Technology

How to keep email from getting lost to a spam folder

Published

2 years ago

May 26, 2024

How to keep email from getting lost to a spam folder

Have you ever been waiting for an important email only to find out it went into your spam folder?

This can be frustrating if you’re waiting on correspondence from someone, but it can also be frustrating — and awkward — for the sender, who is all the while waiting for your response.

While you still want your spam folder to help filter out unwanted messages, it’s important to “safelist” the email addresses you want to go directly into your inbox. And there is a way to keep actual spam emails at bay, too.

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Mail app on a smartphone (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

What does it mean to “safelist” an email address?

To “safelist,” an email address means adding it to a special list where you mark it as trusted. When you safelist an email address, you ensure that messages from this sender go directly to your inbox instead of getting caught in spam filters. This is particularly useful because sometimes important emails can be mistakenly marked as unwanted spam.

Safelisting is a helpful tool, especially in settings where you can’t afford to miss important messages, like in business or personal communications. By adding an email address to your safelist, you’re telling your email service that you know and trust this sender and that the sender’s emails are important to you. This step helps ensure that you always receive the emails you need, including our CyberGuy newsletter.

A woman on her laptop (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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Part I: How to safelist email addresses in different email platforms

To ensure that important emails always reach your inbox and don’t get lost in the spam folder, it’s a good idea to safelist trusted email addresses. This requires adding contacts to your email platform’s address book and taking another step to ensure they go to you.

Here’s how to do it on different email platforms:

Gmail:

Add email addresses to contacts:

Go to Google Contacts (contacts.google.com).
Click on “Create contact” and fill out the “Create a contact” form with the email address you wish to safelist.
Click Save. This automatically ensures that emails from this address land in your inbox rather than your spam folder.

Safelist spam emails:

Navigate to your Gmail inbox.
From the navigation bar on the left, scroll down and click More.
Then, click Spam
Find the email from the sender you want to safelist. Click the empty box to the left of the Spam email you want to remove from Spam.
Now, tap Not spam

Create a non-spam filter:

From your Gmail inbox, go to “Settings” (gear icon), then “See all settings.”
Navigate to “Filters and Blocked Addresses” and click it.
Then, tap “Create a new filter.”
Enter the email address or domain you wish to safelist in the “From” field.
Click “Create filter” with this search, check “Never send it to Spam,” and then click “Create filter.”

Yahoo Mail:

Add a Yahoo contact:

Click the Contacts card icon on the upper right corner of your inbox.
Then, click the three horizontal dots just below it on the right
Select “Add a new Contact.”
Fill out the form with the sender’s details, and click “Save.”

Add a filter in Yahoo Mail:

Click the Gear icon in the upper right corner and select “More Settings.”
Choose “Filters” from the left navigation menu
Then click “Add new filters.”
Fill out the form with a filter name and the email address or domain you wish to safelist.
Click “Save” to activate the filter.

AOL Mail:

Add an AOL contact:

Log into your AOL Mail account
Click on Contacts in the left navigation menu
Tap on the three horizontal dots under where it says Contacts
Click on Add a new Contact
Fill out the contact details, and click Save

Create a filter in AOL Mail:

Log into your AOL Mail account
Click on Options
Then, click Mail Settings
Under Filter Settings, click on Create a new filter
Enter a name for the filter, specify the condition (e.g., emails from a specific email address), and set the action to Move to inbox
Save the filter to ensure all future emails from this address go directly to your inbox instead of the spam folder.

StartMail

Log in to your StartMail account: Start by signing in to your StartMail account.
Access your settings: Look for a settings or options menu, typically found in the upper right corner of the screen.
Navigate to Safelist options: Within the settings menu, find the section dedicated to ‘Filters’ or ‘Safelisting’.
Add the email address: In the safelist section, there should be an option to ‘Add’ or ‘Create a new rule’. Enter the email address you wish to safelist.
Save your changes: Make sure to save or apply the changes to update your safelist settings.

By following these steps, emails from safelisted addresses bypass the spam filter, ensuring you receive important communications directly in your inbox.

Note: One of the best features of StartMail is that it’s a more private and secure email service, which helps you take more control over what’s coming into your inbox and what you’re sending out. Find out more about upgrading the security of your email here.

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Part II: Why do emails I don’t want in my inbox bypass the spam filter?

