload your inbox and cause you to miss important emails accidentally. Spam emails can also hinder your work productivity.

How to Reduce Spam Emails

Getting spam emails is inevitable, but there are ways you can limit the number of spam emails you receive.

• Mark as Spam
  First on the list is marking any unwanted or suspicious emails you receive as "spam". On Gmail, you can also block the sender while marking an email as spam. This action automatically moves all future emails from that sender to the Spam folder.

• Hide Your Email Address
  Don't make your email address publicly available on social media, websites, online forums, or comments.

• Don't Click the "Unsubscribe" Link
  Yes, you read that right. Clicking "unsubscribe" lets the sender know your email address is active, and they begin targeting you with even more spam. Another reason to avoid the link is that it could be potentially malicious.

• Use a Secondary Email Address
  Create a secondary email address for online shopping, signing up, or trials. If you want to avoid using your email address for trials, you can opt for a temporary email service such as temp mail.

• Use an Email Alias
  Use an email alias to hide your real email address. If spam becomes a problem, you can dispose of that email alias. To create an alias, you can use an email masking tool such as SimpleLogin or Hide My Email if you're an Apple user.

What to Do If Spam Emails Get Out of Control

The above tips may not do much if spam emails spiral out of control, and the damage has already been done. In that case, you may need to do the following:

• Create Email Filters for Blocking Spam
  If your email provider is not proving very effective against spam emails, consider creating custom email filters. You can filter out emails with specific words or phrases such as "100% free", "Free gift", "weight loss", "meet singles," and "once in a lifetime". You can create an email filter that automatically deletes emails containing such phrases.

• Create a New Email Account
  If your email address is leaked, blocking spam emails as they come may not be enough. Spam emails will keep coming from other email addresses. If that becomes a serious problem, you should create a new email address. You can set up an auto-forwarding email filter on your old email address to direct important emails to your new account.

• Use BlockSender
  Use BlockSender, a powerful Gmail add-on that is perfect for blocking persistent spam. You can send fake bounce-back emails to spammers, tricking them into thinking that their messages are not getting delivered to you. Also, you can blacklist entire email domains and domain extensions.

Conclusion

You are right to be suspicious if you suddenly start receiving a lot of spam emails. To limit their inflow, you first need to know why that could be happening.

It could be that your email address was leaked in a data breach, or you accidentally clicked a malicious link in an email or downloaded an infected attachment. If your email address is publicly visible on your social media or online forums, that could also be one of the reasons.

If considerable damage has already been done, you may need to create a new email account. You can also use BlockSender to bounce back emails to spammers.

With the right tools and email habits, it's possible to reduce this unwelcome guest significantly.

You cannot have a clean inbox if you don't believe in inbox management. And trust me, the process doesn't have to be complicated. Gmail has a number of great features to help with email management and productivity. You can achieve a tidy inbox even by following a few of them.

Knowing how to use Gmail's email management features effectively is important to making the most of them. The Archive and Delete options are among the most useful Gmail features, but most email users don't know when to use which, thus not being able to reap their benefits. Users also have ambiguity around how the Archive feature works.

This article aims to clarify the difference between the Gmail archive and delete features. You'll learn how they work, their difference, and when to use archive vs. delete in Gmail.

What is Archive in Gmail?

The Gmail archive option cleans up your inbox without actually deleting emails. When you archive an email, Gmail removes it from the inbox and moves it to the "All mail" folder. This way, your inbox gets decluttered without losing important emails. The archived emails are still accessible via the "All mail" folder on the left side menu.

For a detailed guide on Gmail's archive feature, check out our article.

What is Delete in Gmail

As you may already know, the delete option in Gmail helps you remove emails from your account that you no longer need. Deleting old emails helps declutter your inbox and makes space for new emails.

When you delete an email, Gmail moves it to the Trash folder, where it stays for 30 days before being permanently deleted. During this period, you can recover the email if you change your mind.

