If you're like me, you are probably subscribed to more mailing lists than you realize. Fortunately, the mobile version of Gmail gives you an easy way to do something about it.
Earlier this summer, Google announced a new Manage Subscriptions feature that would put all those mailing lists you've subscribed to — unwittingly or otherwise — in one place. You can then scroll down the list and tap which newsletters, promotional emails and other communiques you wish to kick to the curb.
At the time of the Manage Subscriptions announcement, Google said that the feature would roll out on the web, Android and iOS to select countries. I'm not sure exactly when it landed on my phone, but I noticed it around Black Friday — about the same time that every retailer I've done business with decided to send me an email imploring me to drop some more cash. Instead, I've been using Manage Subscriptions in Gmail to drop them from my inbox.
1. Access the Manage Subscriptions tool
From within the Gmail app, tap on the menu button — it's the three horizontal lines in the upper left corner. When the Menu appears, tap on Manage Subscriptions. (If it's your first time accessing the feature, you may see a "New" label next to the name.)
2. Pick which mailing lists to unsubscribe from
On the Manage Subscriptions screen, you'll see an alphabetical list of all the mailing lists you're on. Helpfully, Gmail notes how many times you've been emailed recently by each sender, giving you a sense of the people who've really been badgering you.
When you see a list you want to unsubscribe to, tap the envelope icon on the right. A pop-up text will appear, giving you the chance to tap to confirm you want to unsubscribe to a particular mailing list.
Once you've confirmed you're unsubscribing from the list, you'll be whisked back to the Manage Subscriptions page, which will be updated to no longer display the list you've dropped. You'll also get a confirmation alert at the bottom of the screen.
For the most part, unsubscribing from a mailing list takes place entirely inside of Gmail. In a few instances, however, you may be required to go directly to the sender's website to unsubscribe. You can also block messages from that sender if you prefer.
Near as I can tell, there's no batch unsubscribe feature in Manage Subscriptions; instead, you've got to go through each subscription individually. That's probably just as well, as newsletters I actually subscribe to — and in some cases, pay for — are listed among mailing lists I have no idea how I landed on. A batch unsubscribe command would make it too easy to include those welcome mailing lists from the ones I want to rid myself of.
If you're looking for more tips on how to use Gmail, we can walk you through how to transfer emails between Gmail accounts as well as how to schedule an email. Incidentally, scheduling messages isn't just for email clients — you can schedule texts in iOS Messages, too.
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