Blocking someone on Gmail stops their messages from reaching your inbox

When you block a contact in Gmail, their emails go straight to spam and you won't see notifications for them. You can block someone in seconds from any email they've sent you, and you can unblock them later if you change your mind. Blocking is different from unsubscribing — it works on individual people, not mailing lists.

Gmail doesn't notify the person you've blocked. They won't know their messages are being filtered away. If they email you from a different address, that message will come through normally unless you block that address too.

Key Takeaways

  • Open any email from the person you want to block, click the three-dot menu, and select "Block [name]" to send all their future messages to spam.
  • Blocked messages still exist in your spam folder — Gmail doesn't delete them, so you can review them if needed.
  • Blocking only works for the specific email address you block; if someone emails you from a different account, you'll need to block that address separately.
  • You can unblock anyone at any time by going to Settings, opening the Blocked and unsubscribed addresses tab, and clicking Unblock next to their name.
  • If someone is harassing you across multiple accounts, blocking each address individually is faster than reporting to Gmail.

How to block someone from an email they sent you

Open Gmail and find any email from the person you want to block. Click the three-dot menu icon in the top right of the email. A dropdown menu will appear with several options. Select "Block [person's name]" — the exact wording depends on whether Gmail recognizes the sender's name.

A confirmation message will appear asking if you're sure. Click "Block" again to confirm. From that moment on, all emails from that address go directly to your spam folder, and you won't receive notifications for them.

If you don't see the three-dot menu, make sure you're viewing the full email, not just the preview. Click on the email subject line to open it fully, then look for the menu in the top right corner.

What happens to messages after you block someone

Blocked emails don't disappear — they move to your spam folder. You can still read them if you go to Spam and search for that person's address. This is useful if you block someone by mistake or if you need to review what they sent before you blocked them.

Gmail keeps blocked messages in spam for 30 days by default, then deletes them automatically. If you want to delete them sooner, you can open the spam folder, find their emails, and delete them manually.

Blocking someone who hasn't emailed you yet

If you want to block someone before they email you, you'll need to use Gmail Settings instead of the quick block option. Go to Settings (the gear icon in the top right), then click "See all settings." Open the "Filters and Blocked Addresses" tab.

Scroll to the bottom and click "Create a new filter." Type the person's email address in the "From" field. Click "Create filter" at the bottom right. A new window will open — check the box next to "Delete it" or "Skip the inbox (Archive it)" depending on whether you want the messages deleted or sent to spam. Click "Create filter" to finish.

This method is more work than blocking from an existing email, but it's the only way to block someone proactively.

Unblocking someone if you change your mind

Go to Settings and click "See all settings." Open the "Filters and Blocked Addresses" tab. Scroll down to the section labeled "Blocked addresses." You'll see a list of everyone you've blocked. Find the person you want to unblock and click the "Unblock" button next to their name.

Once you unblock them, their future emails will go to your inbox normally again. Unblocking doesn't restore old messages they sent before you blocked them — those stay in spam unless you move them manually.

Blocking multiple addresses from the same person

If someone is contacting you from several different email addresses, you'll need to block each one separately. There's no way to block all addresses from a single person at once. Open an email from each address and use the three-dot menu to block it individually.

If the person keeps creating new addresses to contact you, consider reporting the behavior to Gmail instead. Go to the email, click the three-dot menu, and select "Report phishing" or "Report spam." This tells Gmail's abuse team about the pattern, and they may take action on the account.

When blocking isn't enough

Blocking works well for unwanted contacts, but it has limits. Someone can still see your Gmail address in their contacts or in forwarded emails. If you're dealing with harassment or threats, blocking is a first step, but you may also want to report the behavior to Gmail or to law enforcement.

If someone is impersonating you or using a fake account to contact you, report it to Gmail's abuse team instead of just blocking. Go to the email, click the three-dot menu, and select "Report phishing." Include details about why you think the account is fake or impersonating you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can someone tell if I've blocked them?

No. Gmail doesn't notify people when they're blocked. If they try to email you, the message will go to spam, but they won't receive a bounce-back or rejection notice. They may eventually realize you're not responding, but Gmail keeps the block invisible.

What's the difference between blocking and unsubscribing?

Unsubscribing removes you from a mailing list — it works on bulk emails from organizations. Blocking works on individual people and stops all their messages. If you block someone, unsubscribe links in their emails won't matter because the messages go to spam anyway.

If I block someone, can they still see emails I sent them before?

Yes. Blocking only affects future emails from them. Emails you already sent are still in their inbox. Blocking doesn't erase your message history with them, it just stops new messages from reaching you.

Can I block an entire domain, like all emails from a company?

Not directly through the block feature. You can create a filter for emails from a specific domain by going to Settings, opening Filters and Blocked Addresses, and typing the domain (like @company.com) in the "From" field. Then set the filter to delete or archive those emails.

What if I blocked someone and they're now emailing me from a different address?

You'll see their new emails normally unless you block that address too. Blocking is tied to the specific email address, not to the person. You'll need to block each address separately if the same person contacts you from multiple accounts.