Gmail Archive vs Delete

Sometimes, we can't decide whether to delete an email or simply have it skip the inbox, i.e., archive. To help you make a decision, we've outlined the differences in their functionality.

When to Archive vs. Delete

Let's see when to choose archive vs delete.

Archive

Quick Recap: Archiving an email removes it from your inbox but doesn't delete it.

• Keeping Record
  When an email is no longer relevant, but you want to keep it for future reference.

• Organizing Without Deleting
  When you want to declutter and organize your inbox without deleting emails you might need later.

Delete

Quick Recap: Deleting an email moves it to the Trash folder.

• Unwanted / Spam email
  Choose delete over archive for unwanted and spam emails and for old emails you no longer need to keep in your inbox.

• Drafts
  Delete any outdated drafts that you never sent to free up space.

• Running Out of Space
  Choose the delete option if you're running out of storage space.

Note: If you're running out of space but can't delete important emails, back up your data or upgrade your Google Storage.

Conclusion

When decluttering your inbox, one question that comes to mind is whether to archive or delete emails. To make a decision, you need to understand how each option works. The delete option is pretty self-explanatory—it removes the email from your inbox. On the other hand, the archive option removes the email from your inbox but doesn't delete it. You can still access it anytime.

So, the decision really comes down to this: if you're sure you won't need the email in the future, delete it. If you don't need it now but might need it later, it's best to archive it. Now you know how to use the archive vs delete Gmail features effectively. Good luck on your email management journey!

Email scams continue to rise in 2025, with millions being targeted by financial fraud attempts. One such popular scam is the "Pegasus spyware email scam". In this blackmail scam, scammers demand money from email users by threatening that they have been spying on their online activities and will release controversial photos/videos of the user unless the money is paid.

The goal of scammers is to create a sense of danger and urgency. Some users fall for the scam and end up paying the ransom money. The Pegasus email scam can impact mental health and instill a fear of being spied upon.

It's imperative to be aware of the different types of email scams on the loose to avoid falling prey to them. This is exactly what we aim for in this article. If you or anyone in your circle has been targeted by the Pegasus email scam, you should know what it is, how it works, and how to avoid this scam in the future.

What is the Pegasus Email Scam?

The Pegasus email scam is a sextortion scam in which cybercriminals blackmail users that their devices have been hacked. They threaten to leak private and explicit content unless the user pays them money to stop the release.

Cybercriminals use the name of an actual spyware program called Pegasus developed by NSO Group, an Israeli cyber-intelligence organization. The scammers claim that they have been spying on your online activities and webcam using the software.

Note that Pegasus is an expensive spyware program, only used by certain governments and common people don't have access to it. Scammers only use the name to intimidate people.

How Does the Scam Work?

A common question asked by targets of the Pegasus email scam is how the scammers obtain their email addresses. Your email address and other personal information can be leaked in data breaches and misused for such scams.

Scammers include publicly available information from social media accounts in the scam emails to make the users believe that they are actually being spied on.

For example, you may receive an email including an image of where you dined last night. However, the image was not taken from your mobile's photo gallery but your Instagram/Snapchat account instead.

Not all Pegasus scam emails are personalized. You may receive an email that looks something like this:

Recently, scammers have been making the scam email look more convincing by including images of your house in the email. This lets people believe that the scammer has actually been spying on them. However, the reality is far from it. The images are actually taken from Google Maps using your address information.

Spoofed Email Address

Pegasus scam emails are meticulously crafted. To make the hacking seem legitimate, scammers spoof the sender's email address to make it look like the email was actually sent from their own account. Thus, making it look like they have access to your email account.

The spoofing is also done to avoid getting blacklisted. Since the sender's actual email address is hidden, you cannot block it.

What to Do If You've Been Targeted

If you've received a Pegasus email, don't panic. The email is fraudulent and a scam. The scammer doesn't have access to any of your accounts or your webcam to spy on you. Any personal information or images included in the email are either taken from a data breach or your publicly available information on social media.

