Setup Thunderbird Spam Filter last modified 2022-04-23

The purpose of this document is to describe how to set up spam filters in Thunderbird on the Mac and Windows.

1. Open Thunderbird and select the email address above the Inbox.
2. Select Account Settings on the far right.
   
   
   
3. In the navigation on the left, select Junk Settings.
   
   
   
4. On the right side, select the checkbox Trust junk mail headers set by: and select SpamAssassin from the dropdown menu.
   
   
   SpamAssassin screens the incoming email for spam. Just check the Junk folder now and then in case it catches legitimate email.
5. If SpamAssassin is activated, select the checkbox Move new junk messages to: and select “Junk” folder on:. Select your email address in the dropdown menu. If desired, set an automatic delete time frame on the junk mail.
6. We did not address the spam control option at the top of the Junk Settings page, enable adaptive junk mail controls for this account, because of the effort needed to identify both wanted and spam email. To learn more about that option, search Spam on Thunderbird Support .