All articles
Spam Protection
How to Unsubscribe Safely (and When Not To)
Maya Chen · Privacy Editor, SecureTempMail 4 min read
Unsubscribe links are a trap on real spam and a relief on legit newsletters. Know the difference.
Legit newsletter? Unsubscribe.
Reputable senders honor unsubscribe requests (it's the law in many places). One click and you're off.
True spam? Don't click.
For unsolicited spam, the "unsubscribe" link often just confirms a live human reads the address — inviting more. Mark it as spam instead, which trains your filter and hurts the sender's reputation.
The upstream fix
Most of this disappears if you stop giving low-trust sites your real address. Use a disposable address for sign-ups and there's nothing to unsubscribe from.