How to Manage Spam Emails in Yahoo Email Account?

| Updated on March 1, 2024
Yahoo spam filtering

Getting spam emails in bulk can be really annoying at times and clearing them one by one is not a solution actually. These emails usually have links to some products or services that they want you to purchase. Some of them even contain links to malware, spyware, and viruses that can totally infect your system and put your data at risk. 

If you use Yahoo very often to manage your emails, you will need to secure your email in any case. Yahoo mail spam blocker, Spam Guard utility, email filter options are some of the ways using which you can ensure the security. 

Spam Guard utility is automatically enabled to safeguard your account, but that is not enough. You will need to add filters and block spam messages getting into your inbox.

Why Do Spam Emails Exist?

Whenever you register for something online such as online purchases, job portals, clubs, online gaming, software downloads, etc., your email address gets shared with other similar websites if the company privacy policy allows so. So make sure to read that beforehand in order to avoid getting spam emails.

Another reason for which you receive spam yahoo mails is when you fill out a random form with your email address. So the better idea is to have a secondary email address to give it out for online shopping, gaming, or when filling out a form.

How to Stop Spam Emails in Yahoo?

To stop dealing with spam emails in Yahoo, there are multiple ways as explained below:

  • Block Email Addresses

To block email addresses in your Yahoo mail account, follow these instructions:

  1. Log into your Yahoo mail account and click on the mail icon given in the top right corner.
  2. You will see the inbox, click on the ‘Settings’ icon in the top-right corner. 
  3. Then click on ‘More Options’ and you will see a new window.
  4. Out of the options given in the left column, click on ‘Security and Privacy’.
  5. You will see a heading as ‘Blocked addresses’ followed by (+ Add). Click on ‘Add’ to add an email address to the block list.
  • Turn on Yahoo Spam Filter

Next, you can turn the spam filter on for your Yahoo account to divert such emails from Yahoo, use the steps listed below:

  1. Log in to your Yahoo account and click on the mail icon in the top right corner.
  2. You will see the inbox, click on the ‘Settings’ icon in the top-right corner.
  3. Out of the options given in the left column, click on ‘Filters’.
  4. Then click on + Add new filters’ and in the right column, enter the empty fields such as ‘Filter name’, ‘Set Rules’, and Choose a folder to move to’. 
  5. Click on ‘Save’ and that’s all.

How to Turn off the Spam Filter in Yahoo?

In case, you need to turn off the spam filter in Yahoo, you can do it from the yahoo mail spam filter settings as explained below:

  1. Log in to the Yahoo Mail account and click on the mail icon.
  2. Then click on the settings icon given in the top right corner and then click on ‘More Options’.
  3. Click on ‘Filters’ on the menu on the left and a new page will open. Click on the ‘+Add’ option and type in ‘no spam’ in the Filter Name text box, and ‘@’ in the text box that is given next to Sender Contains. Make sure that the ‘Inbox’ option is active for the option ‘where the mail will be delivered’. 

How to Report An Email as Spam for Yahoo?

Even if you have blocked certain email addresses, you will still keep getting spam emails. Nonetheless, you can report the emails to Yahoo so that they can prevent such emails from being sent to you in the future.

For Classic Yahoo Mail  

Here’s how to do it:

  • Select the checkbox beside the message in your inbox that has to be reported as spam.
  • In the toolbar above your inbox, you will see the ‘Spam’, select it to move the message to the spam folder. 

For Basic Yahoo Mail

The steps here are almost the same, just the interface is quite different,

  • Select the checkbox beside the message in your inbox that has to be reported as spam.
  • In the toolbar above your inbox, you will see the ‘Spam’, select it to move the message to the spam folder. 
  • Alternatively, you can also mark an individual message as spam while reading it, as follows:
  1. In the toolbar, select ‘Actions’. 
  2. Click ‘Mark as Spam’ and then select ‘Apply’.

For Yahoo Mail App

If you are viewing the emails on the Yahoo Mail App, you can report individual messages as spam there and then:

  1. Open the email you want to mark as spam.
  2. Then select the three dots given in the right of the sender’s name. 
  3. From the drop-down menu, select the ‘Spam’ option.

What If Yahoo Spam Filter is Not Working? 

If filters are not working properly or the spam emails are not being sent to the correct folder, make sure;

  • There shouldn’t be a conflicting filter above a filter that isn’t working.
  • Do not use negative criteria such as ‘does not contain’ rather than with positive criteria like ‘begins with’.

Tips to Avoid Spam Emails

You must also try to avoid getting spam emails in the future by keeping in mind the following things:

  • Avoid replying back to an unknown sender.
  • Don’t distribute your email address to random people.
  • There is no need to reply to emails asking to unsubscribe the services that you have never subscribed at the first place.
  • Do not believe in websites that claim to help you with spam emails as some of them may con you.


Kanika Singh

Webmail and Internet Expert


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