How to check if your email is being forwarded: Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo

If someone has had access to your inbox, even for a few minutes, they may have left something behind that keeps working after you change your password: a forwarding address that copies your mail, or a filter that quietly sends some of it elsewhere. Both take a minute to set up and are easy to miss. This guide shows exactly where to look in Gmail, Outlook.com and Yahoo Mail, using each provider's own help pages as of October 28, 2026.

How to check if your email is being forwarded

Check two places on a computer, in a web browser:

Account-level forwarding. Gmail: Settings, See all settings, Forwarding and POP/IMAP. Outlook.com: Settings, Mail, Forwarding and IMAP. Yahoo: Settings, More Settings, Mailboxes, your primary mailbox, Forwarding.
Filters or rules. Gmail: Filters and Blocked Addresses, look for "Forward to". Outlook.com: Settings, Mail, Rules. Yahoo: Settings, More Settings, Filters.

If an address there is not yours, change your password first, then delete the forwarding address or rule. Forwarding is often only half of it, so check the related settings below too.

Why attackers set up forwarding

A stolen password can be changed back. A forwarding rule keeps delivering your mail to someone else until you find it. That is why Google's Gmail security tips tell you to check "that your messages aren't being forwarded to an unknown account" and that mail isn't "being automatically forwarded to an unknown account using a 'Forward to' filter." Yahoo's page on recognizing a hacked account puts it plainly: hackers "may change the settings in your Yahoo Mail account to disrupt your inbox or get copies of your emails."

There are two kinds to look for:

Forward everything. Every new message is copied to another address. This is the account-level forwarding setting.
Forward some things. A filter or rule forwards only mail that matches, for example messages from your bank or with "invoice" in the subject. A second rule can delete or file away security alerts so you never see them. These are harder to spot because most of your mail arrives normally.

Signs your email may be forwarded

A forwarding notice you didn't set up. Gmail shows "You are forwarding your email to [email address]" for the first week after forwarding is turned on, and a similar notice when a filter forwards some of your mail. Google's forwarding help page says that if you see one and never set it up, someone else might have access to your account.
Missing mail. Yahoo lists "You're not receiving any emails" as a sign of a hacked account. A filter that sends mail to trash or another folder has the same effect.
Changed settings you don't remember. A new signature, reply-to address or automatic reply.
Sign-ins from places you don't recognize on your account's security page.

None of these is needed to justify a check. If you are unsure, look anyway. It takes five minutes.

How to check forwarding in Gmail

Gmail's forwarding settings are on the computer version. Open Gmail in a browser, then:

Click Settings in the top right, then See all settings.
Open the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab (it may be labeled Forwarding).
In the "Forwarding" section, look for Forward a copy of incoming mail to and the address next to it. If it is not yours, click Disable forwarding, then Save Changes at the bottom.
On the same tab, check that your POP and IMAP settings are what you expect. Google's security checklist asks you to verify them.
Open the Filters and Blocked Addresses tab. Look for any filter that says Forward to an address you don't know, and any filter with Delete it that you didn't create. Delete them.

Google also recommends checking two more tabs while you are there:

Accounts and Import: "Send mail as" should list only your addresses, "Grant access to your account" should show no one you don't know, and "Check mail from other accounts" should list only addresses that belong to you.
General: check your signature and that the vacation responder is not on unless you turned it on.

Adding a forwarding address in Gmail sends a verification link to that address, so a forwarding address you find was confirmed by whoever controls it. Do not email or reply to it.

How to check forwarding in Outlook.com

Microsoft's forwarding help page gives these steps for Outlook.com:

At the top of the Outlook.com page, select Settings.
Select Mail, then Forwarding and IMAP. You may be asked to sign in again before the settings appear.
If forwarding is on and the address is not yours, select Disable forwarding, then Save.

Microsoft notes that automatic forwarding "can also be set up in rules," so check those next. Per its rules help page:

Select Settings, then Mail, then Rules.
Read every rule. Look for actions that forward or redirect mail, and for rules that delete messages or move them to a folder you rarely open.
To remove one, select More actions (...) next to it, then Delete rule. The toggle next to a rule only turns it off.

If you use the new Outlook app for Windows or Outlook on the web, the same pages are under Settings, Mail, Forwarding and Settings, Mail, Rules.

How to check forwarding in Yahoo Mail

Yahoo's forwarding help page says email forwarding needs Yahoo Mail Plus and is not offered in every country. Check it anyway: an attacker who got into a Plus account may have used it.

Click Settings, then More Settings.
Click Mailboxes, then your primary mailbox.
Look under Forwarding. Remove any address that isn't yours.
Go back to More Settings and click Filters. Yahoo's filters page explains that filters sort new mail into a folder or the trash. Delete any you didn't create, using the Delete icon.

Yahoo's hacked-account page lists the other settings attackers change: sending name, signature, reply-to address, send-only address, vacation response, default sending address and blocked addresses. Check each one, and delete any app passwords you don't recognize.

What to do if you find a forwarding rule

Change your password first. If you remove the rule while the intruder still has the password, they can add it back. Use a password you have never used anywhere else.
Delete the forwarding address and every rule or filter you didn't create. Take a screenshot first if you plan to report it.
Check the related settings. Send-as addresses, reply-to, delegates or account access, signature and automatic replies. These redirect replies or give standing access in ways a password change does not undo.
Turn on two-step verification if it isn't on already, and remove recovery phone numbers or email addresses that aren't yours.
Work out what was copied. The forwarding address shows where your mail went. Anything that arrived while it was active, such as password reset links, bank statements or documents, should be treated as seen. Change passwords on accounts whose reset emails may have been copied.
Follow the full recovery steps. Our guide on what to do if your email is hacked covers signing out other sessions, removing app access and recovering a locked account.

If you set up the forwarding yourself and simply forgot, our guide on how to forward Gmail to another email explains how the setting works so you can keep it deliberately.

Starting over with an inbox that gives away less

If this check has you rethinking where your mail lives, Secria Mail is free with no phone number and no card. Tracking pixels are removed automatically and senders never see your IP address. Your mailbox uses zero-access storage, locked with a key made from your password, on your device. You can sign up here.

Frequently asked questions

Can someone forward my email without me knowing?

Yes, if they have had access to your account. Forwarding and filters are ordinary settings, and once they are saved, mail keeps flowing to the other address. Gmail shows a forwarding notice for the first week after forwarding or a forwarding filter is set up, but that notice goes away after a week.

Does changing my password stop forwarding?

Not on its own. A forwarding address or rule stays in place until you remove it. Change the password, then delete the forwarding and check your filters or rules.

How do I see who my email is being forwarded to?

The forwarding address is shown in the setting itself: the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab in Gmail, Forwarding and IMAP in Outlook.com, and the Forwarding field of your primary mailbox in Yahoo. Filter-based forwarding shows the address in the filter or rule.

Can I check forwarding on my phone?

Do it on a computer. Google's steps for turning forwarding on and off start with "On your computer, open Gmail." Outlook.com and Yahoo give their steps for the web version as well.

What if I find forwarding on a work or school account?

Tell your IT department rather than changing it yourself. On a managed account, an admin may have set it, and if not, they need to know.

Forwarding is the setting that keeps a break-in going after the password is changed. Check it, remove what isn't yours, and if you want a fresh start, Secria Mail is free to try.