What Smart Addresses in Mac Mail are and how to use them

This tutorial explains how to use the Smart Address feature in the Mac Mail app to display only the recipient’s name instead of their full name and email address.

Illustration showing how the Mail app To field appears with Smart Addresses turned off and also turned on

If you’re new to the Mail app on Mac, or are a veteran user and simply haven’t noticed, there’s a useful feature called Smart Addresses. As mentioned, Smart Addresses will display the name of your email recipient instead of their name and email address combination. This convenient feature makes it easier to recognize and select your recipients, and when you are emailing a large group, you can clearly see all recipients by just their names.

Now that we’ve explained what Smart Addresses in the Mail app are, we’ll show you how to use them.

Enable Smart Addresses in the Mail app on Mac

  1. Open the Mail app on your Mac and click Mail > Settings or Preferences in the top menu bar.
  2. Go to the Viewing tab.
  3. Check the box for Use Smart Addresses.
Enable Use Smart Addresses in Mac Mail app settings

Now, you’ll notice that when you add recipients to your email, only their names will display rather than their name and email address.

Smart Addresses Disabled and Enabled Send

Use Smart Addresses in Mail on Mac

If you want to make sure you’ve chosen the correct email address for a recipient, if they have more than one, click the arrow next to the Smart Address.

Expand Mail Smart Address

Smart Addresses are used not only for emails you send but also for those that you receive in your inbox. So, rather than see the sender’s email addresses and full name, you’ll just see their name.

Smart Addresses Disabled and Enabled Receive

And just like when you send an email, you can click the arrow next to the Smart Address to see their email address and take further action.

Expand Mail Smart Address Received

The Smart Address feature is just one of those little Mail settings that can declutter the To line when creating emails and make recipients easier to spot when receiving them.

What do you think of Smart Addresses in the Mail app? Is this a feature you plan to use? Let us know!

Next, check out: How to use Smart Mailboxes in Mail on Mac