How to block an email sender
The fastest way to stop emails from a specific sender is to use your email provider's built-in block feature. In Gmail, open the email, click the three dots in the top right, and select "Block [sender]". In Outlook, right-click the email and choose "Junk" then "Block Sender". In Apple Mail, select the email and go to Mail menu > Junk Mail > Add Sender to Junk Mail List. Once blocked, emails from that address go straight to spam and you won't see notifications.
Blocking works best when you know exactly who is sending the unwanted mail — a specific company, person, or service you no longer want to hear from. It does not stop emails from similar addresses or from the same sender using a different email account. If you are getting mail from many variations of an address (like noreply@company.com and support@company.com), you may need to block each one separately, or use a filter instead.
Key Takeaways
- Blocking a sender sends their future emails directly to spam; use this for mail from people or companies you recognize and want to stop hearing from.
- Filters let you automatically sort, delete, or redirect emails based on keywords, sender domain, or subject line, and work better for spam patterns than for individual senders.
- Unsubscribe links at the bottom of marketing emails remove you from legitimate mailing lists and are faster than blocking if the sender honors the request.
- Gmail's "Report phishing" and Outlook's "Report as junk" options teach your provider's spam filter to catch similar mail in the future.
- Blocking and filtering happen on your email provider's servers, so they work across all your devices without extra setup.
When to unsubscribe instead of blocking
Marketing emails from real companies — newsletters, promotional offers, shipping notifications — usually include an "Unsubscribe" link at the very bottom of the message. Clicking it removes you from that mailing list. This is faster and more reliable than blocking if the sender is legitimate, because unsubscribe actually tells the company's system to stop sending to you, whereas blocking only hides their mail from your inbox.
Unsubscribe works best for mail you signed up for at some point but no longer want. If you bought something from a retailer and now receive weekly sale emails, unsubscribe. If you registered for a service and get notifications you don't need, unsubscribe. The sender is required by law in most countries to honor unsubscribe requests within a few days, though some take longer. If an email has no unsubscribe link, or you unsubscribe and keep receiving mail from that sender, then blocking is the right next step.
Using filters to catch patterns of unwanted mail
Filters let you automatically sort, delete, or redirect emails based on patterns rather than a single sender. In Gmail, open an email matching the pattern you want to filter, click the three dots, and select "Filter messages like this". You can then choose to delete them, send them to a label, or mark them as spam. In Outlook, right-click an email, select "Junk" then "Junk Email Options", and add the sender's domain (the part after the @) to the blocked senders list. In Apple Mail, go to Mail menu > Preferences > Rules and create a rule that matches keywords or sender domains.
Filters are more powerful than blocking when you are dealing with many similar emails. If you receive spam from addresses like promotions@randomsite1.com, promotions@randomsite2.com, and promotions@randomsite3.com, you can create a filter that catches any email with "promotions" in the sender address. You can also filter by subject line keywords — for example, catch all emails with "Congratulations! You've won" in the subject. Filters run automatically on incoming mail and on mail already in your inbox, so you can clean up old unwanted messages at the same time.
Reporting phishing and scam emails
If an email looks like it is pretending to be from your bank, a payment service, or a company you use, but something feels off, report it as phishing rather than just blocking it. In Gmail, click the three dots and select "Report phishing". In Outlook, click the "Junk" button and choose "Phishing". In Apple Mail, forward the email to Apple at reportphishing@apple.com. Reporting teaches your email provider's spam filter to catch similar-looking emails before they reach other users.
Phishing emails often use sender addresses that look almost like the real company — for example, "support@bankofamerica-secure.com" instead of the real domain. They may ask you to click a link and enter your password, confirm your account details, or download an attachment. Do not click links or download files from emails you are not sure about. If you think an email is fake, report it first, then contact the company directly using a phone number or website you know is real, not one from the email itself.
Managing blocked senders and filters
In Gmail, you can see your blocked senders by going to Settings > Filters and Blocked Addresses > Blocked addresses. You can unblock someone by clicking the unblock button next to their name. Your filters appear in the same settings area under "Filters and Blocked Addresses" at the top. In Outlook, go to Settings > Mail > Junk email to see your blocked senders list and blocked domains list. In Apple Mail, go to Mail > Preferences > Junk Mail to see which addresses and domains are blocked.
Review your blocked list occasionally, especially if you blocked someone by mistake or if your situation has changed. For example, if you blocked a company's customer service email because you were frustrated, but now you want to hear from them again, unblocking takes one click. Filters are worth reviewing too — if you created a filter to catch emails with a certain keyword and that keyword now appears in mail you want to keep, you can edit or delete the filter.
Why blocking does not catch all spam
Spammers and scammers often use new email addresses for each campaign, so blocking one address stops only that one sender. A spammer might send from "offer@site1.com" today and "deal@site2.com" tomorrow. Blocking the first address will not catch the second. This is why filters based on keywords or patterns are more effective against high-volume spam — they catch mail with the same message or subject line even if the sender address changes.
Your email provider's spam filter also works behind the scenes, learning from emails you report as junk and from patterns it sees across millions of users. The more you report spam and phishing, the better your provider's filter gets at catching similar mail automatically. Most legitimate spam never reaches your inbox because the provider's filter catches it first. If spam is getting through, check your spam folder occasionally to make sure important mail is not being filtered by mistake, and report the spam you do see.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I block an entire domain instead of one email address?
Gmail and Apple Mail do not have a direct "block domain" feature, but you can create a filter that catches any sender from that domain. In Gmail, use "Filter messages like this" and set the "From" field to "@domain.com". In Outlook, you can add a domain directly to your blocked senders list in Junk Email Options. This catches all addresses from that domain, even new ones.
What happens to emails after I block someone?
Blocked emails go to your spam or junk folder automatically. You will not see them in your inbox or get notifications. You can still view them in your spam folder if you need to, but most people never check. The sender does not know they have been blocked — the email is sent normally, but your email provider diverts it.
If I block someone, can they tell I blocked them?
No. Blocking is invisible to the sender. Their email goes to your spam folder, but they receive no notification or bounce-back message. From their perspective, the email was sent successfully. If they are trying to reach you and you have blocked them, they will not know why you are not responding.
Can I block emails by subject line?
Yes, using a filter. In Gmail, create a filter and set the "Subject" field to the phrase you want to catch. In Outlook and Apple Mail, you can create rules based on subject keywords. This is useful if you are receiving many emails with the same subject line, like "Claim your prize" or "Urgent action required".
Does blocking on my phone also block on my computer?
Yes. Blocking and filters happen on your email provider's servers, not on your device. When you block someone in Gmail on your phone, that block applies to Gmail on your computer, tablet, and anywhere else you check that account. The same is true for Outlook and Apple Mail accounts.