Filtering Emails in cPanel
In this article, we will see how to use email filters in cPanel to add emails to your blacklist or whitelist. You can filter based on individual email addresses or entire domains.
Please note that the type of blacklist we are talking about here is at the individual recipient level (that’s you). Therefore, it should not be confused with the email server blacklist, which is a different matter.
Apache SpamAssassin
Apache SpamAssassin is the most common spam controller in cPanel configurations. However, the spam filtering program used in your cPanel account may differ. The following instructions should apply regardless of the spam filtering program you are using.
What does email blacklist or whitelist mean?
When you blacklist an email address, all emails sent from that address are blocked from reaching your inbox. Conversely, placing an email address on the whitelist allows emails from that address to bypass spam filters.
Whitelisted email addresses will always appear in your inbox, regardless of content.
If you frequently find an email in the spam folder that you want delivered to your inbox, whitelisting the address is the solution.
If you receive unwanted emails from an address or domain and they do not respond to unsubscribe requests, blacklisting will keep them out of your inbox.
Filtering Emails in cPanel’s Blacklist
Log in to cPanel, click the “Emails” section, and click the “Spam Filters” link or icon.
Go to the Additional Configurations (for advanced users) section.
Click on the “Show Additional Configurations” link.
Go to the “Blacklist (Emails Never Allowed)” section.
Click on the “Edit Spam Blacklist Settings” link.
Click on the “Add a New ‘blacklist_from’ Item” link.
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When adding addresses to the blacklist or whitelist, you can use the following options:
user@ggexample.com – to whitelist a specific email address.
*@ggexample.com – to whitelist all addresses in ggexample.com.
?ser@ggexample.com – to whitelist a single character in an address
(i.e., user@ggexample.com, but not theuser@ggexample.com).
Enter the email address you want to blacklist. Click the “Update Blacklist (blacklist_from)” button.
After that, you should receive a success message. If not, the cPanel interface may make it appear as if nothing has changed. This can be a bit confusing at first, but if you add more items, you can see how the list is displayed.
To remove an item from the blacklist, click the “X” icon next to the item you want to delete.
How to Whitelist Emails in cPanel
Whitelisting is done using the same steps as for blacklisting shown above but in the “Whitelist (Emails Always Allowed)” section.
Log in to cPanel.
In the “Email” section, click on the “Spam Filters” link or icon.
Go to the “Additional Configurations (For Advanced Users)” section. Click on the “Show Additional Configurations” link.
Go to the “Whitelist (Emails Always Allowed)” section. Click on the “Edit Spam Whitelist Settings” link.
Click on the “Add a New ‘whitelist_from’ Item” link.
Enter the email address you want to whitelist.
Click the “Update Whitelist (whitelist_from)” button.
Before that, you can learn how to forward emails by reading the “Email Forwarder” article in cPanel.