Here's the do's and don'ts if you receive a Pegasus scam email:

• Don't open any attachments or click on any links.
• Don't send them the money they demanded from you.
• Report the email as spam.
• Block words or phrases commonly used in Pegasus scam emails (More on it in the next section).

Note that if the email was legitimate and the scammer really had access to your account, he'd already have taken some action rather than threatening you.

How to Avoid Pegasus Scam Emails

Let's see how you can avoid receiving Pegasus scam emails ever. These emails usually follow the same pattern e.g. starting with "Hello pervert" and/or including the mention of Pegasus spyware software. You can set up email filters to delete emails that appear to come from your own email account and including these phrases.

Let's see how to set up this filter in Gmail.

Note: Gmail filters can only be set up using the desktop app.

1. Go to Gmail and log in to your account.
2. Click on the "Show search options" icon.

3. Type your email address in the From and To fields.
4. Type "Hello pervert OR (pegasus AND spyware)" in the Has the words field.

5. Click "Create filter".
6. Select "Delete it" from the list of available options and click "Create filter".

Once this rule is set up, any emails containing the filtered phrases and having your email address in both the From and To fields will be automatically deleted by Gmail.

Conclusion

Receiving an email claiming that you are being spied upon and being threatened that your private photos/videos will be leaked can be disturbing. Such are the tactics used in the Pegasus scam emails. Using the name of a real spyware program, scammers blackmail users and demand money to stop the release of private data.

The Pegasus scam emails are fraudulent and all claims made by the scammer are false. They can't hack your device, monitor your online activities, or access your webcam unless they have access to the real Pegasus spyware program which is a military-grade software and not publicly available.

So, if you receive such an email, just mark it as spam, don't send any money to the hackers, avoid clicking on any links, and report the email as spam. To avoid further emails, set up an email filter to automatically delete such emails

Email notifications are pretty useful as they ensure you don't accidentally miss any messages that may be important to you. Despite being useful, notifications can also be annoying sometimes, especially from email threads you never read. Email replies in threads only clutter your inbox and cause distraction.

Luckily, Gmail offers a handy feature to mute email conversations so that you aren't notified of any new replies. In this article, we'll explain what Mute means in Gmail, what it does, and how you can mute and unmute annoying and unwanted email threads. We'll also be clarifying the difference between archive and mute and when to use which.

What Does Mute Do in Gmail?

Are you CC'd on active email threads and tired of getting notified of new replies in the conversation? Blocking the emails is not the solution if you want to keep the emails for future reference. What you can do instead is "mute" the conversation so that you still receive the messages but not in your inbox where they can be distracting.

Note: You cannot mute messages directly sent to you. This option is for group email conversations where you're not the main recipient.

When you mute an email conversation, here's what happens:

• The email thread is removed from your inbox.
• You won't receive new replies from that email thread in your inbox unless it is directly sent to you.
• Muted emails don't get deleted from your account; they are still accessible. They just won't show up in your inbox.

Archive vs Mute. What's the Difference?

Both the Gmail archive and mute features hide the email from your inbox. However, they are used for distinct purposes and have differences in how they work.

When you archive an email in your inbox, it is moved to the "All Mail" folder. When you receive a reply in the thread, Gmail will unarchive the email conversation and move it back to the inbox.

Learn more about the Gmail archive feature here.

Similarly, muting an email conversation also moves it to the "All Mail" folder, but new replies in the thread will not move it back to the inbox.

Wondering how to decide whether to archive or mute an email?

1. Archive an email when you need to temporarily remove it from your inbox but reappear when a reply is received.
2. Mute an email thread when you don't want to be notified of any new replies but don't want to delete the conversation either e.g. a group chat.

How to Mute Emails in Gmail?

In this section, we'll explain how to mute emails on both the Gmail desktop and mobile app.

On Desktop

1. Go to Gmail and open the email conversation you want to mute.
2. Click on the three-dot menu at the top
3. Select the "Mute" option from the list.

You can also use the keyboard shortcut "m" to mute the email.

