Bobby Wilson
To unsubscribe from a legitimate email, newsletter or mailing list, open a message from the sender and select Unsubscribe. The option may appear near the sender’s name in your email service or as a link near the bottom of the message. Confirm the request if asked.
If the email looks suspicious or fraudulent, do not click links inside it merely to unsubscribe. Reporting the message as spam or phishing is more appropriate.
How to unsubscribe from an email
For a newsletter, mailing list or marketing email from a sender you recognise:
- Open an email from the sender.
- Look for Unsubscribe near the sender’s name or elsewhere in your email service.
- If there is no built-in option, look for the sender’s unsubscribe link, which is commonly placed near the bottom of a marketing email.
- Select Unsubscribe and confirm your choice if required.
Some senders may take you to a page where you can choose which emails you want to stop rather than unsubscribing from everything. You may also find that unsubscribing removes you from one mailing list but not every type of email sent by the organisation.
Is it safe to click Unsubscribe?
Using Unsubscribe is normally appropriate when the email is a genuine newsletter, mailing list or marketing message from a sender you recognise. An unsubscribe link is not inherently suspicious simply because it appears inside a marketing email.
Treat an email differently if you do not trust it. An unexpected payment request, prize message, unusual login warning or message containing misleading links could be a phishing email, which is designed to deceive the recipient. The National Cyber Security Centre advises people not to click links in suspicious emails.
A built-in Unsubscribe option provided by Gmail or another email service can make legitimate subscriptions easier to manage, but its presence is not a reason to trust an otherwise suspicious message. If the email appears fraudulent, use the service’s spam or phishing reporting controls instead.
How to unsubscribe in Gmail and Outlook
Gmail and Outlook can identify some mailing-list messages and provide their own unsubscribe controls. These are convenient alternatives to searching through the message for the sender’s unsubscribe link.
Gmail
In Gmail, open a promotional email or newsletter. If Gmail recognises the mailing list, Unsubscribe may appear beside the sender’s name. Select it and confirm the request. Some senders require Gmail to direct you to their website instead.
Gmail also has a Manage subscriptions area. On a computer, select More in the left-hand menu and then Manage subscriptions. This brings recognised subscriptions together and lets you unsubscribe from individual senders. Google says the feature is still being gradually made available, so it may not appear on every account.
Outlook
Outlook.com also provides a subscription manager. Go to Settings, select Mail, then Subscriptions. Find the sender you no longer want and select Unsubscribe.
Not every unwanted email will appear in the Subscriptions list, so you may still need to use the sender’s own unsubscribe option for some legitimate mailing lists.
Unsubscribe vs spam vs phishing vs block
These actions solve different problems.
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Unsubscribe | Requests that a legitimate sender stop sending the mailing-list or marketing emails covered by the request. |
| Report spam | Tells your email provider that the message is unwanted or junk and can help it filter similar messages. Spam email is a different problem from simply receiving a newsletter you no longer want. |
| Report phishing | Reports a message that appears designed to deceive you, such as by stealing passwords or directing you to a fraudulent website. |
| Block | Changes how future messages from a particular address are handled. Blocking an email address does not necessarily remove you from the sender’s mailing list. |
Gmail explicitly states that blocking a sender does not automatically unsubscribe you. Outlook similarly uses blocking to divert future messages from an address to Junk rather than cancelling a mailing-list subscription.
Deleting, archiving or marking an email as read also does not unsubscribe you. Those actions only change what happens to messages already in your mailbox.
What if there is no unsubscribe option?
If the sender is a legitimate organisation you recognise, first check whether your email service provides its own Unsubscribe or subscription-management control.
You can also go directly to the organisation’s genuine website or account rather than following a link in the email. Look for email preferences, communication settings or marketing preferences there. If necessary, use contact information obtained independently from the organisation’s official website to ask for the marketing emails to stop.
Do not assume that replying with the word “unsubscribe” will work unless the legitimate sender specifically tells you to use that method.
If repeated messages are unwanted junk rather than a legitimate mailing list, reporting them as spam may be more appropriate. If the message appears deceptive or fraudulent, report it as phishing instead of following its links.
What happens after you unsubscribe?
The sender should stop sending the type of marketing or mailing-list email covered by your request. It may not happen immediately. Google advises that it can take a few days for a sender to process an unsubscribe request, so another message may arrive during that period.
Unsubscribing from one newsletter may not remove you from every mailing list operated by the same organisation. It also does not necessarily stop non-marketing messages connected to an account or service, such as receipts, password resets, security notices or important service messages.