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How to whitelist mail sender?

My sister's e-mails have been ending up in my junk mail folder quite often of late. We often share short messages with links, and she's one of the few people whose links are virtually always of interest to me. Even messages in reply to messages I originated end up there at times. I tell mail that they're not junk when I find them there, but that has not helped. How can I set up a rule so that messages from a specific sender are ALWAYS whitelisted and come to my inbox?


I don't see a way to create a rule that says:


If sender is MySister, never mark as junk, just put it in my inbox.

MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9.3)

Posted on May 28, 2014 12:18 PM

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Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Mar 23, 2017 7:59 AM

You can try this:

Whitelist a Domain in Mac OS X Mail

To put a complete domain on your Mac OS X Mail white list:

Select Mail | Preferences... from the menu in Mac OS X Mail.

Go to the Rules category.

Click Add Rule.

Type a Description:, such as "Whitelist: example.com".

Make sure the criteria read: If any of the following conditions are met: From Ends with.

Enter the domain name you want to whitelist after Ends with.

◦ You can add a '@' sign before to make the filter more specific. To whitelist all mail from the "example.com" domain ("heinz@example.com") but not from its sub-domains ("heinz@heinz.example.com"), for instance, type "@example.com").

◦ Of course, you can filter multiple domains with one rule. Click the plus sign next to the last condition and add another domain with the same criteria. Maybe add the additional name to the rule Description, too.

Make the actions read: Perform the following actions: Move Message to mailbox: Inbox.

◦ You can also choose a different target folder, of course.

Click OK.

Make sure the rule is executed before other rules that might act on the same message for other reasons by dragging it near the top of the rules list.

◦ If you have a filter that color-codes certain messages based on keywords in the subject, for example, make sure the domain whitelist rule is above that labeling rule.

Close the Rules window.

10 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Mar 23, 2017 7:59 AM in response to Donot Haveone

You can try this:

Whitelist a Domain in Mac OS X Mail

To put a complete domain on your Mac OS X Mail white list:

Select Mail | Preferences... from the menu in Mac OS X Mail.

Go to the Rules category.

Click Add Rule.

Type a Description:, such as "Whitelist: example.com".

Make sure the criteria read: If any of the following conditions are met: From Ends with.

Enter the domain name you want to whitelist after Ends with.

◦ You can add a '@' sign before to make the filter more specific. To whitelist all mail from the "example.com" domain ("heinz@example.com") but not from its sub-domains ("heinz@heinz.example.com"), for instance, type "@example.com").

◦ Of course, you can filter multiple domains with one rule. Click the plus sign next to the last condition and add another domain with the same criteria. Maybe add the additional name to the rule Description, too.

Make the actions read: Perform the following actions: Move Message to mailbox: Inbox.

◦ You can also choose a different target folder, of course.

Click OK.

Make sure the rule is executed before other rules that might act on the same message for other reasons by dragging it near the top of the rules list.

◦ If you have a filter that color-codes certain messages based on keywords in the subject, for example, make sure the domain whitelist rule is above that labeling rule.

Close the Rules window.

May 28, 2014 1:33 PM in response to Csound1

I'm less concerned about who is marking it, and more concerned with making sure her messages always go to my inbox--does mail have any 'whitelist' capacity that bypasses this?


I'm afraid unchecking those is going to bring a flood of more junk into my inbox, and since she sends messages only occasionally, this will be a prolonged and unpleasant troubleshooting.

May 28, 2014 2:18 PM in response to babowa

Thanks, this is what I need to know before facing the more difficult troubleshooting issues suggested above. I'll check to see where else I can effect controls first, and leave the global spam/junk change as a backup option if this doesn't work.

babowa wrote:


does mail have any 'whitelist' capacity



The Mail app does not.


Your ISP may, but the settings would most likely be on their website > your email account.

How to whitelist mail sender?

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