HTML Elements

<select>

HTML element · 8 supported, 3 partial, 3 unsupported across 15 clients

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.

Client Support

Client	Category	Engine	Support
Gmail	webmail	Gmail Web	Supported
Gmail Android	mobile	Gmail Mobile	Supported
Gmail iOS	mobile	Gmail Mobile	Partial
Outlook 365	webmail	Outlook Web	Supported
Outlook (New)	desktop	Outlook Web	Unsupported
Outlook Classic	desktop	Microsoft Word	Unsupported
Outlook iOS	mobile	Outlook Mobile	Supported
Outlook Android	mobile	Outlook Mobile	Supported
Apple Mail	desktop	WebKit	Supported
Apple Mail iOS	mobile	WebKit	Partial
Yahoo Mail	webmail	Yahoo	Supported
Samsung Mail	mobile	Samsung	Supported
Thunderbird	desktop	Gecko	Partial
HEY Mail	webmail	WebKit	Unsupported
Superhuman	desktop	Blink	Unknown

Client-by-client behaviour for <select>

Fully supports <select> (8): Gmail, Gmail Android, Outlook 365, Outlook iOS, Outlook Android, Apple Mail, Yahoo Mail, Samsung Mail.

Partial support (3): Gmail iOS, Apple Mail iOS, Thunderbird. Expect rendering quirks unique to each engine — partial support typically means a subset of values, an ignored shorthand, or sanitizer-specific rewrites.

No support (3): Outlook (New), Outlook Classic, HEY Mail. Plan fallbacks for these clients before relying on <select> in production sends.

Behaviour unverified in: Superhuman.

When to use <select> in email

Hosted survey or preferences forms — link to a web page rather than embed.
AMP for Email contexts where dropdowns are explicitly supported (Gmail only).
Future-proofing markup for niche clients that eventually support form rendering.

Rendering behaviour and edge cases

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.

Recommended fallback strategy

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.