Yahoo Mail Safety Guide
Yahoo Mail connects you to those who matter the most, with easy-to-use email, instant messaging and SMS services. Stay up-to-date with friends and family from any computer or mobile device with Internet access, all with one account.
Yahoo Mail connects you to those who matter the most, with easy-to-use email, instant messaging and SMS services. Stay up-to-date with friends and family from any computer or mobile device with Internet access, all with one account.
Basics of the Mail community
- Individuals 13 years of age and older can sign up for a Yahoo Mail account.
- Children under the age of 13 can also sign up for a Yahoo Mail account by creating a Family Account with their parents.
- All users must follow the Yahoo Terms of Service and Yahoo Mail’s Additional Terms of Service.
You on Mail
Yahoo email address: Your Yahoo email address is your Yahoo ID followed by "@yahoo.com."
Additional email addresses: You have the option to add alternate email addresses to your existing Yahoo Mail account.
- Send and receive emails with your alternate email addresses.
- They share the same Inbox as your primary Yahoo Mail account.
- They are not separate Yahoo IDs or Yahoo Mail accounts.
Want to create an extra email address? Here's how
Disposable email address: Disposable email addresses are aliases for your Yahoo Mail account that you can use if you don't want to reveal your primary Yahoo Mail email address. More about disposable addresses
What you should know
Your email address is visible: Your Yahoo email address is visible to any recipient(s) who receive an email from you, and can be used to reply to you directly.
Your account information: Yahoo will never ask you for your account information in an unsolicited manner. If you get an unsolicited email asking for this type of sensitive information, do not respond to it ― even if it looks legitimate.
Blocking a sender: Yahoo Mail enables you to block emails from unwanted senders. Blocked senders are not notified that they are being blocked. Emails they send simply will not appear in your Inbox. Steps to block an address:
- In Yahoo Mail, hover your mouse over the gear icon and select Settings.
- Click Blocked Addresses.
- In the Add an address field, Click Block.enter an email address.
- Click Block.
Filtering your mail: Filters automatically sort incoming messages based on rules that you set. For example, you could filter emails from "Mom" to a folder titled "Family." Filters help you organize your Inbox and ensure that you're able to find important messages quickly and easily.
How to adjust image display: Often images are sent embedded or attached to your incoming emails. You can decide whether images are displayed in your incoming Yahoo Mail emails. By default, photos will not be displayed. If you'd like to adjust these settings in Yahoo Mail:
- Hover your mouse over the gear icon and select Settings.
- Click Security.
- From the Show images in emails drop-down menu, you can select: Never by Default, Only from my contacts and certified senders, or Always, except in Spam folder
- Click Save.
Note: Not displaying images fights spam. Image blocking prevents confirmation "hits" that spammers receive when one of their images is viewed.
Spam filtering is active: Yahoo is constantly tuning and improving our filtering technologies to block spam and other malicious emails. You can help train filters by using your Spam button in Yahoo Mail.
Yahoo Messenger is part of the experience: Yahoo Mail offers integrated Yahoo Messenger access, making it easy to chat with others while you're reading or writing emails. If you want to stay online, Once activated, you can customize a wide range of features, including status, visibility to other people on Yahoo Messenger, and more. Know your settings
Mail safety: best practices
Think before you open: Viruses can arrive in email, so Yahoo Mail has free, automatic virus scanning and cleaning. But not all viruses can be detected, so we recommend that you do not open emails or attachments from unknown senders.
Beware of scams: Being alert and aware can always help. Some ways fraudsters may try to trick you:
- They create fake websites, pose as legitimate companies or individuals, and send emails that look real: When viewing fraudulent websites or emails, it can be hard to tell you're not interacting with trusted companies and individuals.
- They try to trick you into providing personal information: With their fake websites and emails, fraudsters try to get you to disclose your personal information, username, and/or password.
Check out tips for how to identify phishing scams
Use our settings: You've got filters, blocking capabilities, Spam buttons, disposable email addresses, and much more. Know your options and customize your settings to build your best, personalized experience on Yahoo Mail.
Shared computer? Do not check "Remember my ID and password": If you use a shared computer to sign in to Yahoo Mail or Yahoo Messenger, do not select Remember my ID and password, and be sure to sign out when you're finished. Taking these steps will ensure the next person will not have access to your past conversations.
Report abuse: Report abuse if you receive any potentially threatening or harassing content or if you are exposed to content that you feel is inappropriate on Yahoo Mail. To do this, contact Customer Care so they can investigate. For other concerns, read about how to report spam, hacked accounts, and phishing scams.
For more information about Yahoo Mail, visit Yahoo Help.