The email conversation is now muted and removed from the inbox. All future emails in the muted thread will skip the inbox and you will not be notified of them unless you are included in the "To" field of the email.

On Mobile (Android, iOS)

1. Open the Gmail app.
2. Open the email thread you want to mute.
3. Click on the three-dot menu at the top right corner and select "Mute" from the dropdown.

How to Mute Multiple Emails in Gmail?

If you want to mute multiple emails in Gmail, you don't have to repeat the process discussed in the previous section for each email. Gmail allows you to mute multiple emails at once. Just select all the emails you want to mute, click on the three-dot menu at the top, and click "Mute".

How to Find Muted Emails in Gmail?

Muted emails skip the inbox but are still accessible from your account. They are moved to the All Mail folder.

Typing is:muted in the Gmail search bar will return all muted emails.

How to Unmute Emails in Gmail?

To unmute an email, you first need to find it. Type is:muted in the Gmail search bar to find all muted emails.

Select the email conversation you want to unmute. Click on the three-dot menu at the top and select "Unmute" from the dropdown menu.

When you unmute an email conversation, it isn't moved to the inbox unless a new email is received in the thread. If you want to unmute an email thread and also move it to the inbox at the same time, right-click on the selected emails, click "Move to" and select "Inbox" from the dropdown menu.

Conclusion

No need to turn off all notifications on Gmail just because of one annoying group thread—just mute the conversation instead. Gmail's Mute feature helps you declutter your inbox and eliminates distractions caused by constant reply notifications.

Worried you might miss an important message because you muted the thread? Gmail automatically unmutes it if you're a primary recipient in a reply. So next time you start losing focus because of a group conversation, mute it and stay focused like a pro!

Despite its advantages, the Gmail unsubscribe button is not always enough. Sometimes, email marketers don't respect your unsubscription request and keep sending you emails. Moreover, the unsubscribe button is not available for all emails, and you have to look for other solutions to stop receiving unwanted emails.

That's where BlockSender comes in. It lets you block any type of email—whether it's marketing, newsletters, or persistent messages from unwanted senders—without needing the unsubscribe option. This article will discuss how the Gmail unsubscribe button works, where it fails, and how you can use BlockSender instead.

How does the Gmail Unsubscribe Button Work?

Under the CAN-SPAM Act, commercial emails must provide an option to opt out of bulk emails. To comply with this, such emails include an unsubscribe link, usually located at the bottom. However, it's not always easy to find. Email marketers use several tactics to keep you from unsubscribing, such as using a small font for the link, hiding it, or making the unsubscribe process too lengthy or complicated.

As a solution, Gmail introduced the unsubscribe button in February 2014. You can find it at the top of marketing emails and newsletters, next to the sender's name. This way, you can easily and quickly opt out of their mailing list.

Next, let's see how the Gmail unsubscribe button works under the hood. Gmail first looks for a "List-Unsubscribe" header in the email. If the "List-Unsubscribe" header is not found, Gmail may opt you out of the mailing list using the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email.

Here's what the process may look like:

• Gmail may send an unsubscribe request via email from your account.
• Gmail may follow the unsubscribe link and submit a request on your behalf.
• Sometimes, the unsubscribe link takes you to the website, where you have to manually unsubscribe.

Limitations of the Gmail Unsubscribe Button

Although the Gmail unsubscribe button makes unsubscribing from promotional emails and newsletters a breeze, it also has some shortcomings. You may have experienced some of these yourself:

• Not Always Available
  The Gmail unsubscribe button is only available for legitimate emails, usually those sent via email marketing services. It doesn't provide this option for unverified senders or emails with formatting errors in the "List-Unsubscribe" header.

• Slow or Ignored Unsubscription
  The unsubscription may take some time to take effect. Sometimes, the sender never unsubscribes you, and you keep receiving emails from them.

• Risk of More Spam
  This may sound ironic, but unsubscribing from spam emails lets the sender know that your email address is active, and some senders start targeting you with more spam, thus worsening the problem.

