How to Stop Medium Emails
Medium email lands in two distinct buckets, and separating them is the key to a quiet inbox:
- Medium's own emails — the Daily Digest, "recommended for you," social activity (claps, follows, responses), and Medium news. All controlled in one settings page.
- Newsletters from writers and publications — each is a separate subscription you picked up by following someone or subscribing to their letter, and each has to be unsubscribed on its own.
Turning off the first bucket won't stop the second, which is why people often think Medium "won't stop emailing."
The two sources of Medium email
The first source is your account notification settings, where Medium's platform emails — digests, recommendations, and social notifications — each have an email toggle. The second is the pile of individual newsletters you've accumulated: subscribing to a writer's letter, or in some cases just following a publication, adds a standalone email subscription that Medium's main settings don't govern. To fully quiet things down you need to handle both. Start with the settings page, then work through the newsletters using the unsubscribe link in each.
Turn off Medium's own emails
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Open your settings
Sign in at
medium.com, click your profile picture in the top-right, and choose Settings. In the app, open your profile and tap Settings. -
Go to Notifications or Emails
Look for the Notifications tab, then the Email subsection (some versions label it Emails outright). This is where Medium's platform categories live.
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Switch off each category
Turn off the Daily Digest, recommended stories, "from your network," responses and claps, and Medium news. Toggle off everything you don't want; changes save as you go.
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Review the letters/newsletters list
The same settings area often has a list of newsletters or letters you're subscribed to. Unsubscribe from any you don't recognize right here.
Unsubscribe from writer and publication newsletters
For each newsletter you still receive, open one of its emails and click the Unsubscribe link in the footer — this removes that single subscription instantly, no login required. If you'd rather manage them in bulk, the newsletters/letters list inside your Medium email settings shows what you're signed up for and lets you unsubscribe from each. Work through the list once and the recurring writer emails stop.
What you can't turn off
A handful of emails are essential and have no off switch:
- Sign-in and security — magic sign-in links, password changes, and new-device alerts.
- Account and membership — email-address changes, plus membership and billing receipts if you're a paying member.
- Legal and policy notices — required updates to terms or privacy policy.
These arrive only when you take an action or a charge occurs, so they're rare. Ending them entirely means canceling membership and deleting the account.
Filter fallback for stragglers
If something slips through, block it at the inbox. Create a filter in Gmail, Outlook, or Apple Mail that matches Medium's sending address (or a specific newsletter's) and routes it to a folder or Trash. That guarantees quiet regardless of your on-site settings. Our step-by-step filter guide is in how to unsubscribe from emails.
Frequently asked questions
How do I stop the Medium Daily Digest?
Open your email or notification settings from your profile menu, find the Daily Digest row, and switch it off. You can also click Unsubscribe at the bottom of any Digest email to stop that mailing immediately without opening settings.
Why am I still getting emails from a Medium newsletter I never signed up for?
Following a writer or publication, or reading a member newsletter, can subscribe you to their emails separately from Medium's own digests. Each newsletter is its own subscription, so use the Unsubscribe link in that specific email or manage it under your email settings' letters and publications list.
How do I turn off all Medium emails at once?
In Settings, open the Notifications or Emails section and switch off every category — digest, recommendations, social activity, and Medium news. Newsletters from individual writers are separate, so unsubscribe from each one using the link in its emails.
Can I stop Medium emails without logging in?
Yes. Every Medium email includes an unsubscribe link at the bottom that stops that mailing without signing in. For a full clear-out, the notification settings page is more thorough because it covers all of Medium's own categories in one place.
Which Medium emails can't be turned off?
Account and security emails — sign-in links, password or email changes, membership and billing receipts, and legal notices — cannot be disabled. Only digests, recommendations, and social notifications are optional.