How to Accept Email From Only Those in the Address Book

Adjusting your email settings to only accept mail from users you know results in less junk mail in your inbox.

Junk mail can be a frustrating problem for many email users, cluttering mailboxes and taking up disk space. To try and combat junk email, some users choose to only accept mail from contacts in their address book to keep unwanted messages out. Accepting email from contacts only is a relatively simple process and should only take a few minutes.

Instructions

Accepting Email from Those in the Address Book in Apple Mail

1. Open Apple Mail and click "Mail" > "Preferences."

2. Select the "Junk Mail" tab.

3. Uncheck "Sender Of Message Is In My Previous Recipients" and "Message Is Addressed Using My Full Name" leaving only "Sender Of Message Is In My Address Book" checked.

4. Click the red "X" in the top left corner to apply the changes.

Accepting Email from Those in the Address Book in Microsoft Outlook

1. Open Outlook and click "Tools" > "Options."

2. Select "Preferences" tab and under "Email" click "Junk Mail."

3. Click the "Safe Senders" tab.

4. Check the "Also Trust E-mail From My Contacts" option.

5. Close the window to apply the settings.

References

• Microsoft Outlook: Include My Contacts as Safe Senders

Resources

• Microsoft Office: Help
• Apple: Mail Help