• Doesn't Stop Phishing or Malicious Emails
  Gmail only provides an unsubscribe button for legitimate and verified senders. Therefore, you will have to look for other ways to stop receiving phishing or malicious emails.

• No Option for Bulk Unsubscription
  You have to click the unsubscribe button for each mailing list you wish to unsubscribe from. This process can be slow if you want to unsubscribe from multiple email addresses in bulk.

• Incomplete Unsubscription
  Clicking the Gmail unsubscribe button on an email may only unsubscribe you from a single mailing list from the sender. You may not be unsubscribed from all the mailing lists.

Alternative? Try BlockSender

Say hello to BlockSender, a powerful Gmail add-on that helps block unwanted emails and annoying senders. Do you keep receiving emails even after unsubscribing? With BlockSender, that's a thing of the past. Using this tool, you can block emails without having to unsubscribe. It allows you to block email addresses in bulk and even blacklist entire domains.

Let's explore how we use BlockSender to block emails. First, sign up for BlockSender if you haven't already, install the Chrome extension, and link your Gmail account. You can also use the web dashboard, but the Chrome extension speeds up the process. Once everything is set up, you can begin setting up blocking rules. BlockSender provides multiple blocking options, such as blocking by email, name, and domain.

Email Address Blocking

All messages from that address will be blocked when you create a blocking rule for an email address. However, when you use the Gmail unsubscribe button on an email, only one mailing list may be blocked, not all emails.

To block an email address:

1. Select at least one email from that email address.
2. Click on the "Block" icon and select "Block selected emails".

3. Choose where the blocked emails should go e.g. the Trash or Spam folder. Alternatively, you can permanently delete the emails from your account using the "Delete (skip trash option)".

Note: Choose the "Delete" option with caution, as it permanently deletes the emails from your account beyond recovery.

4. Click "Create 1 Block".

Unlike the unsubscribe option, blocking takes effect immediately. Also, the sender cannot know that your account is active since they won't be notified that they've been blocked.

Domain Blocking

Sometimes, simply blocking an email address is not enough, as the business may use separate email addresses for different concerns. In this case, you may want to block the email domain, e.g. facebookmail.com, to stop receiving emails from all email addresses that use that domain. To block a domain:

1. Open any email sent from the email domain you want to block.
2. Click on the "Block" icon and select "Block domain".

Note: Be careful when blocking a complete domain, as important emails may also get blocked. Only do so if you're sure you don't want to receive any emails from the particular domain.

Sender Name Blocking

When you block a sender by name, you block all the email addresses with that specific name.

1. Select any email from that sender.
2. Click the "Block" icon and select "Block Selected Emails".
3. Select "Person (by name)".
4. Click "Create 1 Block".

Conclusion

The Gmail unsubscribe button is a handy option for opting out of unwanted marketing emails and newsletters. It's also generally a safer option. However, it's not a one-size-fits-all solution. There are many scenarios where it falls short, such as the unsubscription not taking immediate action or Gmail not providing the unsubscribe button for some emails.

BlockSender is a powerful solution that can tackle all such cases. You can block email addresses and complete domains, and the blocking takes effect immediately. Start using BlockSender today if you want a powerful alternative to the Gmail unsubscribe button.

Deleting unnecessary emails is a crucial step in clearing your inbox. An overloaded inbox not only makes it difficult to manage emails but also causes low storage space. If your Gmail storage is full, you will not receive new emails. To tackle that, start by deleting old, unread emails that are taking up storage space in your inbox. Luckily, Gmail allows the mass deletion of emails, so you don't have to waste time manually deleting all unread emails one by one.

You may not want to delete all unread emails in your inbox, but only specific ones, such as those that have occupied space for over a year or those from a particular sender. In this article, we'll cover all such scenarios. We'll be using the Gmail search operators to filter the search results.

