Email Auto-Forwarding Setup - Gmail, Outlook, iCloud & More

Overview

Instead of subscribing to all newsletters manually again, you can set up auto-forwarding and send a copy of selected newsletters from your main inbox to your summate inbox, automatically. The overall process typically takes about 5 minutes of time, and generally requires two things:

add your @inbox.summate.io email to your approved forwarding addresses
setup filters to forward newsletters to your @inbox.summate.io email

Security First

Why we use email forwarding instead of OAuthWe deliberately chose email forwarding over direct inbox access for two key reasons:

Universal Compatibility - Works with every email provider (Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, ProtonMail, corporate emails, etc.) without special integrations
Privacy by Design - We only see emails you explicitly choose to forward. Your personal emails, bank statements, and sensitive communications stay completely private. We never have access to your full inbox.

This approach gives you complete control over what content reaches Summate while keeping your email account secure.

Step-by-step guide for Gmail

Go to Gmail Settings

Click the gear icon in Gmail and select “See all settings”.

Navigate to Forwarding and POP/IMAP

Click on the “Forwarding and POP/IMAP” tab in the settings menu.

Add a new Forwarding Address

Click “Add a forwarding address” button.

Important: Do NOT enable “Forward a copy of incoming mail to…”This would forward ALL your emails. Instead, you’ll set up selective forwarding with filters in Step 8.

Enter your Summate inbox address

Enter your unique Summate inbox: username@inbox.summate.ioYou should have received this during onboarding. If you haven’t, visit your inbox page to find it.

Authorize your request

Gmail will ask you to verify your identity (possibly through 2FA).After authorization, Gmail sends a verification link to your Summate inbox.

Find the verification email

Navigate to your Summate inbox
Look for a new sender in the pending section
Click on the Gmail verification email

Gmail verification email in Summate inbox

Complete verification

Copy the verification link from the email (it starts with https://mail-settings.google.com/mail/...) and paste it into your browser.

Set up forwarding filters

Now that your Summate address is verified, create filters to selectively forward newsletters.Part A: Go to Filters and Blocked Addresses

Part B: Create a new filterClick “Create a new filter” and specify your criteria (e.g., from a specific sender).

Part C: Configure forwarding action

Check “Forward it to” and select your Summate inbox
Optionally check “Mark as read” to keep your inbox clean
Click “Create filter”

See Recommended Filter Settings below for smart filtering ideas that will save you time.

Step-by-step guide for Outlook/Microsoft 365

Microsoft Enterprise 365 accounts often block automatic email forwarding by default. You may need administrator access to enable this feature.

Common Error Message

If you see this error when trying to forward emails:

550 5.7.520 Access denied, Your organization does not allow external forwarding.
Please contact your administrator for further assistance. AS(7550)

This means your Microsoft 365 account has external forwarding disabled. Follow the steps below to enable it.

Enabling External Forwarding (Administrator Required)

Access Microsoft 365 Defender

Email & collaboration → Policies & rules → Threat policies → Anti-spam policies

Or go directly to: https://security.microsoft.com/antispam

If you don’t see these options, ensure you’re logged in with administrator privileges.

Edit Anti-spam Outbound Policy

Click on Anti-spam outbound policy (Default) and scroll down to click Edit protection settings.

Enable Forwarding Rules

Find the Forwarding Rules section
Locate the Automatic Forwarding Rules dropdown
Select On - Forwarding is enabled
Click Save at the bottom

Setting Up Forwarding Rules in Outlook

Once external forwarding is enabled, follow these steps to create rules that forward newsletters:

Open Rules Settings

In Outlook Desktop:

Go to File → Manage Rules & Alerts
Click New Rule

In Outlook Web:

Click the Settings gear icon
Select View all Outlook settings
Go to Mail → Rules
Click Add new rule

Create a Forwarding Rule

Name your rule (e.g., “Forward Newsletters to Summate”)
Add conditions to identify newsletters:
- From: Specific sender or domain
- Subject contains: Newsletter keywords
- Body contains: “unsubscribe” (use cautiously)

See Recommended Filter Settings for smart filtering ideas.

Set the Forward Action

Add an action: Forward to
Enter your Summate inbox: username@inbox.summate.io
Optionally add more actions:
- Mark as read
- Move to folder
- Apply category

Review and Enable

Review your rule settings
Ensure “Turn on this rule” is checked
Click Save or OK
Test with a sample newsletter

For detailed instructions with screenshots, see Microsoft’s guide: Manage email messages by using rules

Step-by-step guide for iCloud Mail

All iCloud Mail emails, including those sent to custom domain addresses, can be automatically forwarded to your Summate inbox.

Access iCloud Mail Settings

Go to icloud.com/mail
Sign in to your Apple Account
Click the Settings button at the top of the Mailboxes list
Choose Settings

Configure Mail Forwarding

Select Mail Forwarding in the sidebar
Check the “Forward my email to” checkbox
Enter your Summate inbox address: username@inbox.summate.io

Optional Settings

Storage Management:

To save iCloud storage, check “Delete messages after forwarding”
Otherwise, copies of forwarded emails will be stored in iCloud

Selective Forwarding:

You can set up rules to forward only certain emails
Each rule can only use one forwarding address
See Set up rules to filter email for details
Check our Recommended Filter Settings for newsletter filtering ideas

To Stop Forwarding

Go to icloud.com/mail and sign in
Access Settings → Mail Forwarding
Uncheck the “Forward my email to” checkbox

For more details, see Apple’s official guide: Automatically forward email in Mail on iCloud.com

Step-by-step guide for Yahoo Mail

Yahoo Mail only supports all-or-nothing forwarding on paid plans (Yahoo Mail Plus). There’s no way to forward only newsletters - all emails will be forwarded to Summate.

