I am wanting to add a new category to the iphone mail app, besides the four that already exist, but am unable. There IS NO “category” related option under Settings | Apps | Mail, nor is there a “Profiles & Device Options setting anywhere. iPhone 17 PM; iOS 26.1. ‘Don’t see anywhere in the Mail app itself either. Yes, I’ve tried turning the iPhone Off & On.
iPhone 17 Pro Max, iOS 26
Categories are new and currently, there isn't a facility to create custom categories. But that would be a good idea to let Apple know it's something you'd like to see in a future update, using this link --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple
Are you saying that Mail has categorised your inbox 100% correctly so far? Mine didn't. I don't trust them enough to use categories at all. It can't even sort out junk properly.
You would need to teach the mail app to look out for your new custom category, not sure how that would work.
Definitely not. I’d say about 60-70%. It’s not very “smart” categorization, and is just apparently based on email from-addresses, which SPAM’ers are constantly spoofing and even legitimate businesses are changing for every new ad campaign.
mbin wrote:
Definitely not. I’d say about 60-70%. It’s not very “smart” categorization, and is just apparently based on email from-addresses, which SPAM’ers are constantly spoofing and even legitimate businesses are changing for every new ad campaign.
So why add to the chaos?
Depending on your email provider, you could use rules to divert emails based on sender where possible and create appropriate folders, allowing badges for all folders.
There are how-to’s for exactly this sprinkled around the web, including at Apple Support itself! The problem is they reference Settings that don’t actually exist, at least not in my iOS (26.1).
Creating Categories in Mail App.
