How to create an allow list in Gmail

To create an allow list in Gmail, create a filter. In the “From” field, specify a comma-separated list of email addresses. Choose the “Never send it to Spam” action for the filter. Gmail will always allow emails from the senders you specify and will never send them to spam.

If you find yourself digging through your spam folder to find emails from people who don’t spam, there’s a solution. You can create an allow list in Gmail that contains your safe senders.

You can prevent legitimate senders from sending spam one at a time, which is convenient for the email you’re currently viewing. But by creating a filter, you can add safe senders to a list ahead of time to prevent your emails from becoming spam in the future.

Create a filter for an allow list in Gmail

You can create a filter for your allow list using a current email or by setting up a filter from scratch. Visit Gmail on the web and sign in with your Google account to get started.

Create a filter from an email

If you are reading an email from a sender that you want to add to your allow list, you can create the filter and easily add other senders to it.

With the email in view, select the three dots for More on the right side near the top. Choose “Filter messages like this” from the list.

You will then see a pop-up containing the sender’s email address in the From field. If you want to add more people to the list, enter the email addresses separated by commas. When you’re done, click “Create Filter” at the bottom.

Then check the box Never send it to Spam. Optionally, you can check other actions and apply the filter to any existing conversations in your inbox.

Click “Create Filter” to configure the filter.

Create a filter from scratch

If you want to create your filter from scratch, select the gear icon at the top right of Gmail and choose “See all settings” in the sidebar that appears.

Go to the Filters and blocked addresses tab and click “Create a new filter”.

In the pop-up window, enter the email addresses of your safe senders separated by commas. Then click “Create Filter.”

Check the box to Never send it to Spam. You can check other actions if you want and apply the filter to your existing conversations.

Select “Create Filter” to configure the filter.

Edit a filter to add more safe senders

Once you have a filter for your allow list, you may want to add more people as time goes on. Instead of creating another filter, you can simply update the existing one.

Select the gear icon in Gmail and choose “See all settings” in the sidebar. Then, go to the Filters and blocked addresses tab.

To the right of the allow list filter, select “Edit”.

Enter additional email addresses in the From field separated by commas. Then select “Continue.”

If you want to make other changes to the actions, you can. When you’re done, click “Update Filter.”

Add safe senders one at a time

You can also prevent a sender from being reported as spam in unique situations. Select the Spam tab in the menu on the left side.

Open the email and click “Report as not spam” at the top. The email then returns to your inbox.

Creating an allow list in Gmail ensures that emails from your safe senders reach your inbox. For more information, see how to forward specific emails or how to label and move emails. You can do both automatically using Gmail filters.