Block a sender in Gmail in three steps

Open the email from the person you want to block. Click the three dots (more actions menu) in the top right of the email. Select Block "[sender's name]" from the dropdown menu. Gmail will move that sender's future emails to spam automatically.

Once blocked, emails from that address go straight to your spam folder. You can unblock the sender later if you change your mind — the option appears in the same three-dot menu, but only when you have an email from them open.

If you want to block someone but have already deleted their email, you can search for their address in the search bar, open any email from them, and follow the same steps.

Key Takeaways

  • Blocking a sender in Gmail takes three clicks: open their email, click the three-dot menu, and select block.
  • Blocked senders' emails go to spam automatically, but you can still see them if you check your spam folder.
  • You can unblock a sender anytime by opening an email from them and clicking the three-dot menu again.
  • Blocking works on the email address itself, so if someone uses a different address, you will need to block that one separately.
  • Gmail's block feature is different from unsubscribing — blocking stops all mail from that address, while unsubscribing only removes you from mailing lists.

What happens when you block someone

When you block a sender, Gmail sends their emails to your spam folder instead of your inbox. The blocked sender does not get a notification that you blocked them — they will not know unless they check whether their emails are reaching you.

You can still see emails from blocked senders if you open your spam folder and look for them. Blocking does not delete old emails from that sender; it only affects new messages going forward. If you want to delete old emails from someone you just blocked, you can search for their address and delete those messages separately.

Block a sender on mobile (iPhone or Android)

Open the Gmail app on your phone. Find an email from the sender you want to block and swipe left on it (iPhone) or long-press it (Android). Tap the trash or delete icon, then tap the three dots that appear. Select Block sender from the menu.

On some Android phones, you may see the block option directly in the swipe menu without needing to tap additional buttons. The exact steps vary slightly depending on your phone model and Gmail app version, but the three-dot menu always contains the block option if the swipe menu does not.

Unblock a sender if you change your mind

To unblock someone, you need to open an email from them. Search for their email address in the Gmail search bar. If they have sent you emails since you blocked them, they will appear in the search results (in your spam folder). Open one of their emails.

Click the three-dot menu and select Unblock "[sender's name]". Their future emails will no longer go to spam. If you have not received any emails from them since blocking, you cannot unblock them through the email interface — you would need to use Gmail settings instead, though this is rarely necessary.

Use Gmail filters for more control

Blocking a sender is the fastest way to stop their emails, but Gmail filters give you more options. Instead of sending emails to spam, you can automatically delete them, label them, or send them to a specific folder. You can also create filters based on subject lines or keywords, not just the sender's address.

To create a filter, open an email from the sender and click the three-dot menu. Select Filter messages like this. Gmail will show you what the filter will match (usually the sender's address). Click Create filter and choose what to do with matching emails — delete, archive, label, or mark as spam. This approach works well if you want to keep the emails organized rather than hidden in spam.

Block multiple senders at once

Gmail does not have a built-in way to block multiple senders in one action. You must block each sender individually by opening their email and using the three-dot menu. If you receive many unwanted emails from different addresses, blocking each one takes a few minutes but is straightforward.

For a faster approach with many senders, consider creating a filter instead. You can set up a filter that catches emails with certain keywords or from a domain (like all emails from @spamcompany.com) and sends them to spam or deletes them automatically. This works better than blocking if the unwanted emails come from many different addresses within the same organization.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a blocked sender see that I blocked them?

No. Gmail does not notify blocked senders, and they have no way to know you blocked them unless they contact you through another method and you tell them. Their emails will appear to send normally on their end — they will not receive a bounce-back or error message.

Will blocking delete old emails from that sender?

No. Blocking only affects new emails going forward. Old emails from the blocked sender stay in your inbox or wherever they are. If you want to remove them, you can search for their address and delete those messages separately.

What is the difference between blocking and unsubscribing?

Unsubscribing removes you from a mailing list, but the sender can still email you individually. Blocking stops all emails from that address. Use unsubscribe for newsletters you no longer want; use block for senders you do not want to hear from at all.

If someone uses a different email address, do I need to block that too?

Yes. Blocking works on the specific email address, not the person. If someone emails you from multiple addresses, you will need to block each address separately. This is why blocking works better for stopping one persistent sender than for dealing with spam from many different addresses.

Can I block an entire domain or company?

Gmail's block feature works only on individual email addresses. To block all emails from a domain (like @unwantedcompany.com), create a filter instead. Open an email from that domain, select Filter messages like this, and modify the filter to match the domain. Then set it to delete or spam all matching emails.