If you’re like most people, you receive A TON of emails every day. It probably feels like a mail truck keeps backing up to your door and dumping a pile of envelopes and packages into your office. Though services such as Gmail may allow you to search your messages, it still can be a pain to try to find anything or determine what to delete. Never fear! The following apps will do most of the grunt work for you; all you have do is download them and watch them clear away the clutter!
Mailstrom
We recommend Mailstrom only for those who are overwhelmed by several hundred or thousand emails. If you just have a few hundred to sort through, stick to the free apps below.
Mailstrom claims not to use AI algorithms and instead works with you, for instance by identifying bundles of related mail so that you can act on them as a group. Mailstrom offers features such as Archive, Delete, Move, Unsubscribe, Chill and Block Sender/Subject. You can also create custom rules for filtering and automatically moving incoming messages into folders, as well as receive daily or weekly email reports.
Mailstrom works with Gmail, Google Apps Email, Outlook, Apple, AOL, Exchange IMAP and any other email service that supports IMAP. It does not work with POP and struggles a bit with Yahoo! Mail.
Note that Mailstrom does come with a cost. However, you can sign up for a Free Trial, where Mailstrom will take a snapshot of the messages in your inbox (up to 5,000). You can then use Mailstrom to delete, archive or move 25% of your messages. To act on more messages and access more features, you’ll have to subscribe to the service at either $49.95 billed yearly or $4.95 billed monthly.
Unroll.Me
If you’re drowning in email subscriptions, Unroll.Me acts like a life-preserver. Completely free, Unroll.Me identifies your subscription emails and lists them for you. Then you can unsubscribe with one click. You can also block personal contacts from emailing you.
Once you’ve cleared away the junk, you can combine your favorite subscriptions into a daily digest email called the Rollup (you choose the time). The subscriptions you include in your Rollup will no longer be sent to your inbox. Rather, they are moved to the “Unroll.me” folder in your email client and can be found there at any time. Unroll.Me automatically categorises your subscriptions in the Rollup, so you can quickly find what you want.
Unroll.Me uses IMAP and supports Outlook.com (including Hotmail, MSN & Windows Live), Gmail, Google Apps, Yahoo! Mail, AOL Mail and iCloud.
Revive Your Inbox
“Revive Your Inbox” isn’t so much an app as a program to help you retake control of your overflowing inbox. Created by Baydin, this program will help you develop strategies and techniques to successfully manage your emails. It does require a commitment of 20 minutes each day for 21 days, but we think it’s worth it. The time you put into the program will be time saved in the future.
The Email Game
During the “Revive Your Inbox” program, you will be introduced to other Baydin apps. The Email Game is a free app that turns sorting email into a timed exercise, where you can earn points by completing tasks quickly and using best practices. When you have a lot of emails to get through, this app can be a good motivator.
Inbox Pause
This is a free app that gives you a break from the constant flow of messages, allowing you to catch up on overdue sorting. Just click the “Pause” button to put incoming messages on hold until you’re ready to view them. You won’t miss anything because all the emails will be stored and the app will also let your contacts know that you’ll be unavailable for a while.
Boomerang
This app does not sort your emails for you, but it can help you keep track of your emails once you’ve got your inbox cleaned up. Boomerang works with both Gmail and Outlook. Compatible with mobile and Android, Boomerang lets you schedule emails to be sent later. You can also tell Boomerang to take messages out of your inbox until a certain time, when Boomerang will bring them back to your inbox, marked unread, starred, or even at the top of your message list. To help you remember the context of the message, you can attach a note that will appear when the message returns.
When writing an email, you can set Boomerang to give you a reminder if you don’t get a reply after a certain number of days. You can even schedule your follow-up message as you’re writing the email. If the person replies to your original email, Boomerang will detect the response and will not send the follow-up message. If they don’t reply, Boomerang will send the follow-up message automatically.
Note that Boomerang is not free. After a 30-day Free Trial, you’ll have to subscribe to a Personal ($4.99/mo), Pro ($14.99/mo) or Premium ($49.99/mo) plan, or remain with the free Basic plan (which has limited features).
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