{"id":84133,"date":"2025-02-28T18:24:34","date_gmt":"2025-02-28T18:24:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailrelay.com\/glosario\/inbox\/"},"modified":"2026-10-22T11:07:55","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T11:07:55","slug":"inbox","status":"publish","type":"glossary","link":"https:\/\/mailrelay.com\/en\/glossary\/inbox\/","title":{"rendered":"Inbox"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The inbox is the folder in your email account where the messages you receive arrive. It’s the first thing you see when you open Gmail, Outlook or any other email client. And it’s also where every company that sends campaigns wants to land.<\/p>\n\n

Because an email that doesn’t show up there, in practice, doesn’t exist for the person receiving it.<\/p>\n\n

What is the inbox?<\/h2>\n\n

The word inbox comes from in<\/em> and box<\/em>: the box where your mail comes in. In Spanish it’s called “bandeja de entrada”, and it works just like a mailbox. Each new message appears at the top. You’ll usually see the sender<\/a>‘s name, the subject line<\/a> and the first lines of the text.<\/p>\n\n

However, not everything sent to you ends up there. Email providers filter every message before showing it to you. The ones that look suspicious go to the spam<\/a> or junk folder.<\/p>\n\n

What does inbox mean on social media?<\/h2>\n\n

Outside of email, inbox is also used to refer to private messages on social media. When someone says “I’ll inbox you” or “send me an inbox”, they mean a direct message. It can be on Instagram, Facebook Messenger, LinkedIn or TikTok, and only the recipient sees it.<\/p>\n\n

The idea is the same: a private space where you receive what people write to you. But here we focus on the email inbox, which is the one that matters most in email marketing<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

How Gmail, Outlook and Apple Mail organize it<\/h2>\n\n

Today it’s no longer a single list. The big providers split it up so you see what matters first:<\/p>\n\n