Requirements

Yahoo Mail Plus or Access + Forwarding subscription (not available on free accounts)
Verification of forwarding address

Access Forwarding Settings

Open Yahoo Mail in your browser
Click the Settings gear → More settings
Navigate to Mailboxes
Click on your primary email account

Enable Auto-Forwarding

Find the Auto-forwarding section
Enter your Summate inbox: username@inbox.summate.io
Click Verify
Check your Summate inbox for verification email
Complete verification and Save

Important Limitation: Yahoo filters can move emails to folders but cannot forward them. If you need selective forwarding for newsletters only, consider using a different email provider.

Step-by-step guide for ProtonMail

ProtonMail supports selective forwarding with custom rules on paid plans only. Free accounts cannot use auto-forwarding.

Security Note

When forwarding from ProtonMail to non-Proton addresses (like Summate), emails will not be end-to-end encrypted. Only the emails matching your forwarding rules are affected.

Access Forwarding Settings

Sign in at mail.proton.me
Click Settings (gear icon) → All settings
Navigate to Proton Mail → Auto-reply and forward
Click Forward emails → Add forwarding rule

Create Selective Forwarding Rule

Forward from: Select your Proton address
Forward to: Enter username@inbox.summate.io
Click Add condition for selective forwarding:
- From contains: newsletter domains
- Subject contains: “newsletter”, “digest”, “weekly”
- Add multiple conditions for accuracy
Click Send confirmation email

Complete Verification

Check your Summate inbox for the verification email
Click Accept forwarding in the email
Your rule is now active

Manage rules anytime from Auto-reply and forward → Forward emails

For advanced filtering, use ProtonMail’s Sieve filters (Settings → Filters → Add sieve filter) for header-level matching and complex logic.

Step-by-step guide for Fastmail

Fastmail offers excellent forwarding capabilities with both simple rules and advanced Sieve filters.

Create a Forwarding Rule

Go to Settings → Rules (or Filters & Rules)
Click Create rule
Add conditions to identify newsletters:
- From contains common newsletter domains
- Subject contains newsletter keywords
- List-Id header exists (most accurate)

Set Forward Action

Choose the action type:

Send a copy to: Enter username@inbox.summate.io
- Preserves original sender (recommended)
- Better for DMARC compliance
Forward: Re-sends from your address
- Replies come back to you

Advanced Filtering (Optional)

For power users, use Sieve scripting:

# Forward newsletters based on List-Id header
if header :contains "List-Id" "newsletter" {
  redirect :copy "username@inbox.summate.io";
  keep;
}

Access via Settings → Advanced → Sieve Filtering

Fastmail’s “Send a copy to” (redirect) typically has better deliverability than traditional forwarding, especially with strict DMARC policies.

Step-by-step guide for HEY

HEY only supports all-or-nothing forwarding. You cannot forward only newsletters - it’s either everything or nothing. HEY’s philosophy doesn’t include traditional email rules or filters.

How HEY Handles Newsletters

HEY automatically routes newsletters to The Feed (a separate view), but there’s no way to auto-forward only Feed items to external addresses.

Enable Global Forwarding (If Needed)

If you must forward all emails:

Go to app.hey.com/accounts
Select your account
Navigate to Forwarding & Sending
Add username@inbox.summate.io as forwarding address
Complete verification

Note: This forwards ALL emails except spam

Alternative Approach

For selective forwarding, consider this workaround:

Forward everything from HEY to another provider (Gmail/Fastmail)
Set up selective rules in that provider
Forward only newsletters to Summate from there

This adds complexity but enables selective forwarding.

Given HEY’s limitations, most users find it easier to manually forward individual newsletters or use HEY’s built-in Feed feature instead of auto-forwarding.

Recommended Filter Settings

Setting up the right filters ensures only newsletters reach your Summate inbox, not your personal emails. Here are proven filtering strategies:

Platform-Specific Filters

Newsletter Platforms:

Substack: from:substack.com
Beehiiv: from:beehiiv.com
ConvertKit: from:convertkit.com
Ghost: from:ghost.io
Mailchimp: from:mailchimp.com

These filters catch all newsletters from major platforms.

Smart Keyword Filters

Combine multiple criteria for accuracy:

from:newsletter AND has:unsubscribe
subject:"weekly" OR subject:"daily" OR subject:"digest"
from:noreply AND has:unsubscribe

More specific = fewer false positives.

Universal “Unsubscribe” Filter

Use with caution: The “has the words: unsubscribe” filter catches most newsletters but may also forward:

Order confirmations
Service notifications
Marketing emails
Account updates

For best results, combine with sender filters or use more specific criteria.

Tips for Better Filtering

Best Practices:

Start specific - Begin with known newsletter senders
Test first - Apply filters to existing emails before enabling forwarding
Refine regularly - Review what’s being forwarded weekly
Use labels - Mark forwarded emails in your main inbox for easy tracking

Getting Started

Concepts

Reading

Guides

Settings

Email Auto-Forwarding

Overview

Security First

Step-by-step guide for Gmail