Block a sender in the email you're reading

The fastest way to block someone is to open their email and use the block button built into your email program. In Gmail, open the message, click the three dots in the top right, and select "Block [sender's name]". In Outlook, click the three dots, choose "Junk", then "Block Sender". In Apple Mail, click the sender's name at the top of the email, then select "Block This Contact".

Once you block a sender, their future emails go straight to your spam or junk folder — you won't see them in your inbox. The sender doesn't get a notification that you blocked them. If you change your mind later, you can unblock them through your email settings.

Key Takeaways

  • Every major email program has a block button in the message itself — usually a three-dot menu or the sender's name.
  • Blocked emails go to spam or junk, not deleted, so you can review them later if needed.
  • Blocking one email address does not block similar addresses from the same sender, so watch for variations like firstname.lastname@company.com versus firstnamelastname@company.com.
  • If someone is harassing you across multiple accounts, blocking individual addresses is a temporary fix — report the behavior to your email provider instead.

Find and unblock a sender you blocked by mistake

If you blocked someone and want to restore their emails, the steps depend on which program you use. In Gmail, go to Settings, click the "Filters and Blocked Addresses" tab, find the person's name in the blocked list, and click "Unblock". In Outlook, go to Settings, select "Mail", then "Junk Email", find "Blocked Senders", and remove the address. In Apple Mail, go to Mail menu, select "Preferences", click "Junk Mail", and uncheck the sender's name.

After you unblock someone, their old emails that went to spam will stay there — unblocking doesn't move them back to your inbox. You can manually move them if you need them. New emails from that sender will arrive in your inbox normally.

Block a sender without opening their email

You don't have to read a message to block it. In Gmail, right-click the email in your inbox list and select "Block [sender's name]" from the menu. In Outlook, right-click the message, hover over "Junk", and click "Block Sender". In Apple Mail, right-click the email and select "Block This Contact".

This method is useful when you're scanning your inbox and see a sender you recognize as spam or unwanted. You can block them in one click without reading what they sent.

Block email addresses that look similar to ones you trust

Scammers sometimes create email addresses that look almost identical to legitimate ones — for example, using the number zero instead of the letter O, or adding an extra letter. Blocking the fake address protects you, but you need to be careful not to block the real sender by mistake.

Before you block, check the full email address carefully. Hover over the sender's name to see the complete address. If you're unsure whether an email is real, don't open links or attachments — instead, go directly to the company's website (type the address yourself, don't click a link) and contact them through their official channels. Once you're certain it's fake, block it using the steps above.

What happens when you block someone

Blocking sends all future emails from that address to your spam or junk folder. You can still see them if you check that folder, but they won't clutter your inbox. The sender has no way to know they're blocked — their emails appear to send normally on their end.

One important limit: blocking works on the exact email address you block. If someone sends you mail from firstname@company.com and you block it, they can still reach you from firstname.lastname@company.com or any other variation. If the same person keeps contacting you from different addresses, blocking individual addresses becomes tedious. In that case, report the behavior to your email provider — Gmail, Outlook, and Apple all have abuse reporting tools that can take action against patterns of harassment.

Use rules and filters for more control

If you want to block emails but keep them in a folder you can review later, or if you want to block entire domains (like all emails from @spammydomain.com), you can create a filter or rule instead of using the block button. In Gmail, go to Settings, click "Filters and Blocked Addresses", and create a new filter with the sender's address or domain. In Outlook, go to Settings, select "Mail", then "Rules", and add a rule to move emails from that sender to a folder. In Apple Mail, go to Mail menu, select "Preferences", click "Rules", and create a rule to move messages to a specific folder.

Filters give you more options than blocking — you can send emails to a specific folder, delete them automatically, or flag them for review. This is useful if you want to keep a record of unwanted emails without seeing them in your inbox.

Report spam and phishing instead of just blocking

If an email looks like a scam, phishing attempt, or harassment, reporting it to your email provider is more effective than blocking alone. Reporting helps the provider identify patterns and protect other users. In Gmail, open the email and click the three dots, then select "Report phishing" or "Report spam". In Outlook, click the three dots and choose "Report" then "Phishing" or "Junk". In Apple Mail, click "Report Junk" in the toolbar.

When you report an email, your provider reviews it and may take action against the sender's account. This is especially important for phishing emails that try to steal passwords or financial information. Blocking only protects you; reporting helps protect everyone.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the person I blocked tell that I blocked them?

No. Their emails appear to send normally from their perspective. They won't receive a notification or bounce-back message. The only way they'd know is if they contact you through another method and you tell them.

If I block someone, can they still see my emails if they have them saved?

Yes. Blocking only affects new emails going forward. Any emails they already received from you remain in their inbox. Blocking is one-way — it only stops their messages from reaching you.

What's the difference between blocking and unsubscribing?

Unsubscribing removes you from a mailing list, usually for newsletters or marketing emails. Blocking stops all emails from a specific address. Use unsubscribe for legitimate mailing lists you no longer want; use block for unwanted senders or spam.

Can I block an entire company or domain?

The block button blocks one email address at a time. To block all emails from a domain like @spammydomain.com, create a filter or rule instead. This catches emails from any address at that domain.

If I block someone and they create a new email address, will they be blocked too?

No. Each email address is separate. You'd have to block the new address individually. If someone repeatedly contacts you from new addresses after you've asked them to stop, report the pattern to your email provider rather than blocking each address one by one.