If you use a mainstream email provider, it likely catches most of the obviously useless and potentially malicious spam you receive, like scammy prescription drug offers and unsolicited sex tips. But when it comes to the endless promo emails from retailers and newsletters you don’t remember signing up for, you’re mostly on your own. Now a new tool from DoNotPay, a suite of consumer advocacy services, offers a lifeline that will make it easier to unsubscribe from email lists in a privacy-conscious way. It’ll also try to earn you some cash along the way.
To use most subscription management tools, like Unroll.me, you have to grant the service access to your email account, so it can crawl through your messages and embed in your inbox. DoNotPay’s new anti-spam service works differently. All you have to do is forward your spam emails to spam@donotpay.com and a bot will automatically jump through the hoops to unsubscribe you from the mailing list. That way, the service doesn’t need any account access and only sees the emails you want it to deal with.
DoNotPay also takes things a step further. When you forward a piece of spam, its software will check if there is currently a class action settlement against the company or organization that sent you the email—like the Macy’s data breach settlement or Yahoo settlement. If so, you’ll see a flag in the Spam Collector tab of your DoNotPay dashboard. With one click you can instruct DoNotPay to automatically submit to the settlement and claim any compensation you’re eligible for on your behalf. If the claim is successful you’ll get a check or other payment as normal, DoNotPay isn’t involved other than completing your submission for you. Less spam, more money.
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