If you plan to safelist email addresses so that you won’t miss another email from a trusted address by it going into your spam folder instead of your primary inbox, you might be wondering how this works the other way around. How do emails you DON’T want to see get into your inbox when those should be going into your spam folder?

If you’re getting a lot of “promotional” or “spam” emails (depending on how your email labels them), it’s likely because you subscribed to them at some point in time. To find out where you’re subscribed and unsubscribe from many places at once, there are services out there like Clean Email that can help you do this quickly. But you can also do it the manual way by setting time aside to go through your inbox and unsubscribe to ones you don’t want anymore as they come into your inbox.

It could also be because your email is out there on the internet, and scammers (as well as companies) can find it and add it to a mailing list without you giving explicit permission to do so. To help minimize this, there are ways to get your data offline.

A person on a smartphone looking at emails (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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Use aliases to protect yourself from spam emails

Sometimes, it’s best to create various email aliases so that you don’t have to worry about all your info getting stolen in a data breach. An email alias address is also a great way to stop receiving constant spam mail by simply deleting it.

My top recommendation to avoid being inundated with spam emails is to use an alias email address. An alias email address is an additional email address that can be used to receive emails in the same mailbox as the primary email address. It acts as a forwarding address, directing emails to the primary email address.

In addition to creating throwaway email accounts for online sign-ups and other circumstances where you would not want to disclose your primary email address, alias email addresses are helpful for handling and organizing incoming communications.

Sometimes, it’s best to create various email aliases so that you don’t have to worry about getting tons of spam mail and having your email eventually stolen in a data breach. An alias email address is a great way for you to stop receiving constant spam mail by simply deleting the email alias address. See my review of best secure and private email services here

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A woman checking her email on her laptop while on the phone (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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Kurt’s key takeaways

Just like managing your contacts in a physical address book or on your phone takes time, managing them in your email system does, too. But by safelisting emails and using aliases to prevent spam, you’ll get your email right where you want it.

What’s your biggest challenge when it comes to managing your email subscriptions, and how do you address it? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact

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Answers to the most asked CyberGuy questions:

Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

Technology

3D-printed housing project for student apartments takes shape

Published

29 minutes ago

December 24, 2025

Press Room

3D-printed housing project for student apartments takes shape

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A quiet town in western Denmark is quickly becoming a testing ground for the future of housing.

Skovsporet, described as Europe’s largest 3D-printed housing project, is now taking shape in Holstebro. When finished, the development will deliver 36 student apartments built faster than many single-family homes.

The project sits near VIA University College and serves students in the area. NordVestBo, an affordable housing organization focused on student living, commissioned the development. SAGA Space Architects designed the project in collaboration with 3DCP Group and COBOD. From the beginning, the goal stayed simple and ambitious. Build high-quality homes faster, more efficiently and at a scale traditional construction often struggles to reach. So far, the progress speaks for itself.

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AUSTRALIA DEBUTS FIRST MULTI-STORY 3D PRINTED HOME – BUILT IN JUST 5 MONTHS

The six buildings are arranged around shared outdoor areas, creating a village-style layout designed for student life. (SAGA Space Architects)

How 36 student apartments were printed at record speed

Skovsporet includes six buildings, and each one holds six ground-level student apartments. Crews printed the structures on site using the COBOD BOD3 3D construction printer. The machine extrudes a cement-like material layer by layer, following a digital blueprint with millimeter accuracy.

At first, printing a single building took several weeks. However, productivity improved quickly as the team gained experience. By the final building, printing wrapped up in just five days. That pace equals more than one student apartment printed per day.

Even more notable is the small crew required to run the system. Only three people operated the printer on site. As a result, automation handled the heavy work while the team focused on oversight, quality and precision.

Inside the 3D-printed student apartments

Each apartment measures roughly 431 to 538 square feet. Despite their compact footprint, the layouts feel open and intentional. Every unit includes a full kitchen, a study area, a lounge, a bathroom with a shower and a bedroom with a double bed. Large roof windows and slanted ceilings pull daylight deep into the space, helping soften the concrete structure. Inside, coated plywood panels and glass elements add warmth and contrast. The result feels modern and livable rather than industrial. These homes are designed for daily student life, not just architectural headlines.

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Why 3D printed construction is changing how housing gets built

The real story at Skovsporet is not just speed. It is repeatability. As the team moved from one building to the next, efficiency improved without sacrificing quality. The BOD3 printer runs on a ground-based track system that allows uninterrupted printing of long wall sections. That consistency makes it easier to scale multi-unit housing projects.

