Gmail's block feature stops emails from a sender before they reach your inbox

When you block an address in Gmail, messages from that sender go straight to spam and you stop seeing notifications about them. The blocked sender cannot tell they have been blocked — their email straightforward disappears from your view. You can block individual addresses, unblock them later, or block entire domains if a company keeps sending unwanted mail from different addresses.

Blocking is different from unsubscribing. An unsubscribe link removes you from a mailing list run by a legitimate business. A block removes a specific sender entirely, whether they are a person, a scammer, or a company that ignores unsubscribe requests. Most people use blocking for persistent unwanted senders rather than for one-time spam.

Key Takeaways

  • Open any email from the sender you want to block, click the three-dot menu, and select "Block [sender]" to send all their future messages to spam.
  • Blocked messages go to your spam folder automatically, so you can still retrieve them if you change your mind.
  • You can unblock a sender at any time by going to Settings, opening the Blocked addresses tab, and clicking "Unblock" next to their name.
  • Blocking one address does not block other addresses from the same company — you must block each one separately or block the entire domain.
  • If a sender uses a different address each time, blocking individual addresses will not stop them; you may need to report them as spam or phishing instead.

How to block a sender in three steps

Open any email from the person or company you want to block. Look for the three vertical dots (the menu icon) in the top right corner of the email. Click it and select "Block [sender's name]" from the dropdown menu.

Gmail will confirm that the sender has been blocked. All future emails from that address will go directly to your spam folder. If you receive an email from them before you block them, you can block them retroactively — Gmail will not move the old email, but new ones will be blocked.

On mobile, open the email, tap the three-dot menu at the top right, and tap "Block [sender]". The process is the same as on desktop.

Where blocked emails go and how to find them

When you block an address, Gmail sends all messages from that sender to your spam folder. You can still see them there if you need to — blocking does not delete the emails, it just hides them from your inbox and stops notifications.

To check your spam folder, click "More" in the left sidebar and select "Spam". You will see all blocked messages grouped together. If you realize you blocked someone by mistake, you can move their email back to your inbox by clicking it, then clicking "Not spam" at the top.

How to unblock an address you blocked by mistake

Go to Gmail Settings by clicking the gear icon in the top right corner and selecting "See all settings". Click the "Filters and Blocked Addresses" tab.

Scroll down to the "Blocked addresses" section. You will see a list of every address you have blocked. Find the one you want to unblock and click the "Unblock" button next to it. The sender can now email you again, and their messages will go to your inbox normally.

If you unblock someone and then change your mind, you can block them again using the same three-dot menu method. There is no limit to how many times you can block and unblock the same address.

Blocking entire domains instead of individual addresses

If a company sends you mail from multiple addresses — like noreply@company.com, support@company.com, and sales@company.com — blocking each one individually takes time. You can block the entire domain instead.

Go to Settings, click "Filters and Blocked Addresses", and scroll to the bottom of the page. Click "Create a new filter". In the "From" field, type the domain name with an asterisk, like *@company.com. Click "Create filter" and then check the box next to "Delete it" or "Skip the inbox (Archive it)". Click "Create filter" again to save.

This method blocks every address from that domain automatically. If you later need to receive mail from that company, you will need to remove the filter from the same settings page.

What to do if someone keeps emailing you from different addresses

Some senders — particularly scammers — create new email addresses to get around blocks. If you block one address and when ready receive mail from a similar one, blocking individual addresses will not solve the problem.

Instead, report the emails as phishing or spam. Open the email, click the three-dot menu, and select "Report phishing" if it looks like a scam, or "Report spam" if it is unwanted mail. Gmail learns from these reports and may block similar messages automatically across all users.

If the sender is harassing you or threatening you, do not engage with them. Report the email and consider blocking the domain if you can identify it. If the harassment continues, you may need to contact law enforcement or your email provider's abuse team.

Blocked addresses do not affect your contacts or forwarded mail

Blocking an address only affects incoming mail from that sender. If you have the person saved in your contacts, their contact information stays there — blocking just prevents their emails from reaching you.

If someone forwards you an email from a blocked sender, you will still see the forwarded message. The block only applies to direct emails from that address, not to emails that mention them or include their messages as attachments.

If you block someone and later want to send them an email, you can still do that. The block is one-way — it stops them from reaching you, but does not prevent you from reaching them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a blocked sender tell that I blocked them?

No. When you block someone, their email goes to spam silently. They will not receive a notification, bounce-back message, or any indication that you blocked them. From their perspective, the email straightforward disappeared.

If I block someone, will old emails from them disappear?

No. Blocking only affects new emails. Any messages you already received from that sender stay in your inbox unless you manually delete or archive them. Blocking does not retroactively hide past conversations.

What is the difference between blocking and unsubscribing?

Unsubscribing removes you from a mailing list — it tells the sender to stop sending you emails. Blocking prevents all emails from a sender from reaching your inbox, whether they honor an unsubscribe request or not. Use unsubscribe for legitimate businesses and blocking for persistent unwanted senders.

Can I block an email address that is not in my contacts?

Yes. You can block any address, whether you know the person or not. You do not need to have them saved as a contact. Just open any email from them and use the three-dot menu to block.

If I block someone and then they email me from a different address, will that be blocked too?

No. Each address is blocked separately. If someone creates a new email account and emails you from it, that new address will not be blocked automatically. You would need to block the new address individually or block the entire domain if you can identify it.