GMX and WEB.DE Filter Rules: Create Rules and Handle Spam

GMX and WEB.DE filter rules (Filterregeln) sort incoming mail inside the mailbox: when a condition such as a sender or a subject word matches, an action runs. Both services belong to the same company and their help pages describe the same procedure, so this guide covers both. The official help is in German; the German labels are given so you can find them, and international GMX versions may name things differently.

Create a filter rule in GMX or WEB.DE

1. Sign in to your GMX or WEB.DE mailbox in the browser.
2. In the top menu bar, click the icon with your initials, then E-Mail-Einstellungen (email settings).
3. Under Postfach organisieren (organize mailbox), choose Filterregeln.
4. Click Filterregeln erstellen (create filter rules).
5. Define which conditions trigger which actions. You can add several conditions and several actions.
6. At the top of the window, choose whether one condition is enough or all must be met.
7. If the rule could overlap with others, select Keine weitere Filterregel auf diese E-Mails anwenden (apply no further filter rule to these emails).
8. Save with Filterregel einrichten.

The steps follow the help pages of GMX and WEB.DE. Both note that saving triggers an automatic check of whether the rule makes sense and could cause unintended data loss.

Conditions and actions at a glance

The GMX help lists these conditions: all new emails, sender, recipient, subject, size of the email, priority of the email and mail collector. For the recipient, the help says only the To field counts; Cc and Bcc are not considered.

The available actions are:

Because Lösche cannot be undone, GMX and WEB.DE recommend a trial: move the affected messages to a folder first. If no wrong matches arrive there during the trial period, use the rule as planned.

Typical filter rule examples

Replace the addresses and terms with your own.

In the third example both conditions must match. If the provider writes “Ihre Abrechnung” in the subject one month, the message stays in the inbox. That is how the rule works rather than a fault: it compares text.

Priority: which rule applies first

The rule list is sorted by priority and therefore shows the order of execution. If two rules contradict each other, the higher-ranked one wins because it runs first, according to the GMX help on priority. Its example: if the first rule deletes a message, the second can no longer move it.

In practice:

• Put narrow rules above broad ones. A rule for one subject belongs above the rule for the whole sender.
• Use Keine weitere Filterregel auf diese E-Mails anwenden when nothing else should happen after a match.
• Keep the list manageable. The help names no fixed maximum, but notes that with too many filter rules some may no longer be executed.

To manage a rule, hover over its entry in the list: the pencil icon opens it, the slider deactivates it and the trash icon deletes it. Changed rules apply to new mail.

Filter rules and spam protection

Spam protection works separately from your filter rules. Unwanted mail is sorted into the spam folder automatically. You train it by marking messages as Spam or, in the spam folder, as Kein Spam (not spam). According to the GMX help, this adds the sender to your block list (Sperrliste) or to your allow list (Erwünscht-Liste).

The interaction matters: the GMX help on allow and block lists states that filter rules have higher priority than both lists. A filter rule that moves a sender’s mail to the spam folder therefore still applies when that sender is on the allow list. WEB.DE has the corresponding pages under Spam- und Virenschutz.

For a single annoying sender, the block list is usually more direct than a filter rule. If an expected message is missing, check the spam folder first and your rules second.

Limits of filter rules

• The documented conditions check sender, recipient, subject, size and priority. The message text is not listed as a condition in the help.
• Rules compare text; they do not understand content. Whether a message is an invoice, a reminder or advertising is decided by the words you specify.
• Mixed senders stay mixed. If a shop sends order confirmations and promotions from the same address, a sender rule does not separate them.

Filter rule or AI sorting?

For a fixed condition, the filter rule is the simpler choice. It is built into the mailbox and needs no further service. Prompt-based sorting is worth testing when you can describe a category but cannot pin it to a sender or a subject word. Neither approach guarantees correct assignments.

Test AI sorting with GMX or WEB.DE

AI Email Filter connects to your mailbox over IMAP. You describe categories in plain language, and for each message it selects one category or none, using the sender, the subject and a body preview. Actions are move, keep or delete, with optional effects such as forwarding with a summary.

1. Allow IMAP access and connect your GMX mailbox. That guide also gives the settings for WEB.DE.
2. Create one narrow category, for example “invoices and payment reminders, excluding promotional offers”.
3. Classify a small selection in the review step before any move is applied.
4. Check the action history afterwards. Supported moves can be undone.

Deactivate filter rules that affect the same messages during the test, so you can tell which system moved what. The first 200 classifications are free and need no credit card. For folder planning, see how to organize emails.

GMX and WEB.DE filter rule questions

Why does my filter rule not apply?

Check whether the rule’s slider is active, whether a higher-ranked rule processed the message first, and whether the sender and subject of the message match the condition exactly.

Do filter rules apply to existing messages?

The help describes filter rules for incoming mail, and changed rules apply to new emails. Move messages that are already in the mailbox by hand.

Do I need AI Email Filter to use filter rules?

No. Filter rules are built into GMX and WEB.DE. An additional tool is only worth a test when fixed conditions cannot express the decision you want to make.