Gmail already marked Spam coming to Inbox

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Level 1

9 points

Gmail already marked Spam coming to Inbox

Gmail marks some incoming emails (correctly) as Spam. But they have recently - in the past two or three weeks maybe - started appearing in my Mail Inbox as well as the Spam folder. They DON'T appear in Inbox when I access my Gmail via a web browser at gmail.com.

I have checked all the settings I can see in both Gmail and Apple Mail, and can't see how to turn this off, so that Spam stays in the Spam folder.

Any ideas, please?

John McC

iMac with Retina 5K display, OS X El Capitan (10.11.4), Bought new November 2015

Posted on May 14, 2016 2:46 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

dianeoforegon

Level 5

7,287 points

May 14, 2016 4:18 PM in response to johnwmcc

It's recommended that you turn off Junk Filter in Mail when you use a Gmail account. Let Gmail's spam filter do the filtering.

Open Mail > Preferences > Junk Mail

Uncheck "enable junk mail filtering".

In Gmail Settings > Labels make sure you have the Spam folder checked to sync. Mail should auto select this as the correct junk folder.

You might notice that under Labels tab, you'll find other folders named below like Junk E-Mail etc. These are created when you use a different email client like Outlook. I suggest cleaning up your labels (folders) by removing these old redundant folders.

If you use other email accounts, you can deal with junk using Spam Sieve. There is no way to turn off iCloud accounts junk filtering.

http://c-command.com/spamsieve/

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Answer 2

johnwmcc Author

Level 1

9 points

May 14, 2016 3:23 PM in response to dianeoforegon

Thank you. I'll try that.

My inbox also gets mail browned out as Junk (not the same as Spam - Spam in the Inbox isn't browned out, just the normal black). I haven't looked carefully to see which email account in Mail this is coming from (I use three including Gmail).

Have changed the settings and will see what happens over next day or two to both Spam and Junk.

I still don't really know what caused the change in behaviour - I knowingly changed one setting in Gmail, to stop saving Drafts on the server - but perhaps I accidentally changed something else at the same time?

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Answer 3

May 14, 2016 4:18 PM in response to johnwmcc

Getting the setting in Gmail > Settings and in Mail > Preferences set correctly can be a challenge. Often you need to set in both to work correctly.

Gmail works best in a browser. It's not standard IMAP. While Apple Mail does a good job at making Gmail with it's quirks work correctly, it's underlying structure is problematic in any email client.

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Answer 4

johnwmcc Author

Level 1

9 points

May 14, 2016 4:20 PM in response to dianeoforegon

Just a quick reality check - the settings change has already stopped Gmail Spam appearing in my Apple Mail Inbox. Not sure yet what's happening with Junk - fortunately, I don't get a lot of it.

I still prefer to read mail in a mail client, not a browser, so I've little direct experience of using Gmail in a browser. As well as picking it up on my iMac, I use it as the main email account on my Android phone, which has a native Google client for Gmail.

Thank you for your advice and help.

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Answer 5

May 14, 2016 4:37 PM in response to johnwmcc

Do you have the Spam folder set to sync in Gmail Settings > Labels?

You should find your junk/spam in this folder.

In Apple Mail, this folder is under Junk > Gmail

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Answer 6

johnwmcc Author

Level 1

9 points

May 14, 2016 4:47 PM in response to dianeoforegon

Yes, I do have Spam set to sync in Gmail Settings > Labels

Gmail Spam does end up in the Spam folder in Mail, but it is under Google > Spam, not Junk > Gmail.

Junk just has subfolders for my other two email accounts.

And most brown-coloured Junk mail isn't now appearing in the Inbox, though some Junk is getting through, in black until I mark it Junk.

Will follow up in a couple of days after enough experience accumulated, but so far, the settings seem to be working as I would hope.

Thanks again.

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Answer 7

May 14, 2016 5:02 PM in response to johnwmcc

You might need to assign the junk folder. If the spam folder messages is not showing up under the Junk subfolder for Gmail, then find the folder and under Mailbox in the Menu bar select "Use This Mailbox As > Junk Mailbox.

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