According to COBOD, this kind of automation reduces labor needs, shortens timelines and improves accuracy. For cities facing housing shortages, those benefits matter.

How sustainability is built into this 3D printed housing project

Skovsporet also shows how 3D printing supports more sustainable construction. The walls were printed using D.fab concrete with FUTURECEM, a low-carbon cement developed by Aalborg Portland. Because the printer deposits material only where it is structurally needed, waste drops significantly compared to traditional methods. The site layout also preserved 95% of the existing trees by carefully positioning print beds between them. In other words, faster construction did not come at the cost of environmental care.

A COBOD BOD3 printer extrudes concrete layer-by-layer on site, forming the structural walls of Skovsporet’s student apartments with millimeter precision. (SAGA Space Architects)

What happens next for Denmark’s 3D-printed student housing

The 3D printing phase is now complete. Human crews have taken over to install roofs, windows, interiors, furniture and utilities. Landscaped gardens, walking paths and bicycle parking are also underway to create a shared village atmosphere. The project remains on schedule, with residents expected to move in by August 2026.

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What this means for you

If you care about housing affordability, this project is worth watching. Skovsporet proves that automation can deliver student housing faster while keeping quality high. It also hints at what could come next. Multiunit housing built with fewer workers, less waste and shorter timelines could ease pressure in crowded cities. While 3D-printed homes will not replace traditional construction overnight, they are clearly moving into the mainstream. For students, renters and communities, that shift could open the door to more accessible housing options.

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Kurt’s key takeaways

Skovsporet is more than a construction milestone. It is a real-world example of how digital design, automation and sustainability can come together at scale. As Europe, the United States and Australia explore similar projects, this student village in Denmark may become a blueprint for future neighborhoods.

Printed concrete walls rise quickly across six buildings, showing how automation helped crews complete more than one apartment per day. (SAGA Space Architects)

If homes can be printed faster, cheaper and with less waste, what other parts of daily life are ready for the same kind of rethink? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.

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Technology

Trump administration bars former EU official and anti-disinformation and hate researchers from US

Published

12 hours ago

December 23, 2025

Press Room

Trump administration bars former EU official and anti-disinformation and hate researchers from US

On Tuesday, the Trump Administration followed through on a threat of retaliation targeting foreigners who are involved in content moderation. The State Department announced sanctions barring US access for former EU commissioner Thierry Breton, as well as four researchers, while issuing an intentionally chilling threat to others, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio claiming, “The State Department stands ready and willing to expand today’s list if other foreign actors do not reverse course.”

One of the researchers the State Department says is banned and now deportable, is Imran Ahmed, who runs the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), an organization aimed at identifying and pushing back against hate speech online that Elon Musk tried and failed to censor with a lawsuit that was dismissed in early 2024. In his decision, Judge Charles Breyer wrote that X’s motivation for suing was to “punish CCDH for CCDH publications that criticized X Corp. — and perhaps in order to dissuade others.”

The other researchers include Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon, leaders of HateAid, a nonprofit that tried to sue X in 2023 for “failing to remove criminal antisemitic content,” as well as Clare Melford, leader of the Global Disinformation Index, which works on “fixing the systems that enable disinformation.”

The press release announcing the sanctions is titled “Announcement of Actions to Combat the Global Censorship-Industrial Complex,” the claimed target of Republicans like House Judiciary Committee leader Jim Jordan, as they’ve worked against attempts to apply fact-checking and misinformation research to social networks. Earlier this month, Reuters reported the State Department ordered US consulates to consider rejecting H-1B visa applicants involved in content moderation, and a few days ago, the Office of the US Trade Representative threatened retaliation against European tech giants like Spotify and SAP over supposedly “discriminatory” activity in regulating US tech platforms.

Technology

Android Sound Notifications help you catch key alerts

Published

13 hours ago

December 23, 2025

Press Room

Android Sound Notifications help you catch key alerts

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Staying aware of your surroundings matters. That includes hearing smoke alarms, appliance beeps or a knock at the door. Still, real life gets busy. You wear headphones. You get focused. Sounds slip by. That is where Android Sound Notifications help. This built-in accessibility feature listens for key sounds and sends an alert to your screen. Think of it as a gentle tap on the shoulder when something important happens.

