Being inundated with spam emails is annoying for anyone. The constant barrage of unsolicited messages, often from unknown senders peddling dubious products, clogs up your inbox and distracts you from more important messages. So what is the best way to stem the tide of spam – unsubscribing or deleting?
What is spam?
Spam refers to unsolicited bulk email messages. These are usually commercial in nature, promoting products, services or special offers. Spam is sent by companies you have likely never heard of and did not give permission to contact you. It often contains flashy graphics and attention-grabbing subject lines to entice you to open the message. Spam filters attempt to keep your inbox clear of unwanted spam, but some still slips through.
Common types of spam
- Phishing scams – Fraudulent emails seeking personal information
- Get rich quick schemes – Promising huge profits for little work
- Weight loss products – Marketing miracle pills and potions
- Fake prizes/gifts – Notifying you of winnings when you never entered a contest
- Adult content – Offers for adult websites and services
Should you unsubscribe from spam?
When you receive an email that is clearly spam, one option is to look for an unsubscribe link at the bottom of the message. This allows you to request that the sender stop including you in future mailings. Some benefits of unsubscribing include:
Removes you from their list
Unsubscribing should theoretically take you off the spammer’s contact list so you no longer receive messages from them. However, disreputable spammers may ignore unsubscribe requests. But for more legitimate organizations, unsubscribing does typically stop future emails.
Signals you are an active email address
One downside of unsubscribing is that it confirms to the spammer that your email address is valid and active. This makes your address more valuable to shady marketers who compile and sell email lists. However, serious marketers will honor your unsubscribe request.
Might reduce overall spam volume
If enough recipients unsubscribe from a particular spammer’s lists, it may discourage them from continuing the practice since generating email costs money and becomes less profitable. However, most hardcore spammers are undeterred by unsubscribes and will keep sending anyway.
Should you delete spam messages instead?
Because unsubscribing might signal to spammers that your email is real, many experts recommend simply deleting unwanted messages instead. Reasons deleting may be better include:
Avoids confirming your email’s validity
Deleting a message without unsubscribing does not notify the spammer that your address is good. So your email is less likely to end up on lists sold to other spammers who send more junk. Deleting spam shows the message never reached you.
Saves time over hunting for unsubscribe links
Looking for unsubscribe links in spam emails can be tedious and time consuming. Often these links are inconspicuous, buried in fine print or don’t work. Deleting takes seconds and ensures the spam is gone.
Prevents spammers from confirming your identity
In addition to confirming your email address, unsubscribing sometimes requires providing your name or other info. This gives spammers more data about you they can sell or use to target you with related junk mail later.
Other strategies beyond unsubscribing vs. deleting
In reality, the best approach is to both delete and unsubscribe from spam. Other techniques to reduce spam include:
Enable spam filters
Spam filters offered by email providers like Gmail scan incoming messages and automatically divert likely spam away from your inbox. Enable these filters to delete or quarantine spam.
Mark messages as spam
When you receive a spam message, you can Report or mark it as Spam. This helps train your email provider’s filters to better identify and block similar spam.
Use unique email addresses
Give different email addresses to different sites and organizations. That way if one address starts receiving spam, you know which entity sold or leaked your contact info.
Avoid exposing your email address
Be wary of posting your email publicly online or sharing it broadly. Spammers use bots to harvest addresses from websites, social media and forums.
Key statistics on spam emails
Here are some noteworthy stats on the prevalence of spam:
| 300 billion | Number of spam emails sent daily |
| 55% | Percentage of email that is spam |
| $20 billion | Annual cost of productivity losses due to spam |
| 1 in 3,600 | Odds an unsubscribe link in spam actually works |
Conclusion
Spam emails are a nuisance that most email users have to contend with. To manage the deluge, use a combination of deleting messages, unsubscribing from reputable marketers and enabling spam filters. Be cautious before confirming your address or identity when unsubscribing. Avoiding publishing your email address freely online also cuts down on spam. With vigilance, you can keep your inbox clear of unwanted junk and distractions.