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How to override Gmail's default Inbox Category Tab classification

We regularly receive queries on this topic in the Gmail Help Community. So, an article to clearly define how to override Gmail's default inbox classification is not only timely; but also relevant.

The Gmail default inbox layout divides the entire Gmail inbox into five (5) categories namely Primary, Promotions, Social, Updates and Forums and the incoming email classification for these categories depends on various signals that Gmail uses such as how they are marked up, what they contain, the domain they are sent from, etc.

The intent is to allow the recipient to focus and follow up on different types of messages as per his priorities and convenience.

Often, recipients complain about Gmail not classifying incoming emails properly, or even if it is, they want it to be placed on a different tab based on their liking.

In this article, we shall look at the different ways we can go about doing this. Commonly, there are three ways to overrule the default Gmail inbox category classification of messages:
  • The first way is to right-click on the message in the wrong tab, then click on the Move to tab option to move it to the correct tab then, click on yes for Gmail doing it for all future messages in the confirmation black box which appears in the bottom left.


  • The second way is to bring the mouse pointer to the left of the square select box for that email where it turns into an open hand to grab that email and drop it over the preferred tab, which would then show the "Drag here to move..." message and thereafter, like before, click on yes for Gmail doing it for all future messages in the confirmation black box that appears in the bottom left.


  • However, the surest and quickest way to override Gmail's default inbox category classification to your liking would be by creating a filter. Sign in to your account from a desktop browser and open one such email from that sender, click on the 3-dots (more) menu on the right side, click on "Filter messages like this"

Thereafter, click on Create filter, and Categorize as "<your preferred tab>". You can also apply the filter to other matching messages. This overrides the default Gmail inbox category classification to place future messages from that sender under the inbox category tab you specify it to be.



That's all. In case you happen to have any additional questions or seek further clarification on this topic, please let me know in the comments. 

For all your Gmail questions, be sure to post them in the specialised Gmail Help Community by clicking on - https://support.google.com/mail/thread/new. Be sure to add the relevant details related to your issue but none of your personal information such as your email address username or phone number as it is an open forum.

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