How to Stop Spam in AOL Mail

AOL says its filters catch 99.9% of spam, malware and phishing emails — but some still slip through. When they do, the fix is to mark them as spam: AOL’s system learns from it and sends that sender’s future emails to your Spam folder automatically.

Mark an email as spam

• On the web: select the email and click Mark as Spam. It moves to the Spam folder.
• In the AOL Mail app: tap an email to open it (or tap Edit and select several), tap the More icon, then Mark as spam.

AOL says these actions work best in its own apps or webmail. In third-party apps such as Outlook, AOL recommends turning off the app’s own spam filter and not managing spam there.

Rescue a real email from Spam

1. Open the Spam folder.
2. Select the email.
3. Click Not Spam (or Restore to Inbox).

Future messages from that sender will go to your inbox. Don’t wait too long: AOL empties Spam automatically after 30 days.

Unsubscribe — the safe way

• When you mark a message from a mailing list AOL trusts as spam, AOL may offer Unsubscribe instead. Choose it and you’ll stop getting that list.
• In the app, open the email, tap More › Unsubscribe — or tap your profile icon › Unsubscribe to see senders and unsubscribe from each.
• Never click the unsubscribe link inside real spam. AOL warns that any link in a spam message, including the unsubscribe link, could be dangerous.

AOL’s tips to get less spam

• Don’t reply to unknown senders.
• Be careful who you give your email address to.
• Don’t interact with mail in your Spam folder — AOL says it doesn’t count toward your storage and needs no action.
• Avoid sites that promise to remove your address from spam lists; AOL says many are address collectors used by spammers.

Stronger options

• Block a sender who keeps writing — see blocking email addresses in AOL Mail.
• Block all senders except contacts (Settings › More Settings › Security and privacy) if spam is overwhelming — but add the people you need to Contacts first.
• Phishing pretending to be AOL or your bank? Don’t click; see the email security hub, and secure your AOL account if you already entered your password.