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Delete an Address From Mac Mail's Auto-Complete List

When auto-completion becomes more annoying than helpful

By Heinz Tschabitscher Heinz Tschabitscher Writer University of Vienna A former freelance contributor who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on October 17, 2021 Reviewed by Jerrick Leger Reviewed by Jerrick Leger Jerrick Leger is a CompTIA-certified IT Specialist with more than 10 years' experience in technical support and IT fields. He is also a systems administrator for an IT firm in Texas serving small businesses. lifewire's editorial guidelines Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Email Yahoo! Mail Gmail The Mail application in Mac OS X and macOS completes a recipient's email address as you start typing it in the To, Cc, or BCC fields of an email if you used it before or entered it on a Contacts card. If you have used more than one address for that person, Mail displays all the options beneath the name as you type it, and you click on the one you want to use. However, people change email addresses. There's a way to delete old or unwanted addresses from the Auto-Complete list in Mail. The Mail application remembers all new addresses automatically, and soon the auto-complete feature is useful again. boyarkinamarina/iStock

Delete a Recurring Email Address Using the Auto-Complete List

When you want to remove auto-complete addresses, you can do it by working directly in the Previous Recipients list. To remove an email address from the auto-complete list in Mac OS X Mail or macOS Mail: Open the Mail application in Mac OS X or macOS. Click Window in the menu bar and select Previous Recipients in the drop-down menu to open a list of individuals to whom you have sent emails in the past. Entries are listed alphabetically by email address. Also included in the list is the date you last used the email address. Select the search field and start typing the name or email address of the person you want to remove from the Previous Recipients list. You may see several listings for a person in the search results screen as you type. Click on the email address you want to remove to highlight it and then click Remove From List button at the bottom of the screen. If you want to remove all the listings for a person with more than one email address, click in the search results field, use the keyboard shortcut Command+A to select all the results, and then click Remove From List. To remove several listings, hold down the Command key while you select multiple entries. Then, click the Remove From List button. This method does not remove email addresses that are entered on a card in the Contacts application.

Remove Previous Email Addresses From Contacts Card

If you've entered information for individuals on a Contacts card, you can't delete their old email addresses using the Previous Recipients list. For those people, you must open the Contacts application. Locate the individual's card and manually remove the old email information. If you want to confirm that the email address has been removed, open a new email and enter the recipient's name in the To field. You won't see the address you just removed in the list that appears. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire How to Delete an Address From the Outlook Autocomplete List How to Unshare a Google Doc Hide the Preview Pane and Delete Mail Without Opening It macOS Mail: How to Keep Emails on the Server How to Group Messages by Thread in Mac Mail Program How to Send Group Emails on Your iPhone or iPad How to Insert a Link in an Email With Mac OS X Mail How to Create a Group for List Mailing in macOS Mail How to Insert Special Characters in Mac Mail How to Import Outlook Contacts Into Apple Mail How to Send a Web Page With the Mac's Email Program How to Clear the Outlook Cache How to Clean up the macOS Mail Auto-Complete List How to Remove Your Information From the Web How to Send a Message From a Different Account in OS X Mail How to Load Images in a Message in Evolution Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies