What happens to Gmail Updates if user does not have tabs enabled?
Michael Ko
Co-founder & CEO, Suped
Published 22 May 2025
Updated 19 Aug 2025
7 min read
Gmail's inbox tabs, introduced over a decade ago, aimed to help users manage their email clutter by automatically categorizing incoming messages into distinct sections like Primary, Social, Promotions, Updates, and Forums. While many users appreciate this organizational feature, others prefer a single, unified inbox and disable these tabs.
The Updates tab is particularly interesting because it's designed for transactional emails, notifications, bills, and receipts. This is typically content that is important but not necessarily promotional or social. When users opt out of the tabbed inbox experience, a common question arises: where do these Updates emails end up, and what does this mean for email senders?
Understanding Gmail's categorization logic is crucial for anyone involved in email marketing or deliverability. The goal is always to land emails in the most visible and relevant place for the recipient, whether that's the Primary tab or another designated category. This article explores the fate of Updates emails when tabs are disabled and provides insights into managing your email placement.
Understanding Gmail's tab system
Gmail's automatic categorization system uses a sophisticated algorithm to sort incoming emails. This system analyzes various factors, including sender reputation, content, formatting, and user engagement, to determine the most appropriate tab for each message. The Updates tab is specifically designed for non-promotional, information-heavy emails such as shipping confirmations, password resets, bills, and account alerts.
Users can add or remove inbox categories in Gmail through their settings, customizing their inbox to show only the tabs they prefer, or none at all. When all tabs are disabled, the traditional single inbox view returns, consolidating all emails into one stream. This is where the behavior of Updates emails becomes particularly relevant for senders.
The primary objective of these tabs is to enhance user experience by reducing clutter in the main inbox. For transactional messages, the Updates tab serves as a dedicated space, preventing critical information from being buried under marketing promotions or social notifications. However, this segregation only occurs if the user has the Updates tab enabled in the first place.
Where
If a Gmail user does not have the Updates tab enabled, whether they only have Primary, Promotions, or Social tabs, or prefer a single inbox without any tabs, Gmail's categorization algorithm will still classify the email internally. However, it will then direct the message to the most general or default tab that is active. In most cases, this means the email will land in the Primary inbox.
This redirection occurs because Gmail attempts to provide a consistent user experience. If a specific category tab is not available, the system defaults to the most prominent visible tab to ensure the email is still delivered. For emails that would typically fall into Updates, the Primary tab becomes the fallback destination.
The key takeaway here is that emails still undergo categorization, regardless of whether the tabs are visible to the user. The categorization is a server-side process, driven by Gmail's AI engine. Therefore, understanding how Gmail categorizes transactional emails remains important, even for users who don't utilize the tabbed interface. This means senders should continue to optimize their emails for proper classification, as it still influences where the message lands.
Impact on email deliverability
Tabs enabled
Categorized Delivery: Emails are sorted into specific tabs (Primary, Promotions, Social, Updates, Forums) based on content and sender behavior.
User Preference: Users actively see and interact with these distinct categories, potentially checking less frequently visited tabs.
Sender Intent Aligns: Transactional emails are expected in the Updates tab, maintaining separation from marketing messages.
Tabs disabled
Consolidated Inbox: All emails, regardless of internal classification (Updates, Promotions, Social), land in the main Primary inbox.
Potential Overload: The single inbox can become cluttered, increasing the chance of important emails being missed or deleted.
No Visual Cues: There are no visual indicators (like an Updates tag) that an email was classified as an update, beyond sender and subject.
For email deliverability, the impact of disabled tabs is complex. On one hand, landing in the Primary tab might seem like an ideal outcome for transactional Updates emails, as it offers the highest visibility. However, this also means your Updates emails are competing directly with all other types of mail, including promotional content and social notifications, for the user's attention.
This can lead to a higher likelihood of your messages being overlooked or even marked as spam if the user feels overwhelmed by a cluttered Primary inbox. There have been reports of odd tab placement behavior across the industry, highlighting the dynamic nature of Gmail's filtering. This is a constant challenge for email marketers.
