How contact states interact with Shield
Contact states and Shield features work together but can be confusing. A whitelisted contact bypasses some Shield features but not others. This article gives you the complete picture.
The interaction table
| Contact state | Gatekeeper | Limiter | Snoozer | Spam check | Filters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unset (default) | Checked | Checked | Checked | Checked | Applied |
| Blocked | Rejected immediately — no further processing | ||||
| Whitelisted | Bypassed | Bypassed | Checked | Bypassed | Applied |
| Muted | Bypassed | Bypassed | Checked | Checked | Applied |
| Prioritized | Bypassed | Bypassed | Bypassed | Checked | Applied |
What this means in practice
Whitelisted contacts
You fully trust this sender. They bypass the gatekeeper (no need to be on the approved list), limiter (no rate cap), and spam checks (never flagged as spam). But they still go through the snoozer (held outside delivery windows) and your filter rules (folder routing, flags, etc.).
Prioritized contacts
Their email is always delivered immediately. They bypass gatekeeper, limiter, and snoozer. If you set delivery windows for Mon-Fri 9-17, a prioritized contact's email still arrives at 2 AM on Saturday. Spam checks and filters still apply.
Muted contacts
Emails are delivered but marked as read (IMAP Seen flag). They bypass gatekeeper and limiter, but spam checks and snoozer still apply. Useful for contacts you do not want to block but also do not want to see in your unread count.
Blocked contacts
Email is rejected at the earliest step in the evaluation chain. Nothing else runs — no spam check, no filters, no Shield evaluation.
Filters always apply
No contact state bypasses your filter rules. This is by design — filters are your personal organizational rules. Even a whitelisted contact's email goes through your filters for folder routing, flagging, or forwarding.
The one exception: if a filter has a Deny action, it overrides delivery. A whitelisted contact can still be denied by a filter. If this is not what you want, make sure your deny filters do not match whitelisted contacts (e.g., add a rule group that excludes specific senders).
Common configurations
| Goal | Contact state | Why |
|---|---|---|
| VIP client, always reachable | Prioritized | Bypasses snoozer — their email arrives even at night |
| Trusted service (bank, government) | Whitelisted | Bypasses spam — never accidentally flagged |
| Noisy but not spam (social media notifications) | Muted | Delivered but silent — no inbox interruption |
| Known spammer | Blocked | Rejected before any processing |
For more on contact states, see Managing contacts and unsubscribing from newsletters.
