I recently opened an email in my Gmail account on my iPhone and I'm a bit worried about the potential risks. The email was from my spam folder and I was just curious about its content. When I opened the email, I briefly saw that there was a JPG attached. Immediately after I opened it, I seemed to be redirected back to my spam folder, which made me wonder if there was a refresh or some kind of issue. I've read that simply opening spam emails isn't dangerous unless you click on links or download attachments. However, I've come across some information suggesting that there can be sophisticated attacks that might affect you just by opening an email. I'm not a public figure or anyone who's likely to be targeted, but I would love to hear your thoughts on any risks I might have exposed myself to.
4 Answers
It really depends on the sophistication of any potential malware. Some can be quite sneaky, but for the average user, just opening an email doesn't usually lead to issues.
It's tough to give you a definitive answer since risk can't be completely ruled out. The safest thing to say is that there's always a small chance of issues like this. If you’re using a newer model like the iPhone 14 Pro with up-to-date iOS, your risk is lower. Devices that haven’t been updated in a while may have more vulnerabilities, so staying current with software is important.
You should be fine! That weird refresh you experienced is often just a glitch when loading the email. Google does a pretty solid job of scanning for malicious content and keeps harmful emails away from you. Usually, the real danger comes from clicking links or downloading attachments. You seem to be aware of the risks, so you're likely doing just fine and avoiding most of what could snag less informed users.
Thanks for the reassurance!
In theory, there is a risk, but in practice, it's usually minimal. Just opening an email doesn't typically execute any harmful code, especially on a secure platform like iOS.
Thanks for the clarification!
I’m running iOS 18.5, so that’s good to know! I appreciate your insight!