It's important to remember that Gmail's algorithms are always learning and adapting based on user interactions. A message that might consistently land in the Updates tab for a user with tabs enabled could still trigger different engagement metrics when it lands in the Primary tab for a user without tabs. This underscores the need for robust deliverability practices to ensure your emails reach the inbox effectively.
Optimizing for Gmail's categorization
Given that a significant portion of Gmail users may not have all tabs enabled, senders should focus on general email best practices that ensure good inbox placement, irrespective of tab settings. This includes strong sender reputation, proper email authentication (like DMARC, SPF, and DKIM), and engaging content.
For transactional emails that usually fall into Updates, ensure the subject lines are clear and concise, reflecting the email's purpose. Avoid any language that could be perceived as promotional, as this might cause the email to be miscategorized or even sent to the spam folder, particularly if a user only has the Primary tab active and the email looks like a sales message.
Regularly monitor your email deliverability and inbox placement rates, paying close attention to engagement metrics such as open rates and clicks. If you see a decline in engagement for certain email types, it might indicate an issue with how Gmail is categorizing your messages, regardless of whether tabs are enabled for the recipient. For more insights on this, you can learn how to influence which tab your email goes to in Gmail.
Finally, focus on building a positive sender reputation. A strong reputation, built through consistent engagement and low complaint rates, is the most effective way to ensure your emails reach the inbox, irrespective of Gmail's ever-evolving categorization rules or user preferences for tabs.
Tips for ensuring proper email delivery
Segment email types: Separate transactional emails from marketing messages, ideally sending them from different subdomains or IPs.
Clear subject lines: Ensure transactional subjects are direct, informative, and avoid promotional language.
Monitor engagement: Keep an eye on open and click rates for all email types, looking for unusual dips.
Maintain sender reputation: Consistently send high-quality, relevant emails to engaged recipients to build trust.
Conclusion
When the Updates tab is not enabled, Gmail's internal categorization still happens. These emails are then redirected to the most prominent active tab, which is typically the Primary tab. This means Updates emails will appear alongside all other messages in the user's main inbox view. This emphasizes the importance of consistent email best practices, regardless of how individual users configure their inboxes.
Maintaining a strong sender reputation and ensuring your email content is clear, relevant, and free of promotional signals for transactional messages will help ensure optimal deliverability. By focusing on fundamental email health, you can navigate Gmail's complex filtering mechanisms and reach your audience effectively.
Views from the trenches
Best practices
Always segment transactional emails from marketing emails to maintain appropriate content context.
Use distinct subdomains or IP addresses for different types of email traffic to help Gmail categorize them correctly.
Focus on clear, concise subject lines for transactional emails that accurately reflect their purpose, avoiding promotional keywords.
Common pitfalls
Mixing transactional and promotional content within the same email stream or using the same sending infrastructure can confuse Gmail's categorization.
Using overly promotional language or calls to action in emails meant for the Updates tab, which can lead to misclassification into the Promotions tab.
Neglecting sender reputation by not monitoring bounce rates, spam complaints, or user engagement metrics.
Expert tips
While Gmail's categorization is server-side, users can still manually drag emails between tabs. Encourage users to do this if an email lands in the wrong place, as it helps train the algorithm.
A/B test different subject lines and content variations for your transactional emails to see what resonates best with recipients and ensures top inbox placement.
Keep an eye on industry reports and
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks says they have seen several reports in the industry of odd tab placement behavior lately, indicating Gmail's filtering can sometimes be unpredictable.
2020-01-08 - Email Geeks
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks says when a user turns on tabs, the spam filter component needs time to learn user preferences for categorization.
Gmail users may not have all tabs enabled, senders should focus on general email best practices that ensure good inbox placement, irrespective of tab settings. This includes strong sender reputation, proper email authentication (like DMARC, SPF, and DKIM), and engaging content.
