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Sunny Li / 10.02.2023Home / Email Security
Email unsubscribe—Native features and third-party services explained
Learn about the most effective email unsubscribe methods for common providers and whether you should use third-party services to clean your inbox.
If you’ve been using the same email address for a while, you might have subscribed to numerous newsletters that are now flooding your inbox. This disrupts your workflow and makes your inbox unnecessarily cluttered, damaging your productivity.Luckily, every email service offers an email unsubscribe option you can use to prevent unwanted mail from arriving. This guide will show you how this feature works with the most common email providers, after which you’ll learn about the benefits and dangers that come with using third-party services.
Source: Gmail screenshotYou can also unsubscribe from the Gmail app, though the option isn’t as prominent. Follow these steps:
Source: Gmail app screenshotUnfortunately, Gmail doesn’t offer a mass unsubscribe feature, nor is there a centralized menu for subscription management. You need to follow the above steps and unsubscribe from each newsletter separately, which can be inconvenient and time-consuming if there are many of them.
Source: Outlook screenshotEven if you have dozens of subscriptions, this feature makes unsubscribing quick and easy. It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to stop receiving mail from newsletters you don’t find useful anymore.Note that this feature is only available in Outlook’s desktop/browser version. The mobile app doesn’t have a universal unsubscribe option, so you’ll need to do it manually for each sender. Here’s how:
Source: Outlook app screenshotWhile senders typically include the unsubscribe option at the bottom of the email, some may place it elsewhere, so you might have to look a bit more closely to find it.
Source: Yahoo screenshotIf you keep receiving emails after unsubscribing, you can also block the sender to ensure their messages can’t reach you.This feature is equally intuitive on the Yahoo app—the Subscriptions tab is placed at the bottom of the screen and available directly from the main inbox. You’ll get the same subscription layout as you do in the browser version, so you can unsubscribe from multiple newsletters quickly.
Source: Yahoo Mail app screenshot
Source: Skiff
All Skiff platforms are available on:
Source: Skiff
Whether you’re switching from one of the services mentioned here or any other provider, you can migrate to Skiff in no time with the platform’s one-click migration. All your correspondence will be transferred, and no unencrypted copies will be stored.
Streamline your email management with SkiffSkiff Mail offers advanced tools for a clutter-free inbox and secure, organized communication
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How to unsubscribe from an email newsletter
Most email services make it easy to manage subscriptions directly from your inbox or the email received from the sender you no longer wish to engage with. Below, you will find quick tutorials for the three major email providers:How to unsubscribe from emails in Gmail
If you use the browser version of Gmail, you can unsubscribe from newsletters by following three simple steps:- Go to your inbox
- Open the email from which you wish to unsubscribe
- Click the Unsubscribe button next to the sender’s address and confirm the action
- Open the email you want to unsubscribe from
- Tap the three-dot icon in the upper-right corner
- Tap Unsubscribe and confirm when prompted
How to unsubscribe from emails in Outlook
Outlook makes it much easier to unsubscribe from unwanted mail, thanks to its convenient Subscriptions feature. Here’s how to access it and manage your subscriptions:- Click the gear icon in the upper-right corner of your inbox
- Go to Mail > Subscriptions
- You’ll see the list of all active subscriptions, so click the Unsubscribe button next to the one you want to cancel
- Click OK to confirm
- Open the email you want to unsubscribe from
- Scroll to the bottom of the email
- Find and tap the Unsubscribe button
- Confirm your choice if prompted
How to mass unsubscribe from emails in Yahoo
Yahoo’s approach to unsubscribing is similar to Outlook’s. It’s not exactly a one-click mass action, but it’s quite fast and effortless. Yahoo also makes the subscription list more prominent than Outlook in both the browser and mobile versions, which adds to the feature’s convenience.If you’re on a browser, follow these steps to manage your subscriptions:- Click Subscriptions in the left-hand menu of your inbox
- Click Unsubscribe under your chosen newsletter
- Confirm the action in the pop-up prompt
Should you use a third-party email unsubscribe service?
Numerous apps promise to declutter your inbox and prevent spam, junk, and other unwanted mail. Unfortunately, most don’t live up to their promise, and the cost of using them far outweighs the value you get.Instead of unsubscribing you and clearing your inbox, most of them only create filters that redirect mail to subfolders like junk and spam.While this might make your inbox appear more neat, the emails still fill your storage, and you remain subscribed.This wouldn’t be such a big issue if unsubscribe services didn’t ask for lots of permissions and private data. Such apps need access to your inbox and sensitive account information, and they typically don’t protect this data with adequate security measures.Pair this with the weak security you get with an average Big Tech email provider—like the ones discussed here—and you can see why your correspondence and data might be exposed to significant risks.Safeguard your email privacy with Skiff MailSkiff Mail's end-to-end encryption and privacy-centric features protect your inbox while keeping it clean
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Why you should choose a secure email provider over Big Tech solutions
If your inbox is too cluttered for manual cleaning, starting fresh with a privacy-first email service might be better than staying with a Big Tech provider and using unsubscribe services.This is because even if you tidy up your inbox, you still don’t get nearly as much security and privacy as you would with a secure option. Providers like Gmail and Outlook are notorious for invasive privacy practices and subpar security protocols, most notably weak encryption.Such services use the Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption protocol by default, which only encrypts your emails in transit. While the provider might also offer encryption at rest (which protects your emails while they’re idle on the servers), they create and own your encryption keys.This means your data is exposed to the following risks:- The provider can decrypt your emails and read their contents
- A hacker can attack the provider’s server and steal the keys, gaining access to the plaintext copies of your emails
Skiff Mail—Complete privacy for every user
Skiff Mail is an end-to-end encrypted email service that uses two distinct keys to keep your emails confidential and secure:- A public encryption key shared with the recipient
- A private decryption key stored on the user’s device
- Two-factor authentication (2FA) prevents anyone from accessing your email, even if they steal your login credentials
- Zero-knowledge login, which lets you sign up without leaving a phone number or other identifiers
- Secure Remote Password, which encrypts critical account data, such as encryption keys and account credentials
Advanced features at no cost
Skiff Mail’s robust free plan encompasses all the features you need for streamlined correspondence—including those typically reserved for paid email services. The most notable features you get include the following:- 10 GB of end-to-end encrypted storage
- Fast email and text search
- Integration with various crypto wallets
- Folders, labels, and filters for easy organization
- Four Skiff.com aliases and one custom domain
- Schedule and undo send
One account, four E2EE platforms
Skiff Mail is only a part of Skiff’s secure workflow—signing up will give you access to three additional end-to-end encrypted products:The following table explains how each platform contributes to your workflow:| Platform | Overview |
| Skiff Pages | A secure alternative to Google Docs that keeps your files’ contents and key metadata encrypted. You can collaborate with your team and leverage the rich text editor to create comprehensive documents |
| Skiff Drive | An end-to-end encrypted cloud solution that lets you upload and secure files of all types and sizes. You can also leverage the integration of Skiff Drive with the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) |
| Skiff Calendar | A dedicated scheduling platform that integrates with Skiff Mail to help you stay on top of projects and activities. Skiff Calendar comes with a built-in video conferencing tool for smoother collaboration |
Get started with Skiff Mail
Securing your correspondence has never been easier—all it takes is three steps:- Go to Skiff’s signup page
- Create your free account
- Explore Skiff Mail and other E2EE products
| Plan | Cost |
| Essential | From $3 per month |
| Pro | From $8 per month |
| Business | From $12/user per month |
