Short answer
What is the promotions tab in Gmail?
The promotion tab or category in Gmail is a folder to which overtly promotional emails are sent automatically by Gmail’s auto-filters. Promotion emails are advertising emails sent to consumers by businesses that are not labeled as Spam. Usually, these emails come about when you subscribe to a website and are subsequently added to its mailing lists.
Where do I find the promotions tab in Gmail?
The promotions tab is located by default above your inbox as one of 3 tabs (“Primary”, “Social”, and “Promotions”). If you don’t see these tabs then you have a different inbox setting. In that case, you can click the gear icon to open Gmail settings and select “Default” under “Inbox type”.
Alternatively, you can simply find the Promotion tab under “Categories” in the left-side menu where the labels are.
How do I move emails from the promotions tab to the primary tab?
If you have certain types of emails or emails by particular senders that you want to get in your Primary tab rather than Promotions you have the possibility to drag and drop them from one tab to another. You can also disable the Tabs inbox completely.
The guide below will show you how to do these and more:
Move emails from Promotions to Primary (1 min Gmail guide)
How do I delete all emails from my promotions tab?
Emails can get stacked up pretty quickly in your Promotions category tab. A quick way to deal with this influx is simply to delete everything and start fresh. But you may not want to get rid of everything, and instead, keep the newsletters that you read regularly.
In case you want to clean up your Promotions tab and keep it clean for longer, there are basic actions you can take. The guide below will show you how and more:
How to delete all promotions in Gmail (& avoid more coming)
How do I stop my emails from going to my recipients’ promotions tab?
If you are a marketer like me then you know the frustration of having your carefully written and personalized emails getting buried in people’s Promotions tab.
But the truth is, this is a sticky goal to pursue. Gmail is doing all it can to keep you from cheating your fate as a promoter. But there are things you can do to try and you may succeed. Not all you can do you would want to do, like reducing the number of batch emails you release.
The big question is can I win? And if not, why not act according to the old proverb “if you can’t beat them join them”.
The guide below will help you wiggle your way out of the Promotions tab or otherwise teach you how to use it to your advantage:
How to avoid the Gmail Promotions tab (is it worth it?)
The Gmail Promotions tab filter isn’t working – troubleshooting
- Ensure you are using the latest version of the Gmail app. Try viewing on another device—for example, a phone may have a different version of the Gmail app and show email differently.
- Try refreshing the Gmail app by pulling down the Gmail Promotions tab screen.
- Restart your device.
- You can’t use sensitive categories in the Gmail Promotions tab (for example, adult content or debt collection).
