# Unknown Inbox identity triage and Outbox > Match unrecognized email and messaging senders to CRM leads, and use the read-only Outbox to investigate outbound activity safely. Canonical: https://help.spacebrain.ai/inbox/identity-triage-and-outbox/ ## What the Unknown Inbox is for Open `/dashboard/inbox/unknown` to review inbound senders Spacebrain has not yet matched to a CRM lead. This is an identity-triage queue, not another view of every unread conversation. * An unknown **Email** item represents an inbound message whose sender email has not been matched to a lead. * An unknown **WhatsApp**, **Messenger**, **Instagram**, or **SMS** item represents a sender whose channel identity—such as a phone number or provider handle—is not attached to a lead. The main Inbox shows an **Unrecognized** button when pending unknown email and messaging items exist. The count combines pending email with pending items from the messaging channels returned for the active workspace. ## Understand the channel tabs **Email** is always present. Messaging tabs appear only when the current screen can confirm the corresponding resource: * **WhatsApp** appears for a connected WhatsApp account. * **Messenger** and **Instagram** appear when the Meta connection is active. * **SMS** appears when the workspace has at least one phone number. Each visible tab can display its own pending count. A missing tab is not a reason to create a replacement customer record: first confirm the active workspace and the connection under [Inbox channels](/inbox/channels/). ## Read the triage statuses The default filter is **Pending**. Both email and messaging tabs also provide **Assigned**, **Ignored**, and **All** views. * **Pending:** no triage action has completed yet. Messaging rows expose their create, assign, and ignore menu only in this view. Email rows show their review shortcut while Pending. * **Assigned:** the item has been associated with a lead, either by creating one or selecting an existing lead. * **Ignored:** the item has been marked as ignored; the email action is labeled **Ignore (Spam)**. * **All:** includes every status available on that channel. Status changes move rows out of the Pending view, so use Assigned or Ignored when checking what happened to an item. These views are paginated; an item can be on a later page. ## Triage an unknown email 1. Select **Email** and use **Search sender or subject** when the queue is large. Changing the search returns to the first page. 2. Choose the appropriate status filter, then open the row. **View Email** expands a sanitized preview of the message body. 3. Confirm the full sender email, displayed name, subject, time, and message context before changing identity. 4. Choose one of the following outcomes: * **Create Lead & Assign Email:** review the prefilled first name, last name, and company. The new lead's email is fixed to the inbound sender address shown in the dialog. * **Assign to Existing Lead:** search by name, email, or company. The search starts with the sender email, but it does not assign anything until you run the search and choose a result. * **Ignore (Spam):** use only when the item should not become part of a lead's Inbox history. Company is only a suggested value. For non-consumer email domains, the screen derives it from the domain name; common Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, Outlook, and iCloud addresses leave Company blank. Verify the value instead of treating the domain as proof of an employer. ### Existing-email auto-link behavior **Create Lead & Assign Email** does not always create a new record. If a lead with the same sender email already exists in the workspace, Spacebrain links the email to that lead instead and can open the resulting Inbox thread. The confirmation says that an existing lead was used. When that message appears, inspect the existing lead. Do not assume the first name, last name, or company typed into the create form replaced fields on the existing record; the current flow only confirms that the email was attached. In the existing-lead results, choosing a result immediately calls the assignment action; there is no separate confirmation step. Compare the lead's name, email, and company with the inbound message before selecting it. ## Triage a messaging identity The WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, and SMS tabs show the sender's display name when available and the underlying channel identity separately. They also show the latest preview, received time, and status. Unlike the Email tab, these panels do not currently provide a text-search box, so use status filters and pagination. For a Pending row, open the action menu: * **Add as lead:** the dialog splits the display name into a suggested first and last name and leaves Company blank. Review those fields. The dialog shows the exact channel and identity that will be attached to the new lead; the identity remains attached so future messages can route to that lead. * **Assign to existing lead:** search by name, email, or company. The search is initially filled with the display name or channel identity. Choosing a result performs the association immediately. * **Ignore:** marks the sender ignored immediately, without a second confirmation dialog. The display name and the channel identity are different evidence. A provider display name is not enough to prove which lead owns a phone number or handle. Compare the exact identity and message context with the candidate lead before creating or assigning anything. ## Avoid and respond to a wrong association Creating, assigning, and ignoring are consequential actions. The current Unknown Inbox does not expose a dedicated **Undo**, **Restore**, or **Unassign** control, and it does not promise that reopening a processed email reverses the earlier association. If an item may have been assigned or ignored incorrectly: 1. Stop before creating another lead or repeating the action. 2. Confirm the active workspace, channel, exact sender identity, received time, and lead that was selected. 3. Check the **Assigned** or **Ignored** view and inspect the related CRM lead and Inbox thread. 4. Preserve those details and [contact support](/troubleshooting/contact-support/) if the supported correction is not clear. This avoids turning one identity mistake into duplicate leads or split conversation history. For the CRM record model, see [CRM overview](/crm/) and [records and imports](/crm/records-and-imports/). ## Use the read-only Outbox Open `/dashboard/inbox/outbox` to inspect outbound activity returned for the active workspace. Outbox is read-only: the current page has no compose, edit, resend, retry, or delete action. The table displays **Type**, **To**, **Subject / Preview**, and **Sent At**. The Type filter offers: * **All Types** * **Email** * **SMS** * **Call** Outbox starts at 25 rows per page and allows 10, 25, or 50. Changing Type or rows per page returns to page one. Check later pages before concluding that an event is absent. Selecting a row opens its Inbox thread when that outbound item has a `thread_id`. If no thread is linked, selecting the row does not navigate elsewhere. ## Diagnose a possible duplicate send safely Outbox shows recorded outbound activity, but its table does not expose a delivery status. A row is therefore evidence that Spacebrain returned an outbound event, not proof that the recipient received it. 1. Confirm the active workspace and do not send again yet. 2. Filter to Email, SMS, or Call and inspect the recipient, subject or preview, and **Sent At** values across all relevant pages. 3. Open each linked thread and compare the full timeline, content, and timestamps. Refresh the thread if another teammate or automation may still be active. 4. Check the sending provider when delivery or acceptance remains uncertain. Record its message or call identifier and timestamp where available. 5. Review active workflows, sequences, Copilot behavior, and teammate activity that could have produced a second send. 6. Retry only after the available evidence shows the intended action was not already sent and your operating policy authorizes another attempt. Do not use two similar Outbox rows alone to decide which event should be deleted: the page has no deletion or deduplication operation. Continue with [conversations, replies, and handoffs](/inbox/conversations-and-handoffs/) and [communications troubleshooting](/troubleshooting/communications-and-automations/).