With 18.2 introduction of category inboxes in apple mail, even when selecting list view (top three dots in mail app) to return it to the old format, you still have the annoying new icons representing the categories in front of each email. I'm selecting 'list view' because I don't want to use 'categories' at all. Can the icons be removed from list view so that I can just see a normal/clean email inbox?
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
iPhone 16 Pro, iOS 18
This no longer works, now when you open the inbox tap the three dots in the upper right hand corner and choose list view. Unfortunately, if you have a half a dozen or more email accounts, like I do, you have to do it for each one, but once you do it the changes not one single Apple customer likely asked for have been reverted.
This no longer works, now when you open the inbox tap the three dots in the upper right hand corner and choose list view. Unfortunately, if you have a half a dozen or more email accounts, like I do, you have to do it for each one, but once you do it the changes not one single Apple customer likely asked for have been reverted.
It would be one thing if the icons meant anything. But there doesn't seem to be any consistency of how they are applied. Same with categories, they aren't very useful to me. Maybe if we could assign the correct icon to the sender ourselves. But as it is now, it's just useless clutter.
wdvittori wrote:
Should be an option to add, not default. Btw, the categories that were chosen made absolutely no sense at all.
Interesting. They are the same categories gmail forces on you, with no way to opt out.
In general, when Apple adds new features they default them to on, otherwise the 99% of users who never read release notes won’t know those features have been added.
This doesn’t solve the problem, it just replaces it with a different issue. I want to keep the contact photos and get rid of the Apple generated icons for categories. If I get a message from a trusted contact it was much easier to identify previously, now it’s grouped in a category with a badly designed graphic in ugly colors.
There are 2 different new features in Mail: Category icons, and message categories.
To disable icons, see this post in this thread:How to remove Category icons in iOS 18.2 … - Apple Community
To turn off message categories, on any inbox tap the ⋯⃝ in the upper right, then tap List View.
Thanks a lot. Quite illogical switch to turn off…
What is Apple thinking?!!
“Show Contact Photos” option in Mail settings does not show my “Contact Photos!”
Get rid of those gross icons!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I've been searching for the same solution to this as the "noise" of the icons has been driving me nuts! This worked!
No. They only test with programmers who are trying to look busy, but don't know real people.
The first problem with the category icons is the very limited number of categories and therefore a very crude allocation which serves no purpose. If it distinguished between an unwanted promotion and confirmation of a delivery timetable for example that would be helpful. And showing photographs where there is an actual image and or where the sender is in your contacts would also be helpful. This would make for a slightly irregular layout with some messages having an icon and some not but that would help you sift the important one.
This looks like the most basic application of AI and whoever allowed this to be released in this ultra simplistic and meaningless format Should be told off (not wishing to resort to hyperbole in public discussion)
Ok I found a way around it. My iPhone was set to German language then you will not see the above explained option. You have to set your phone to English toggle off “show contact photos” and then back to German and those icons will disappear.
MrIVXX wrote:
Thank you for this solution.
Apple PLEASE stop introducing “features” I do not want. If anything, let people “opt in” to them instead of enabling them by default and forcing all users to scramble to disable. Please.
The problem with that is if Apple didn’t default new features to ON only the 1% of users who read the release notes would know they were there. At least you CAN turn them on or off, unlike Gmail where thy are always on.
I’m NOT a fan of the new category icons. I did like having my contacts photos/avatars in my correspondence; it’s a shame Apple had to go and mess this all up. Maybe they will fix it in the next update? Doubt it, but we can hope.
2tattered wrote:
Thank you so much! I hated those stupid icons.
Oh, the Irony! Users have complained for years that Apple dictates how everything should work, and doesn’t give users the option of customization. So with iOS 18 Apple added customization options to a bunch of apps, and now people complain that options are bad. You just can’t win.
Why do these companies insist on putting “features” that nobody asked for into apps?
Desperate to keep relevance and change for the sake of change.
Companies need to realize apps are just tools. The apps become irritating and non functional if the interface and controls keep changing.
Microsoft also likes added features we didn’t ask like forcing Copilot onto Outlook and there is no way to get rid of it.
How to remove Category icons in iOS 18.2 Mail?
