HTML element · data last changed 10 Nov 2026
<select> in email clients
Works in 14 of 21. Not supported in Outlook Classic, Yahoo Mail iOS and HEY Mail. Partial in Gmail iOS, Apple Mail iOS and Thunderbird. Untested in Superhuman.
Your reader in Outlook Classic sees the email without <select>, even if it looks right where you tested it.
caniemail (MIT) via @emailens/engine 0.18.22
What to do instead in Outlook Classic
Replace any <select> with a CTA button that links to a hosted form. Render the available options as a styled list inside the email so recipients know what to expect on the destination page.
There is no drop-in fix for <select> in Outlook Classic. Design so the email still reads without it.
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<select> is not among the 24 features we have screenshotted on real installs. The ones we have →
All 21 clients, problems first
| Client | Support |
|---|---|
| Outlook Classic | Not supported |
| Yahoo Mail iOS | Not supported |
| HEY Mail | Not supported |
| Gmail iOS | Partial See caveat 1 |
| Apple Mail iOS | Partial See caveat 1 |
| Thunderbird | Partial See caveat 2 |
| Superhuman | Untested |
Works in 14: Gmail, Gmail Android, Outlook 365 and 11 more. Show all
| Client | Support |
|---|---|
| Gmail | Works |
| Gmail Android | Works |
| Outlook 365 | Works |
| Outlook (New) | Works |
| Outlook iOS | Works |
| Outlook Android | Works |
| Outlook for Mac | Works |
| Apple Mail | Works |
| Yahoo Mail | Works |
| Yahoo Mail Android | Works |
| Samsung Mail | Works |
| Proton Mail | Works |
| AOL Mail | Works |
| Fastmail | Works |
Caveats (2)
- 1. Gmail iOS, Apple Mail iOS: Buggy. Works if the email is shorter than the viewport. Otherwise the screen goes blank when the
<select>is in focus. - 2. Thunderbird: Buggy. Interacting with the element submits the form it belongs in.
Caveats as recorded by caniemail (MIT), one entry per wording.
How <select> behaves
The <select> element renders a dropdown menu. Every major email client strips <select> for security reasons, since interactive form controls in email are a known phishing vector. Linking out to a hosted form is the only reliable pattern.
- Outlook, Gmail, Yahoo, and Apple Mail all strip <select> elements.
- AMP for Email provides limited form support but does not render native <select> reliably.
- Designs that depend on dropdown selection within the email itself will fail in production.
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