Gmail introduces new feature to declutter inboxes

Gmail has made a huge update to allow users to manage the types of emails they receive more easily. 

In a post published on July 8th 2025, Gmail announced a new feature called Subscriptions. 

By clicking on the Subscriptions feature, users can view all of the email lists they are currently subscribed to. As a result, Gmail users can now remove their email from any subscription in just one click. 

Why has Gmail launched Subscriptions?

Over 376 billion emails are sent each day, and as Gmail hints at in their announcement, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed if you receive lots of emails, especially if you are subscribed to many lists. 

By viewing all of your email subscriptions in one place, you don’t have to manually unsubscribe within the email itself. Although senders are supposed to enable one-click unsubscribe to comply with anti-spam rules, this still isn’t the case across the board.

Worse still, some email senders even require users to manually request a removal from their email list by submitting a form on a website.

Sometimes, users are also added to an email list without giving their consent. For instance, when an email marketer buys an email list.

Gmail Subscriptions aims to solve all of these frustrations and quickly. That’s because users can now easily remove themselves from any list they are added to and all from one place within their Gmail settings. 

What email marketers need to know about the Gmail subscription changes 

The main risk that Gmail Subscriptions poses to email marketers is a loss of subscribers. That’s why it’s time to ensure you abide by good sender practice, so that users want to stay subscribed.

Otherwise, it’s never been easier or quicker for a user to unsubscribe from emails they don’t want to receive.

Gmail has 1.8 billion active users, meaning that if you send emails on behalf of your business, there is a good chance that at least some Gmail users will be on your list.

At present, Gmail currently holds a 30.7% share of all global email clients. 

Subscriptions is currently only available for Android users, but it’s expected to roll across other operating systems shortly.

Mass email sending will be highlighted like never before

Gmail Subscriptions will show users not just the lists they are subscribed to, but how many emails have been sent by each sender recently. 

Businesses which rely on mass email blasts, particularly send-to-all email campaigns, are most at risk of losing subscribers. That’s because subscribers are more likely to want to manage their subscription preferences when they are being sent too many emails. 

With this new feature, there will be nowhere to hide for brands that over communicate, since the number of emails sent will be shown next to the sender’s name. 

Instead, segmentation is a better technique to try. It allows for better personalisation so that you send the right message to the right customer at the right time, rather than sending the same thing to everyone. 

Buying lists will be even more obvious 

Gmail’s new Subscription feature is all about making it easier to unsubscribe from emails, reduce email spam and ultimately, keep inboxes cleaner. 

Senders are supposed to collect email subscribers through legitimate means like placing a form on their website. However, some senders try to cheat the system by buying email lists, even though this is against anti-spam laws. 

Now that Gmail Subscriptions will reveal a full list of email subscriptions, it will be even easier to remove anything that doesn’t look right. Expect senders emailing without permission to be top of the list, especially when those emails are unwanted or perceived as spam. 

You need to value your email list 

Email offers a phenomenal ROI of $42 for every $1 spent. But for email to be a major growth channel for your business, you need to be investing in your strategy. 

So often, email is overlooked in favour of other marketing channels. Or, when email is used, bad practices creep in, which can make your campaigns more likely to be automatically filtered as junk by email servers. 

Now that Gmail is clamping down on inbox clutter with its new subscription management features, it’s time to sharpen your email game. 

Namely, remembering why users subscribed and giving them a reason to stay. Sending relevant and valuable content should be top of the agenda here. 

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You’re here to learn about Gmail’s new Subscriptions feature. But did you also know that every email has a carbon footprint? 

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