Spam folder - how does it work?

You will find a spam folder in every email account. In this guide we explain how the "system" spam folder works.

The function of the spam folder - that's how the clever mail sorter ticks

The primary task of a spam folder is to keep your inbox folder clean from all kinds of nuisance and to relieve you of it.

• Your email provider usually makes a rough preselection and automatically sorts out various emails. These can be known or suspicious email addresses, for example, as well as emails with dubious subject lines, such as offers from erotic services or strange profit announcements.
• As practical as the preselection of email providers is, there is still a catch: important emails can get caught and end up in the spam folder. You should therefore briefly scan the contents of the spam folder before permanently deleting the messages.
• It is of course even better to reduce the error rate in advance for the emails that are automatically moved to the spam folder.
• There are also the so-called white and black lists. There you enter which senders should be moved directly to the spam folder (blacklist) or vice versa - which ones should in any case remain in your inbox (whitelist).
• However, these lists only make sense for mail addresses that you know. You won't be able to fight the flood of professional spam mails with it. For this purpose, the email providers usually use their own filters and sort them out for you.
• If you use an email client such as Thundebird or Outlook, you can make further settings for the spam folder directly in the software.