Why Delete All Unread Emails

You may be wondering if it's even necessary to delete all unread emails. Here's why you may want to do this:

• Get a cleaner and more manageable inbox. A decluttered inbox is easier to manage.
• Free up storage space to make room for newer and important emails.
• Get rid of promotional and social emails, as most unread emails belong to these categories and are generally unimportant.
• Quickly find important emails by deleting unwanted junk.
• Speed up Gmail search as finding emails in an overloaded inbox is slower.

Understanding Gmail Search

Gmail search allows you to filter emails matching specific criteria using search operators. Search operators are words or symbols used to filter search results. For example,

is:unread

The above query uses the Gmail search operator "is" to filter all emails that have not been opened.

Gmail provides many more search operators to narrow your search results and filter out the emails you are looking for, such as label, category, has, older_than, and after.

How to Delete All Unread Emails in Gmail

We'll use the search bar to delete unread emails from Gmail inbox.

is:unread

Type the above query in the search box at the top. This will filter out all unread emails present in your inbox, excluding the Spam and Trash folder.

Note: Before you go ahead and select all unread emails for mass deletion, make sure there are no important emails included in this selection.

Next, select all these emails in order to remove them. To do so, select the checkbox at the top. This will only select the emails shown on the current page. To select all unread emails, click "Select all conversations that match this search" (if available) and click the delete icon.

how-to-delete-all-unread-emails-in-gmail-mass-deletion

Note: Perform this deletion on the desktop version of Gmail, as the mobile app doesn't have a "Select All" option.

Gmail will then ask you to confirm the bulk deletion of emails. Click the "OK" button in the pop-up window to confirm the action.

Deleting All Unread Emails from Specific Labels

You may not want to delete all unread emails, but only those with a specific label. These may include default labels such as promotions and socials or custom labels such as work or bills. Here's what the query will look like:

is:unread label:updates

This will filter only those unread emails that have the label "updates". Next, repeat the steps discussed in the previous section to select and delete all the filtered emails.

Deleting All Unread Emails Based on Date

If you don't regularly delete emails, your inbox may still contain emails from many years ago. Some of them may be unread. It is unlikely that you will need these emails later if they have been sitting in your inbox unread for years. Therefore, it is best to delete them to make room for newer, more important emails.

The process to do this is the same; you just need to include the date information in the search query. For example, to delete all emails that are older than a year, type:

is:unread older_than:1y

Or, if you want to delete all emails received after a particular date that you never opened:

is:unread after: 1/1/2021

Emptying the Trash to Permanently Delete Unread Emails

You will notice that deleting unread emails doesn't immediately free up storage space. The deleted emails are removed from the inbox and moved to the Trash folder. Gmail keeps the emails there for 30 days in case you want to recover them. After this period, the emails are permanently deleted and cannot be recovered.

However, you don't have to wait for 30 days for the emails to be deleted permanently. You can do so yourself by opening the Trash folder and clicking "Empty Trash now".

Additional Tips for a Cleaner Inbox

Depending on their volume, deleting all unread emails can clear a considerable space in your inbox. If you want your inbox to stay clean, you should adopt productive email habits.

• Unsubscribe from Newsletters
  Unsubscribe from unwanted newsletters that you never read but are cluttering your inbox. If you're unable to unsubscribe, use BlockSender to block the newsletter permanently.

• Schedule a Regular Cleanup
  Set aside some time every week or month to delete unnecessary junk and get a cleaner inbox.

• Use Labels and Filters
  Use Gmail filters to apply labels to emails automatically. Labeling emails helps with organization and allows for efficient email management.

Conclusion

If you have a lot of email junk in your inbox, you may want to delete all unread emails that have been filling up space. If you haven't opened these emails for a long time, chances are you will not need them in the future, so it's best to discard them. Luckily, Gmail allows you to delete all unread emails in your inbox in one go without having to select each one individually.

Additionally, you may need to delete only all those unread emails that have a specific label or have been sitting in your inbox since a particular date. You can use Gmail search operators to filter the search results to match these criteria. If you want your inbox to stay clean, regularly clean your inbox, organize emails into labels, and unsubscribe from unwanted newsletters. We hope this guide helps you achieve a squeaky-clean inbox.