Don't Like the Latest Apple Mail Changes? Here's How to Get Rid of Them

Apple’s trusty aged Mail app has seen a flurry of updates for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. These see Gmail-like Mail categories, notification and connection summaries, and interaction photos close successful your inbox.

But not everyone likes the caller changes. Fortunately, you tin disable these caller features and spell backmost to simpler times. Here’s how.

Disable Apple Mail Categories

Mail categories are an effort to benignant your inbox truthful that you tin triage your incoming message a small easier. They enactment connected immoderate devices moving iOS oregon iPadOS 18.2 and Mac computers with macOS 15.4 installed (no Apple Intelligence necessary).

Categories include:

• Primary: Messages that Mail thinks are astir important, including messages sent from existent people.
• Transactions: Shopping, invoice, finance, and different money-related messages.
• Updates: Messages from companies, societal media, projects, sports teams, and truthful connected that are automated.
• Promotions: Marketing fluff, peculiar offers, and a batch of spam.

While adjuvant successful theory, Apple Mail’s sorting isn’t perfect. I’ve recovered messages from task absorption app Airtable successful the Promotions bin, and a batch of spam tends to marque its mode into the Primary category. Fortunately, you tin crook this off.

Turn Off Mail Categories connected iPhone oregon iPad

On an Apple smartphone oregon tablet, pat connected the ellipsis “…” icon astatine the apical of the surface to toggle betwixt “Categories” and “List View.” Picking “List View” returns your inbox to the aged mode of doing things.

Once you’ve made this change, you shouldn’t person to bash it again. Remember that Mail is ever sorting this worldly successful the background, truthful you tin crook it connected and disconnected astatine volition without immoderate benignant of delay.

Turn Off Mail Categories connected Mac

For immoderate reason, Apple besides saw acceptable to adhd a 5th class to Apple Mail for Mac. This is the “All Mail” class and it appears close astatine the extremity of the options supra your inbox. Click connected it and you’ll spot everything. It’s a mode to permission categorization enabled portion inactive having a speedy mode to spot everything.

Alternatively, spell the full hog and crook categorization disconnected entirely. Just look for the ellipsis “…” fastener astatine the apical of your inbox, click connected it, and crook disconnected “Show Mail Categories.” You’ll besides find this enactment nether the “View” menu.

Alternatively, Improve Apple’s Categorization

If you’d alternatively permission the diagnostic on, you tin recategorize messages truthful that Apple Mail ever places definite senders successful circumstantial categories. Over time, you mightiness find the diagnostic to beryllium a batch much utile erstwhile you’ve enactment immoderate enactment in.

Recategorize Apple Mail Senders connected iPhone and iPad

On an iPhone, marque definite that message categories are enabled. From here, pat connected a thread successful the Transactions, Updates, oregon Promotions class to bring up the sender view.

Now pat connected the ellipsis “…” fastener astatine the apical of the surface and usage “Categorize Sender” to prime a caller category.

Recategorize Apple Mail Senders connected Mac

On a Mac, this process is simply a spot quicker. You tin right-click connected immoderate email thread and past usage the “Categorize Sender” paper to prime a much due label.

Disable Mail Notification Summaries

Notification summaries are an Apple Intelligence feature. They enactment connected iPhone 15 Pro oregon iPhone 16 models moving iOS 18.1, and each M1 Mac oregon amended models moving macOS 15.1.

Though the diagnostic attempts to summarize agelong chains of emails and elaborate messages, it tin sometimes get the incorrect extremity of the instrumentality with hilarious oregon anxiety-inducing results. You tin crook the diagnostic disconnected for Apple Mail, portion leaving it connected for different things.

Turn Off Mail Notification Summaries connected iPhone oregon iPad

You tin crook disconnected Notification Summaries nether Settings > Notifications > Summarize Notifications. To get escaped of the diagnostic entirely, conscionable disable the “Summarize Notifications” toggle.

To beryllium much selective, usage the paper beneath to exclude circumstantial apps (in this lawsuit Mail) from being summarized.

Turn Off Mail Notification Summaries connected Mac

Disabling Notification Summaries works the aforesaid connected a Mac. Head to System Settings > Notifications > Summarize Notifications. Here you tin either take to toggle the diagnostic disconnected wholly oregon exclude Mail (and immoderate different apps) from the summary.

Disable Message Preview Summaries

Message preview summaries look supra an email erstwhile you pat oregon click connected it, and beneath the taxable enactment (in spot of the assemblage preview) successful the inbox view. They’re the aforesaid summaries you spot erstwhile you person an email notification summary, but they look successful the Mail app alternatively than arsenic a pop-up. They person the aforesaid Apple Intelligence requirements.

Turn Off Message Preview Summaries connected iPhone oregon iPad

Turn disconnected summaries successful Mail by going to Settings > Apps > Mail and toggling “Summarize Message Previews” off.

Turn Off Message Preview Summaries connected Mac

On a Mac, you tin crook this diagnostic disconnected by opening Mail and past clicking Mail > Settings astatine the apical of the screen. From here, click connected the “Viewing” tab and disable “Summarize Message Previews.”

Disable Priority Messages

Priority messages look successful the “Primary” class and astatine the apical of your inbox. They see messages that Apple Mail thinks are important, usually based connected criteria similar a time-sensitive nature. Priority Messages are an Apple Intelligence feature.

Turn Off Priority Messages connected iPhone oregon iPad

You tin disable Priority Messages by opening the Mail app and tapping connected the ellipsis “…” icon astatine the apical of your inbox. From here, uncheck “Show Priority” and these messages volition look successful regular chronological order.

Turn Off Priority Messages connected Mac

On a Mac, you tin fell Priority Messages by opening the Mail app and past clicking View > Show Priority Messages.

Apple Mail volition present amusement interaction photos successful Mail by default, astatine slightest that seems to beryllium the lawsuit connected iPhone and iPad. On my Mac, the diagnostic didn’t alteration itself by default (but there’s inactive a toggle for it).

While the diagnostic is designed to marque your inbox easier to usage astatine a glance, astir senders aren’t successful my contacts truthful I recovered that the diagnostic conscionable takes up unnecessary abstraction connected the screen. Fortunately, you tin disable it.

Turn Off Contact Photos successful Mail connected iPhone and iPad

On an iPhone oregon iPad, disable the diagnostic nether the Settings > Apps > Mail paper by disabling the “Show Contact Photos” toggle successful the “Message List” section.

Turn Off Contact Photos successful Mail connected Mac

On a Mac, this is adjacent quicker. Just unfastened the Mail app and past click View > Show Contact Photos astatine the apical of the surface to toggle the diagnostic connected oregon off.

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Though these features are designed to marque beingness easier, the world is that Apple Mail was a batch simpler earlier Apple made immoderate changes to it. By turning everything off, you tin get your favourite bog-standard email back.

Unimpressed with Apple’s AI moves? Turn disconnected Apple Intelligence altogether.