Graymail (Promotions) Email Filtering
The Trinity College Information Security Department has implemented a filtering system by Abnormal, which provides a modern solution to address nuisance graymail email content.
To help reduce inbox clutter and make important messages easier to find, Trinity College has implemented a new email filtering feature that automatically moves promotional and marketing emails into a dedicated Promotions folder. This helps keep your inbox focused on academic, administrative, and personal communications while still providing easy access to newsletters, offers, and other subscription-based content.
What is Graymail?
Graymail refers to legitimate emails that you have typically subscribed to or interacted with in the past, but that may not require immediate attention. Examples include:
- Newsletters
- Retail promotions and discounts
- Event announcements
- Social media notifications
- Marketing communications
Unlike spam, graymail comes from legitimate organizations and is not considered malicious. However, large volumes of these messages can make it more difficult to identify important emails in your Inbox.
What’s Changing?
When enabled, Trinity’s email filtering system will automatically identify graymail and move it into a dedicated Promotions folder.
Benefits
Less Inbox Clutter | Reduce distractions from promotional and subscription-based emails.
Important Messages Stand Out | Academic, administrative, and personal communications are easier to find.
Easy Access to Promotions | Promotional emails are always available for you to review.
Additional Security Benefits | Separating promotional content from primary communications helps improve visibility into potentially suspicious email activity.
Managing Your Promotions Folder
The Promotions folder is designed to adapt to your preferences.
Move an Email Back to Your Inbox
If a message appears in Promotions that you would rather receive in your Inbox:
- Open Outlook.
- Drag the message from Promotions to Inbox.
- Future similar messages are more likely to appear in your Inbox.
Move an Email Into Promotions
If a promotional message arrives in your Inbox:
- Drag the message into the Promotions folder.
- Future similar messages are more likely to be categorized as Promotions.
Over time, these actions help improve how messages are categorized for your account.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. The Promotions folder is intended for newsletters, marketing communications, and other subscription-based content. We still recommend periodically reviewing the folder to ensure messages are being categorized according to your preferences.
No. Messages in the Promotions folder come from legitimate senders. Unlike junk mail or spam, these messages are generally safe and often originate from services you have chosen to receive updates from.
Yes. Moving messages between Inbox and Promotions helps improve future categorization.
Yes. The Promotions folder is available anywhere you access your Trinity email through Outlook.
If you have questions about your configuration or would like assistance, please contact the Department of Technology, Data, & Innovation.
