10 Life Hacks Every Apple Mail User Should Know
Because the Mail app is built into every Mac, iPhone, and iPad, it’s become the default choice for many Apple users. For some, the simple interface is the biggest draw, but that doesn’t mean the Mail app is a simple app. After decades of active development, Mail is full of powerful, hidden features lurking just beneath the surface. These Apple Mail tips will help you manage and organize your email—and hopefully, reduce the stress associated with it.
Disable “categories” to restore Mail’s original design.
Apple Mail automatically organizes emails into categories like Primary, Transactions, Updates, and Promotional. Apple does a good job of this in most cases. But if you’re used to the old Mail interface, navigating to the new categories can feel a bit overwhelming. Luckily, you can revert to the simplified interface at any time: swipe to the end of the Categories tabs to access the All Mail tab, which displays all your emails on one page. You can also turn off the categories entirely. Click the three dots at the top and switch to List view . On a Mac, click the three-dot Menu button in the top toolbar and uncheck “Show Mail Categories.”
Use customizable swipe gestures to create inbox cleanup scenarios.
Swipe gestures are a real gem in the Mail app. You can swipe left or right on any email to reveal quick actions like setting a reminder, marking it as read, or archiving it. A single swipe will reveal all the options, and continuing to swipe will launch the primary action. The best part is that you can customize this primary action, so a full swipe doesn’t necessarily trigger Apple’s default action. Go to Settings > Mail > Swipe Options . Here, you’ll see the “Swipe Left” and “Swipe Right” options. For each, you can choose between “Mark as Read,” “Flag,” “Move Message,” and “Archive.” If you frequently use the “Flag” and “Archive” method, use a left swipe to flag an email and a right swipe to archive it. But you can customize these however you like.
Use the Remind and Mute buttons to lower the priority of messages you can’t respond to yet.
Not every email is important—at least not right now. If you want to take a break while you’re busy, use the “Remind Me” feature to snooze certain emails for later. When viewing an email, tap the ” Reply” button and select “Remind Me.” Then, choose a reminder time from the following options: “in an hour,” “this evening,” “the next day,” or type your own time. You can also swipe right in your inbox to activate the “Remind Me” feature.
Similarly, a long email thread that doesn’t really concern you can be annoying. You can use the “Mute Notifications” feature to mute alerts from overly active email threads. Long-press on the thread in your inbox and select “Mute Notifications.” (In the Messages view, you’ll find it under “Reply.” ) On a Mac, right-click any email and select “Remind Me.”
Use filters and flags to prioritize important conversations.
When it comes to keeping track of important emails, the combination of Flags and Filters can be very helpful. The Mail app lets you mark emails by importance, including using custom colors. Every morning, you can flag important emails and then filter out the rest so you can focus on the important tasks. The Flag option is located in the Reply menu of any email. Then, in your inbox, tap the Filter icon in the lower left corner, select the ” Filtered: ” button, and switch to “Flagged.” Now only flagged emails will appear in your inbox. On a Mac, the Flag icon is in the top toolbar. To display only emails marked with a specific color, go to the “Flagged” section in the sidebar and select the desired filter flag.
Use the “Hide my email address” feature to protect your email address.
If you have an iCloud+ subscription, you can use the “Hide My Email Address” feature to create an unlimited number of unique aliases. All these aliases will forward emails to your real email address. This way, you can share a unique address with a new company without revealing your real address. You can manage and create all your email addresses in your iPhone’s Settings and your Mac’s System Preferences . Click your name at the top and go to iCloud > iCloud+ Features > Hide My Email Address . However, the easiest way to use this feature is in the compose window. When writing an email on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac, select the “From” button and choose “Hide My Email Address,” which will quickly create a new address for sending the message.
Set up the “Undo Send” feature to give yourself time to correct errors.
Typos in emails are inevitable. Instead of panicking or resending a message, plan ahead using the “Undo Send” feature. Go to Settings > Apps > Mail > Delay Send and set this setting to 30 seconds. Now, every email you send will be delayed by 30 seconds, giving you enough time to prevent it from being sent. On your Mac, this option is located in Mail Preferences > Composing > Delay Send .
Use these keyboard shortcuts to work faster in the Mail app.
On your Mac (or iPad with a keyboard), you can navigate through your inbox and pending emails much faster if you master keyboard shortcuts. Here are some easy-to-use keyboard shortcuts for beginners:
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Create a new email: Command + N
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Reply to the selected email: Command + R
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Forward the selected message: Shift + Command + F
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Mark an email as read or unread: Shift + Command + U
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Move selected emails to the Spam folder: Shift + Command + J
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Archive an email: Control + Command + A
Use Smart Mailboxes to automatically sort certain types of messages into one inbox (Mac only).
If you use the Mail app as your default email client, consider setting up multiple smart mailboxes. A smart mailbox helps automatically sort incoming emails based on pre-configured settings. You can configure a mailbox to receive all emails from a specific client or project across multiple email servers.
To get started, go to the Mail app sidebar, then click the folder icon next to “Smart Mailboxes” to create one. Give it a name and then configure the filtering conditions. For example, the first condition might filter by email addresses, and the second by keywords related to your project. Click “OK” to save your changes. You’ll now see a new smart mailbox in the sidebar, containing only emails that match your conditions.
Use the VIP feature to never miss emails from important contacts.
If you’re suffering from email overload, you may have disabled notifications in the Mail app. While checking your inbox periodically helps you stay on top of things most of the time, there are times when you need to access an email as soon as it arrives. That’s where the VIP feature in the Mail app comes in handy. When you receive an email from a VIP, you’ll be notified without receiving notifications for other emails. (Note: You’ll need to enable notifications in the Mail app, but you can disable notifications for all accounts to limit notifications to VIPs only.) To get started, open a contact’s card and click “Add to VIP.” Then, go to Settings > Notifications > Mail > Customize Notifications > VIP and make sure Notifications and Sounds are turned on. On your Mac, right-click the contact’s name and select “Add to VIP.”
Set up rules to ensure spam and unwanted emails never reach you.
If you use your iCloud email address, you can set up rules for your inbox that automatically hide emails that meet certain criteria. This could be an email address you know belongs to a scammer, or spam keywords that frequently appear in the subject line. For example, you could set up a rule that automatically deletes all incoming emails containing the words “crypto” or “bitcoin.” To set this up, go to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > iCloud Mail > iCloud Mail Rules , then tap “Add Rule” and specify your criteria. You don’t have to move emails to the Trash. You can also use this feature to automatically move emails to a specific inbox or mark them as read.