When signing up for a new email list or subscription service, it can be frustrating when those emails don’t seem to appear in your mailbox. If it happens enough, the email system might start to create patterns of blocking emails from specific addresses, or permanently block the original sender’s extension all together.

With typical email addresses like Gmail, Outlook, or Yahoo! what can you do?

By whitelisting an email address in your certain program, you can avoid the frustration completely.

Whitelist

Noun

1. A list of people or things considered to be acceptable or trustworthy.

Verb

1. To put on a whitelist.

WHY YOU ARE NOT RECEIVING THE EMAILS

Services like Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo! block email to protect you from unwanted or spam emails. In this case, they may be mistaking emails you’d actually like to receive as malicious.

By asking your email provider to unblock, or whitelist, an email address, emails from said address will be more likely to be received. Below are explanations on how to do so.

Sign into your account at gmail.com and do the following…

ADD THE ADDRESS TO YOUR CONTACTS

Add the email address that is sending the emails (i.e. support@pfsinsurance.com), to your Gmail Contacts. Google will typically deliver messages from addresses that are in your Contacts.

MARK MESSAGES AS ‘NOT SPAM’

If Gmail has mistakenly marked emails you wish to whitelist as spam, tell the server that they’re incorrect.

1. In Gmail, navigate to the spam folder.
2. Search for emails containing the domain(s) that you wish to whitelist (i.e. pfsinsurance.com).
3. Select all the emails shown
4. Click More and then Not Spam.

CREATE A FILTER FOR THE ADDRESS

Create a filter to tell Google to whitelist email(s) from a domain or online group.

1. Click the cog icon in the top-right corner, and then Settings.
2. Click on Filters and then Create a New Filter
3. Either
   • Enter the email address of the online group you want to whitelist in the To field, or
   • Enter the domain of the email you want to whitelist in the From field
4. Click Create Filter with this Search.
5. In the box headed When a message arrives that matches this search select Never send it to spam.
6. Click the Create Filter button.

Tips:

• Do not enter an email address in both the From and To fields, as Gmail will only filter those that meet both criteria.
• In both the From and To fields, you can enter either a specific email address, or an entire domain.
• To enter multiple domains in each field, separate them with OR as in “pfsinsurance.net OR pfsinsurance.com”.

See Google’s provided help on Marking or Unmarking Spam in Gmail.

For Outlook.com, Windows Live Mail, Hotmail, and MSN mail, sign in to your account and do the following…

ADD THE ADDRESS TO YOUR CONTACTS

Add the email address that is sending you email (i.e. support@pfsinsurance.com), to your Outlook Contacts. Outlook will typically deliver email from addresses that are listed in your Contacts.

Add the Address to Your Safe Senders

1. Click the cog icon in the top-right corner, and then More Mail Settings.
2. Select Safe and Blocked Senders and then Safe Senders.
3. Add the domain of the email you want to whitelist to the list of Safe Senders.
4. Return to the Safe and Blocked Senders section, and then select Safe Mailing Lists.
5. Add the email address of the online group you want to whitelist to the list of Safe Mailing Lists.

Tips

• In both the Safe Senders and Safe Mailing Lists, you can enter either a specific email address, or an entire domain.
• In both the Safe Senders and Safe Mailing Lists, you can enter multiple domains or email addresses.

See Outlook’s help on the issue.

For Yahoo!Mail, sign in to your account and do the following…

Add the Address to Your Contacts

Add the email address that is sending you email (i.e. support@pfsinsurance.com), to your Yahoo!Mail Contacts. Yahoo! typically will deliver email from addresses in your Contacts.

Create a Filter for the Address

1. Mouse over the Settings menu icon and select Settings.
2. Click Filters and then Add.
3. Enter a Filter Name.
4. Either
   • Enter the domain of the email you want to whitelist in the Sender field, or
   • Enter the email address of the online group you want to whitelist in the Recipient field.
5. Select Inbox as the folder to deliver the mail to.
6. Click Save and then click Save again.

Tips:

• Do not enter email addresses in both the Senderand Recipient fields, as Yahoo!Mail will only filter emails that meet both criteria.
• In both the Sender and Recipient fields, you can enter either a specific email address or an entire domain.
• Create a new filter for each domain or email address you want to whitelist.