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How to Use Stars to Flag Important Emails

Tap a step to see how starring works across most email services.

  1. Confirm the star feature is available

    Most email services show star icons in the message list by default, though a few require turning the feature on in settings first.

  2. Star an important message

    Click the star icon next to a message. It fills in solid, usually yellow, to show it's starred.

  3. View only your starred messages

    Click "Starred" in the sidebar to see every starred message gathered in one place, separate from your regular inbox view.

  4. Use multiple star colors, if supported

    Some services let you cycle through several colors and shapes instead of a single star, so you can mark different levels of importance.

  5. Remove a star

    Click the same star icon again to remove it once a message is no longer important.

A lightweight way to flag mail without moving it anywhere

Starring works the same in spirit across most services -- Gmail's star, Outlook's flag, Apple Mail's flag. One click marks a message as worth revisiting, without filing it into a folder or committing to a category.

Not every service calls it a "star"

Outlook calls the same feature a "flag," and Apple Mail also uses a flag rather than a star, but the underlying behavior is identical: a visible marker that lets you gather important messages into one dedicated view.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does starring a message move it out of my inbox?

No. The message stays right where it already is; starring only adds a marker and a shortcut to find it again through the dedicated starred view.

Is starring available in the mobile app too?

Yes, most mail apps offer the same starring or flagging feature on mobile, and starred messages sync across devices signed into the same account.