Unroll.me: is it safe, and free ways to unsubscribe in bulk
Unroll.me promises to clean up your inbox for free. Before you connect it, know how it makes money, and that Gmail, Outlook and Apple Mail now have free unsubscribe tools built in.
Unroll.me is free because its parent company uses data from the commercial emails in your inbox, such as receipts, for market research. In 2019 the US Federal Trade Commission said it had misled users about this. You can unsubscribe in bulk for free without it: Gmail has Manage subscriptions, Outlook has Sweep and an unsubscribe link at the top of newsletters, and Apple Mail shows an Unsubscribe banner.
How Unroll.me makes money
To work, Unroll.me needs access to your whole mailbox. Its parent company has used information from users' commercial emails, such as purchase receipts, to build anonymized market research that it sells to businesses. In 2017, the New York Times reported that this kind of data had been sold to Uber.
In 2019, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) settled with Unroll.me over claims that it misled people about how it handled their email. The order bars it from misrepresenting its data practices and required it to delete stored e-receipts unless users agreed otherwise. The service still operates. Read its current privacy policy before you connect your account.
Unsubscribe in bulk in Gmail
- Manage subscriptions: open the menu at the top left of Gmail and choose Manage subscriptions. It lists the senders that email you most, with an Unsubscribe button for each. Google started rolling it out in July 2025, on the web, Android and iPhone, in selected countries first.
- Unsubscribe link: open a newsletter and select Unsubscribe next to the sender's name.
- Clear out old mail: search
category:promotions older_than:6m, select all and delete. See deleting emails in bulk in Gmail.
Unsubscribe in bulk in Outlook
- Unsubscribe link: in Outlook.com and new Outlook, many newsletters show an Unsubscribe link at the top of the message.
- Sweep: select a message, then Sweep to delete everything from that sender, keep only the latest, or move future mail elsewhere.
- Rules: send newsletters to a folder automatically. See creating rules in Outlook.
Unsubscribe in Apple Mail
On iPhone, iPad and Mac, Mail shows a banner at the top of many mailing-list messages saying "This message is from a mailing list". Tap Unsubscribe and Mail sends the request for you.
Safer habits for a cleaner inbox
- Use the sender's own unsubscribe link from companies you recognize. Reputable senders must honor it.
- Don't click "unsubscribe" in obvious spam. It can confirm your address is active. Mark it as spam instead.
- Use a separate address for sign-ups: a Gmail plus alias or a burner email.
- Check app access: in your Google Account, open Security and review third-party apps with access to Gmail. Remove any you no longer use.
Questions people ask
- Is Unroll.me safe to use?
- It is a real service, not malware, but it needs full access to your inbox, and its parent company uses data from commercial emails for market research. Decide whether that trade is worth it to you.
- Is Unroll.me free?
- Yes. It is free because of the data it collects from commercial emails, not because of a subscription.
- How do I remove Unroll.me from my Gmail?
- Delete your Unroll.me account in its settings, then remove its access in your Google Account under Security, third-party apps with account access.
- What is the best free way to unsubscribe from lots of emails?
- Use the tools built into your email app: Manage subscriptions in Gmail, Sweep and the unsubscribe link in Outlook, and the Unsubscribe banner in Apple Mail.