Is there a way to implement a whitelist-based system in Gmail? Specifically:
- all messages coming from addresses in a "white list" get through;
- all messages coming that are responses in a pre-existing thread get through;
- all messages that include a special "passcode" string get through;
- the remaining messages trigger an automated canned response giving instructions on how to get added to the whitelist; these massages are automatically marked as spam.
Best Answer
Enter the following in the search bar, replacing the angle-bracket delimited stuff with actual details.
Run the search, then click the dropdown arrow in the search box:
Select "Create filter with this search", and make it send the canned response.
Now, run a search for
and make it apply the label "whitethread" in the same manner.
Also apply "whitethread" to all the emails in your account. (All Mails>Select All)
This will put all "whitelisted" emails/threads in a label, and check for mails:
which do NOT come from your whitelisted email, AND don't have the passcode, AND aren't in the whitelisted thread. Probably what you wanted :)