Blocking a person on Gmail stops their messages from reaching your inbox

When you block someone on Gmail, their emails go straight to spam and you won't see notifications for them. You can block a person from an open email in seconds — Gmail doesn't require you to know their exact address or set up complicated rules. The blocked person can still send you messages, but they'll land in your spam folder where you won't see them unless you look.

Blocking is different from unsubscribing. Unsubscribe removes you from a mailing list. Blocking stops one specific person from reaching you, even if they send from multiple addresses. You can unblock someone later if you change your mind.

Key Takeaways

  • Open any email from the person you want to block, click the three-dot menu, and select "Block [sender name]" — the whole process takes about five seconds.
  • Blocked emails go to spam automatically, so you won't see them in your inbox or get notifications.
  • Blocking only affects that one sender address, so if someone blocks you and then emails from a different address, those messages won't be blocked.
  • You can unblock someone at any time by going to Settings, finding their name in the blocked addresses list, and clicking "Unblock".
  • Blocking does not delete old emails from that person — those stay in your inbox unless you delete them yourself.

How to block someone from an open email

The fastest way to block someone is to open one of their emails and use the menu at the top right. Look for the three vertical dots (called the "more" menu) next to the back arrow. Click it and you'll see "Block [sender's name]" as one of the options. Click that option and Gmail will confirm the block is active.

After you block them, Gmail will ask if you also want to delete all their previous emails. You don't have to — you can keep old emails from that person in your inbox if you need them for reference. Only delete them if you're sure you won't need to look back at what they sent.

How to block someone if you don't have an email from them yet

If you want to block someone before they've emailed you, or if you've already deleted their emails, you can add them to your blocked list through Settings. Click the gear icon in the top right corner of Gmail and select "See all settings." Go to the "Filters and Blocked Addresses" tab.

Scroll to the bottom of that page and you'll see a section that says "Blocked addresses." Type the email address you want to block and click "Block." Gmail will add them to your list immediately. Any future emails from that address will go to spam.

What happens after you block someone

Once you block a person, their emails arrive in your spam folder instead of your inbox. You won't get a notification when they send you something. If you go looking in your spam folder, you'll see their messages there, but Gmail won't alert you to them.

The blocked person doesn't get a notification that you've blocked them. They can still send emails — they just won't know whether you're reading them. If they ask you why you're not responding, they won't have technical proof that you blocked them, though they may suspect it.

How to unblock someone

If you change your mind about blocking someone, you can unblock them through Settings. Click the gear icon and select "See all settings," then go to "Filters and Blocked Addresses." Scroll down to the blocked addresses section and find the person's name or email address.

Click "Unblock" next to their name. Gmail will remove them from your blocked list immediately. Their future emails will go to your inbox normally, and you'll get notifications for them again. This doesn't restore old emails they sent while they were blocked — those stay in spam unless you move them back to your inbox manually.

Blocking doesn't work across multiple email addresses

Gmail blocks one email address at a time. If someone sends you emails from work.email@company.com and you block that address, they can still reach you from personal.email@gmail.com. You would need to block each address separately.

This matters if you're dealing with someone who has access to multiple email accounts. If blocking one address doesn't stop the unwanted messages, check the spam folder to see what address the new emails are coming from, then block that one too.

When to block versus when to use other filters

Blocking is the right choice when you want to stop seeing emails from one specific person completely. Use it for harassment, unwanted contact, or someone you simply don't want to hear from anymore.

If you want to keep getting emails from someone but organize them differently — like sending all emails from your manager to a folder, or marking newsletters as read automatically — use Gmail's filter feature instead. Filters let you sort, label, or auto-delete messages based on rules you set. Blocking is simpler but more absolute: it stops the person from reaching you at all.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the person I blocked see that I blocked them?

No. The blocked person won't get a notification or message saying you blocked them. Their emails will send normally from their perspective — they won't see an error message. They may eventually realize you're not responding, but Gmail doesn't tell them why.

Will blocking delete all their old emails?

No. Blocking only affects new emails going forward. Old emails from that person stay in your inbox unless you delete them yourself. Gmail asks if you want to delete them when you first block someone, but you can say no and keep them.

What if someone blocks me — will I know?

You won't get a notification that someone blocked you. Your emails will send normally, but they won't see them. You might notice they're not responding, but there's no way to confirm they blocked you through Gmail.

Can I block an entire domain instead of one person?

Gmail's block feature works on individual email addresses only. If you want to block everyone from a company domain like @spamcompany.com, you need to use the filter feature instead. Create a filter that matches the domain and sends those emails to spam automatically.

If I unblock someone, will their old emails come back to my inbox?

No. Unblocking only stops new emails from going to spam. Old emails that landed in spam while they were blocked stay in your spam folder. You can move them back to your inbox manually if you want to see them again.