Although it was designed to help people who are hard of hearing, it is useful for anyone. If you work with noise-canceling headphones or often miss alerts at home, this feature can make a real difference.

Now, if you use an iPhone, here’s how Apple’s Sound Recognition can alert you to alarms and other key sounds on your device.

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Android Sound Notifications alert you when important sounds happen around you. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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What Sound Notifications do on Android

Sound Notifications use your phone’s microphone to listen for specific sounds nearby. When it detects one, it sends a visual alert. You will see a pop-up, feel a vibration and may even see the camera flash.

By default, Android can detect sounds like:

Smoke alarms
Fire alarms
Sirens
Door knocks
Doorbells
Appliance beeps
A landline phone ringing
Running water
A baby crying
A dog barking

That range makes the feature practical at home or at work. Even better, you control which sounds matter to you.

Why this feature is worth using

Here is the simple truth. You cannot hear everything all the time. Distractions happen. Headphones block sound. Focus takes over. Sound Notifications fill that gap. While you stay locked into a task, your phone keeps listening. When something important happens, you still get the message. As a result, you worry less about missing alarms or visitors. You gain awareness without extra effort.

How to turn on Sound Notifications

Getting started only takes a minute. Note: We tested these steps on a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra running the latest version of Android. Menu names and locations may differ slightly on other Android phones, depending on the manufacturer and software version.

Open the Settings app
Go to Accessibility
Tap Hearing enhancements
Select Sound Notifications
Turn the feature on

Turning on Sound Notifications only takes a few taps in Android’s Accessibility settings. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

When you enable Sound Notifications for the first time, Android will ask how you want to start the feature. Choose the option that works best for you:

Tap the button in the quick settings panel
Tap the Accessibility button
Press the Side and Volume Up buttons
Press and hold the Volume Up and Volume Down buttons for three seconds

After you select a shortcut, Click Ok. Then, Sound Notifications will start listening in the background.

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If you do not see the option, install the Live Transcribe & Notifications app from the Play Store. You can enable Sound Notifications from there. Once active, your phone listens for selected sounds and alerts you when it detects one.

Choose which sounds trigger alerts

Not every sound deserves your attention. Thankfully, Android lets you fine-tune alerts.

Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer

Go back to Settings
Tap Accessibility
Click Hearing enhancements
Tap Sound Notifications
Click Open Sound Notifications. This opens the actual Sound Notifications control screen.
On the Sound Notifications screen, tap Settings or the gear icon in the top corner
Tap Sound types

You will now see the full list of detectable sounds.

Toggle on the sounds you want alerts for, such as smoke alarms or doorbells
Toggle off sounds you do not want, like dog barking or appliance beeps, if they are not important to you

You can choose exactly which sounds trigger alerts, helping you avoid unnecessary interruptions. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Check the sound history log

Sound Notifications keep a log of detected sounds. This helps if you were away from your phone and want to see what happened.

You can also save sounds and name them. That makes it easier to tell the difference between your washer finishing and your microwave timer.

The log adds context, which makes alerts more helpful.

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Teach your phone custom sounds

Android does not stop at presets. You can train it to recognize sounds unique to your space.

Maybe your garage door has a distinct tone. Maybe an appliance uses a nonstandard beep. You can record it once, and your phone will listen for it going forward. To add a custom sound:

Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer

Open Sound Notifications
Tap the gear icon
Select Custom sounds
Tap Add sound
Hit Record

Record a clear 20-second clip. The better the audio, the better detection works later.

Customize how alerts appear

By default, Sound Notifications use vibration and the camera flash. That visual cue is helpful for urgent alerts. However, not every sound needs that level of attention. You can adjust how alerts appear based on importance.

Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer

Open Sound Notifications
Open the gear icon
Tap Ways to be notified
From there, choose which alerts vibrate, flash or stay subtle

This flexibility keeps the feature working for your routine.

Your privacy stays on your phone

It is reasonable to question constant listening. Here is the key detail. Sound Notifications process audio locally on your device. Sounds never leave your phone. Nothing gets sent to Google. The only exception is if you choose to include audio with feedback. That design keeps the feature private and secure.

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Kurt’s key takeaways

Android Sound Notifications quietly solve a real problem. They help you stay aware when your ears cannot. Setup is fast. Controls are flexible. Privacy stays intact. Once you turn it on, you may wonder how you lived without it.

What important sound have you missed lately that your phone could have caught for you? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.

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