How to get better email filtering (without running my own server)

August 16, 2022 1:20 PM

I'd like to be able to filter out mail to multiple recipients from a non-contact to it's own folder. Perhaps I'd like to filter even further. I use gmail but I'm open to alternatives.

I'm getting a rash of spam from random addresses but all claiming to be young women who want to meet up (and also meet several other people since I am not the only recipient). The subjects all start "Re:" and have lots of emojis. But normal gmail filtering doesn't seem to allow this. Are there ways to "enhance" the filtering capabilities? Say with a plugin? Or should I give up and actually meet these women?

posted by Obscure Reference to Computers & Internet (4 answers total)

Least-effort way to keep that shit out of your inbox doesn't involve faffing about with plugins and filters, just getting religious about consistent use of Gmail's Report Spam option. Takes a while for the training to have any visible effect but it really does get there in the end.

should I give up and actually meet these women?

Not unless low-level organized criminals are your kink.
posted by flabdablet at 1:36 PM on August 16, 2022 [1 favorite]

If you're determined to pursue more detailed manual filtering than Gmail can offer you, jump ship to Fastmail and learn Sieve.
posted by flabdablet at 1:40 PM on August 16, 2022 [1 favorite]

There appears to be no way to do this in web-Gmail. What you can do is run Thunderbird and use IMAP to access your Gmail emails, and use Tbird's filtering, which does let you filter on "sender not in contacts." I don't know how well this would mesh with your G-products workflow, but know that you can also connect Tbird to your Google calendars (and tasks, I think).
posted by rhizome at 1:50 PM on August 16, 2022 [1 favorite]

There are several options:

1. Email services from large companies, such as Gmail and outlook, usually have robust spam filters. It is possible to use these services with your own domains. If you see something in common in the spams, you can design rules to filter them out.

2. Like someone said, use fastmail.fm. You can write custom rules to filter out the spams if they have things in common.

3. Try spamcop.
posted by chicago-guy at 2:21 PM on August 16, 2022