Apple Mail Follow Up: Explained

* This article is from our Tip of the Day newsletter. . *

You may have been wondering, "Why does my email say Follow Up?" Apple's native Mail app got a few new features with iOS 16, including the Follow Up feature, something that has been available on rival mail apps for some time. Using AI, the feature will remind you to follow up with someone if you haven't heard back from them after a certain amount of time. It's extremely useful for keeping things from slipping through the cracks! We'll show you how to use it and how to turn off Follow Up in Apple Mail.

Related: iPad Won’t Download Apps? How to Download iPad Apps Correctly

iPhone Life
Discover your iPhone's hidden features
Get a daily tip (with screenshots and clear instructions) so you can master your iPhone in just one minute a day.

Why You'll Love This Tip

  • Never forget to follow up about an email again with the new Follow Up feature on the Apple Mail app.
  • Or, you learn to turn this feature off if you don't want to see the notifications.

How to Use Apple Mail Follow Up

On certain emails where you have asked a question or for a response, you will see a Follow Up button when you tap them in the Sent folder in the Mail app. Emails that your Mail app thinks you might want to follow up on will also be boosted to the top of your inbox after three days with no response. If you like tips about how to use your iPhone, be sure to sign up for our free Tip of the Day! Here's what iOS 16's Mail Follow Up looks like.

  1. On your iPhone, open the Mail app.

    On your iPhone, open the Mail app.
  2. Go to Mailboxes and tap Sent.

    Go to Mailboxes and tap Sent.
  3. Tap a recently sent message that contains a question.

    Tap a recently sent message that contains a question.
  4. Just under the address bar, you will see a button that says Follow Up...

    Just under the address bar, you will see a button that says Follow Up...
  5. If you tap the button, it will take you to a new blank email, already addressed to the same recipient as before, to make following up about an unanswered email that much quicker!

    If you tap the button, it will take you to a new blank email, already addressed to the same recipient as before to make following up about an unanswered email that much quicker!

How to Turn Off Follow Up in Apple Mail

If you find this feature to be annoying or you simply want to turn it off, I'll walk you through how.

  1. On your iPhone, go to Settings.

    On your iPhone, go to Settings.
  2. Tap Mail.

    Tap Mail.
  3. Toggle Follow Up Suggestions to off. The toggle will be gray and to the left when disabled.

    Toggle Follow Up Suggestions to off. It will be gray when disabled.

And that's all there is to it! Whether you like this feature or you want to turn it off, the new settings in Apple's Mail app continue to make it a decent competitor to other mail clients.

Master your iPhone in one minute a day: Sign up here to get our FREE Tip of the Day delivered right to your inbox.

Topics

Author Details

Rachel Needell's picture

Author Details

Rachel Needell

Rachel Needell is a Feature Writer at iPhone Life, and a poet and author. With 10-plus years of experience working with Apple devices, she specializes in all-things iPad and is a Notes App expert, having worked on both the 2023 iPad Guide and the Notes App Guide. You can usually find her writing in the Daily Tip newsletter as one of our senior Tip writers. Rachel received her Master’s degree in English Literature in 2021 and her most recent work appears in the Winter ’21 edition of New Note Poetry. When she’s not obsessing about Apple products, you can find her voraciously reading fantasy books with her cat in Asheville, North Carolina.