Gmail blocks unwanted senders through filters, not a blacklist
Gmail does not have a feature called a blacklist, but it does something more useful: it lets you create rules that automatically send emails from specific addresses straight to trash or a folder you choose. You can block a sender in two ways — a quick block that catches that one address, or a filter that catches variations of an address or catches emails with certain words in the subject line.
The quickest route is to open an email from the sender you want to block, click the three dots at the top right of the message, and select "Block [sender's name]". Gmail will then send all future emails from that address to your spam folder. If you want more control — for instance, to catch emails from a sender who uses multiple addresses, or to move emails to a specific folder instead of spam — you will use Gmail's filter feature instead.
Key Takeaways
- The block button is the fastest way to send one sender's emails to spam, and you can undo it later by unblocking them.
- Filters let you catch multiple variations of an address or emails with certain words, and you can send them to trash, spam, or a folder you create.
- You can block an address from the email itself, or create a filter from the Settings menu if you do not have an email from that sender yet.
- Blocked senders can still send you emails — Gmail just hides them in spam, so check spam occasionally to make sure you did not block someone by mistake.
How to block a single sender quickly
Open any email from the sender you want to block. At the top right of the email, you will see three vertical dots. Click them, and a menu will appear with the option "Block [sender's name]". Click that option.
Gmail will move that email and all future emails from that address to your spam folder. The sender will not be notified that you blocked them. If you change your mind later, you can unblock them by going to Settings, clicking the Filters and Blocked Addresses tab, finding the blocked sender in the list, and clicking "Unblock".
How to create a filter for multiple addresses or keywords
If a sender uses multiple email addresses, or if you want to catch emails with certain words in the subject line, use a filter instead of a straightforward block. Click the three dots at the top right of an email from that sender, then select "Filter messages like this". A box will open showing the email address in the "From" field.
You can leave it as is to filter just that address, or you can edit the field to catch variations. For example, if someone sends from both john.smith@company.com and jsmith@company.com, you could change the From field to just @company.com to catch both. You can also add words to the "Subject" field if you want to catch only emails with certain phrases.
Once you have set up the filter the way you want it, scroll down and check the box next to "Delete it" or "Skip the Inbox (Archive it)" or "explore the label" depending on where you want those emails to go. Then click "Create filter". From that point on, Gmail will automatically handle emails matching those rules.
How to create a filter without an email to start from
If you want to block a sender but do not have an email from them yet, you can create a filter from scratch. Click the gear icon in the top right of Gmail, then select "See all settings". Click the "Filters and Blocked Addresses" tab.
Scroll to the bottom and click "Create a new filter". Type the sender's email address in the "From" field, or type a word or phrase you want to catch in the "Subject" field. Then click "Create filter" at the bottom of the box. On the next screen, choose what you want Gmail to do with matching emails — delete them, archive them, or move them to a specific folder — and click "Create filter".
The difference between blocking and filtering
Blocking is simpler and faster: one click, and one sender goes to spam. But blocking only works on that exact email address. If the sender creates a new address, it will not be blocked.
Filtering gives you more control. You can catch multiple addresses at once (for example, all addresses from a company domain), catch emails with certain words in the subject line, or send them somewhere other than spam. Filters are better when you are dealing with a sender who uses multiple addresses or when you want to keep the emails somewhere you can review them later instead of sending them straight to spam.
How to review and unblock senders
Blocked senders' emails still arrive in your spam folder — Gmail just hides them from your inbox. If you blocked someone by mistake, you can unblock them. Click the gear icon, select "See all settings", and click the "Filters and Blocked Addresses" tab.
Scroll down to the "Blocked addresses" section. You will see a list of everyone you have blocked. Find the person you want to unblock and click the "Unblock" button next to their name. Their future emails will go back to your inbox like normal. If you created a filter instead of using the block button, you can delete the filter by clicking the trash icon next to it in the "Filters" section above.
What happens to emails after you block or filter
When you block a sender, their emails go to your spam folder. You can still see them if you click on the Spam folder in the left sidebar — Gmail does not delete them automatically. If you want to permanently delete old emails from a blocked sender, you can open the Spam folder, find their emails, select them, and click delete.
If you created a filter that deletes emails, they go straight to trash instead of spam. Emails in trash stay there for 30 days before Gmail permanently deletes them. If you delete a filter by mistake, you can recreate it, but any emails that were already deleted will not come back.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a blocked sender tell that I blocked them?
No. When you block someone, Gmail does not send them a notification. Their emails just go to your spam folder. They will not know unless you tell them or they notice you stop responding.
What if I block someone and then want to read their old emails?
Open your Spam folder and search for their name or email address. Their old emails will be there. You can read them without unblocking them. If you want to unblock them so their future emails go to your inbox, click the gear icon, go to Filters and Blocked Addresses, and click Unblock next to their name.
Can I block an entire domain instead of one email address?
Not with the block button, but you can with a filter. Create a new filter, type @domain.com in the From field (replacing "domain.com" with the actual domain), and choose what to do with matching emails. This will catch all addresses from that domain.
If I delete a filter, do the emails it was filtering come back to my inbox?
No. Deleting a filter only stops Gmail from explore that rule to future emails. Emails that were already deleted or moved stay where they are. Future emails from that sender will go back to your inbox as normal.
Can I filter emails based on words in the subject line?
Yes. When you create a filter, fill in the "Subject" field with the word or phrase you want to catch. For example, you could filter all emails with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line, or all emails with a specific product name. You can combine this with a From field to be even more specific.