The fastest way to block someone in Gmail

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. Gmail will move that sender's future emails to spam automatically.

That is the complete process. Once blocked, you will not see emails from that address in your inbox, and Gmail will not notify you when they arrive. If you change your mind later, you can unblock them from your Gmail settings.

Blocking works on the sender's email address, not their name. If someone uses multiple email addresses, you will need to block each one separately.

Key Takeaways

  • Blocking a sender takes three clicks: open their email, click the three-dot menu, and select Block.
  • Blocked emails go to your spam folder automatically, and you will not receive notifications about them.
  • You can block multiple addresses from the same person if they use different email accounts.
  • Unblocking a sender is done in Settings under Filters and Blocked Addresses, where you can see your full blocked list.

Where blocked emails go and what you can see

When you block someone, their emails do not disappear — they go to your spam folder. You can still read them if you check spam, but Gmail will not show them in your inbox or send you notifications. This is different from deleting: the emails stay in your account, just hidden from your normal view.

If you want to see what a blocked sender has written without unblocking them, open your spam folder and read the message there. You can also permanently delete blocked emails from spam if you do not want to keep them.

Blocking someone who has already sent you many emails

If someone has sent you dozens of emails and you want to block them now, open any email from that sender and use the three-dot menu to block. Gmail will not automatically move their old emails to spam — only new ones. You will need to manually move old emails to spam or delete them yourself.

To clean up old emails from that sender quickly, use Gmail's search. Type from:theiremailaddress@example.com in the search box (replace with their actual address). This shows all emails from them. Select all results, then click delete or move to spam.

How to unblock a sender

Go to Gmail Settings by clicking the gear icon in the top right, then select See all settings. Click the Filters and Blocked Addresses tab. Scroll to the bottom of the page to see your blocked senders list. Find the person you want to unblock and click Unblock next to their name.

Once unblocked, their emails will no longer go to spam automatically. Any emails they sent while blocked will still be in your spam folder, but new emails will arrive in your inbox normally.

Blocking versus filtering: which one to use

Blocking and filtering are two different tools. Blocking sends all emails from someone to spam and stops notifications. Filtering lets you create custom rules — you can send emails to a folder, label them, or delete them automatically, but you can still see them if you look.

Use blocking when you want to ignore someone completely. Use filtering when you want to organize emails from a sender without losing them entirely. For example, you might filter emails from a mailing list into a folder so they do not clutter your inbox, but you can still read them later.

Blocking email addresses that look similar to real ones

Scammers sometimes use email addresses that look almost like legitimate ones — for example, support@gmai1.com instead of support@gmail.com (with the number 1 instead of the letter l). Block each fake address separately. Gmail does not automatically block similar-looking addresses, so you may need to block multiple variations.

If you receive many emails from addresses that look like they are pretending to be from a company, report them as phishing instead of just blocking. Click the three-dot menu and select Report phishing. This helps Gmail identify scam patterns and protect other users.

What happens if a blocked sender emails you from a group

If you block someone and they send an email to a group you are part of (like a team project or mailing list), you will still receive that email. Blocking only affects emails sent directly to you. Group emails bypass the block because they are technically sent to the group address, not to you personally.

If you want to stop seeing group emails from a specific person, use filtering instead. Create a filter that labels or deletes emails from that sender, even if they are part of a group thread.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a blocked sender tell that I blocked them?

No. A blocked sender will not receive any notification that you blocked them. Their emails will go to spam on your end, but they will not know why their messages are not getting responses.

If I block someone, can they still see my emails?

Blocking only affects what you see in your inbox. If they email you, the block prevents you from seeing it. If you have already sent them emails, they can still read those. Blocking is one-way.

Does blocking someone in Gmail block them on other Google services?

No. Blocking in Gmail only affects Gmail. If you want to block someone on YouTube, Google Meet, or other Google services, you need to block them separately in each service.

What if I block someone by mistake?

Go to Settings, click Filters and Blocked Addresses, find their name in the blocked list, and click Unblock. They will be unblocked when ready and their emails will go to your inbox again.

Can I block an entire domain instead of just one email address?

Gmail does not have a built-in block-by-domain feature. You can block individual addresses, but if someone uses multiple addresses from the same company domain, you will need to block each one. Use filtering if you want to handle all emails from a domain at once.