Gmail has Added a New 'Category Tabs' Feature to the Inbox

How-To Geek

By Akemi Iwaya

Published May 30, 2013

Most of the time, keeping your inbox sorted and clean is a fairly simple task, but what about when things get hectic and suddenly your inbox is out of control? Finding those important e-mails among the clutter can become frustrating and time consuming, so you need an easy way to find what you need fast! With this problem in mind, Google has introduced a new feature for Gmail that will help auto-sort those e-mails into distinct categories, letting you go directly to the mail you want without the hassle.

You can activate the new Category Tabs feature by clicking on the Gear Icon in the upper right corner of your inbox, then selecting Configure inbox.

There are five categories that you can enable: Primary, Social, Promotions, Updates, and Forums. Simply check/uncheck the appropriate boxes to customize the Category Tabs shown in your inbox. Hovering over each category will display relevant information about it as shown in our screenshot. Click the Save Button when you are finished.

The page will automatically refresh, then display the following quick dialogue. From there, all that is left to do is start enjoying your new inbox (as shown in the first screenshot above).