Email Whitelisting: What It Is and How to Do It

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Email spam filters, though helpful, often over-filter and may block essential emails, causing missed opportunities, communication breakdowns, and even financial losses. Email whitelisting is the answer to this problem. It’s a proactive step to mark trusted email senders and domains as safe so that their messages are always delivered to your inbox.

We will walk you through what whitelisting an email means, how it works, and why it’s crucial. We’ll also provide step-by-step instructions on how to whitelist emails in Gmail, Outlook, and Office 365. Let’s get started!

​​What Does Email Whitelist Mean?

An email whitelist is essentially a list of approved senders you trust. When you add an email address or domain to your whitelist, you’re instructing your email provider to always deliver their messages directly to your inbox, bypassing any spam filters.

Why Email Whitelisting Is Important

Spam filters are designed to keep unwanted messages out of your inbox, but they aren’t foolproof. Sometimes, legitimate emails from trusted senders end up in the spam folder due to overly strict filtering rules. Whitelisting solves this problem by creating a “safe list” of email addresses or domains that are always allowed through. Test your email deliverability to find out if your emails end up in spam folders.

Key Benefits of Whitelisting Emails:

• Guaranteed Delivery: Important emails from clients, colleagues, or service providers won’t be flagged as spam.
• Improved Productivity: Avoid going through spam folders to find needed emails.
• Better Communication: Ensure the delivery of newsletters, updates, and other important communications.
• Control: You decide which senders are important, bypassing the automatic filtering systems.

How Does Email Whitelisting Work?

Email whitelisting involves adding email addresses or domains to a list that instructs your email provider to trust messages from those sources. Here’s how the process typically works across platforms:

1. Safe Senders List: An email address or domain is added to your safe senders list, which ensures that emails bypass the spam filter.
2. Filters and Rules: Advanced email clients allow you to create custom filters or rules to whitelist emails based on criteria like sender, subject, or keywords.
3. Manual Marking: If an email lands in the spam folder, manually marking it as “not spam” trains the system to recognize it as legitimate in the future.

How to Whitelist an Email in Gmail

Gmail is one of the most widely used email platforms, and it offers several ways to whitelist emails to ensure important messages reach your inbox.

1. Mark as Not Spam:

• Open Gmail and navigate to the spam folder.
• Locate the email you want to whitelist.
• Click “Not spam” to move it to your inbox. Future emails from the sender should bypass the spam filter.

2. Create a Filter:

• Click the gear icon in the top-right corner and select “See all settings.”
• Go to the “Filters and Blocked Addresses” tab.
• Click “Create a new filter.”
• Enter the email address or domain in the “From” field.
• Click “Create filter” and check the box for “Never send it to Spam.”
• Save your settings.

3. Add to Contacts:

• Open an email from the sender.
• Over the sender’s name click “Add to Contacts”

How to Whitelist an Email in Outlook

Microsoft Outlook is a popular choice for personal and professional email users. It offers multiple ways to whitelist emails.

1. Mark as Not Junk:

• Open Outlook and locate the email in the Junk Email folder.
• Right-click the email and select “Mark as Not Junk”

2. Add to Safe Senders List:

• Open the email from the sender you want to whitelist.
• Right-click the sender’s address and select “Add to Safe Senders List”

3. Adjust Junk Email Settings:

• Click the gear icon and select “View all Outlook settings”
• Navigate to “Mail” > “Junk email”
• Under “Safe senders and domains,” click “+ Add” and enter the email address or domain.
• Save your changes.

How to Whitelist an Email in Office 365

Office 365 is an email platform used by businesses. It offers both user-level and admin-level whitelisting options.

User-Level Whitelisting in Office 365

• Log into your Office 365 Outlook account.
• Go to “Settings” > “Mail” > “Junk email”

• Under “Safe senders and domains” click “+ Add”
• Enter the email address or domain and save your changes.

Admin-Level Whitelisting in Office 365

• Access the Microsoft 365 admin portal.
• Navigate to “Exchange” > “Mail flow”
• Click “Rules” and create a new rule.
• Specify the email addresses or domains to be whitelisted. Choose “Bypass spam filtering” as the action.
• Save and test.

Why Do Legitimate Emails End Up in Spam?

This can happen because of:

1. Strict spam filters.
2. Missing authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) on the sender’s side.
3. High email volume triggering spam behavior.

Best Practices for Email Whitelisting

Whitelist Only Trusted Senders:

Avoid adding unknown senders to prevent phishing risks.

Regularly Update Your Whitelist:

Remove outdated or irrelevant contacts to maintain an organized inbox.

Verify Sender Authentication:

Encourage senders to use proper SPF, DKIM, and DMARC settings to ensure deliverability.

Conclusion

Email whitelisting is an important tool for reliable communication. If you are following the step-by-step instructions and implementing best practices outlined in this guide, you’ll take full control of your inbox. Whitelist your essential contacts today and enjoy seamless, stress-free communication for years to come. To always land in the inbox, test your email deliverability with GlockApps!

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