How to Set Up OR Filters in Yahoo! Mail

Updated August 30, 2016

While filters in Yahoo! Mail always combine all criteria, you can set up "OR" filters (where just one of several criteria must be true).

If This Is True or If That Is True…

Filters in Yahoo! Mail are AND filters.

These rules only take action if all their criteria are met, and you cannot set up a filter that will move a message if it is from a certain sender or has a specific subject, for example—at least you cannot do that in just one filter.

A simple workaround exists, though, that allows you to create "OR" filters in Yahoo! Mail: two or more filters.

Set Up OR Filters in Yahoo! Mail

To create an “OR” filter in Yahoo! Mail:

  1. Set up one filter for the first criterion (say, from a certain sender),
  2. set up another for the second criterion (messages with a specific subject, for instance),
  3. and so on.

Make sure all filters move their messages to the same folder and you have constructed an "OR" filter. All messages from that sender or with the subject (or both) will show up in the target folder automatically.