You can block calls, texts, and FaceTime from someone on iPhone in under a minute

Open the Phone, Messages, or FaceTime app — whichever one you want to block them from. Find the person's name or number in your recent calls, messages, or contacts. Tap the info icon (a circle with an "i" inside), scroll down, and tap "Block this Caller" or "Block Contact". That person can no longer reach you through that app, and you won't see their attempts to contact you.

You can block the same person across multiple apps — blocking them in Phone doesn't automatically block them in Messages or FaceTime. If you want to prevent contact through all three, you'll need to block them separately in each one. You can also block someone directly from your Contacts app by opening their card, tapping "Edit", scrolling to the bottom, and selecting "Block this Contact".

Key Takeaways

  • Blocking in Phone, Messages, and FaceTime are separate actions — blocking someone in one app does not block them in the others.
  • A blocked person cannot call, text, or FaceTime you, and their attempts will not appear in your call logs or message threads.
  • You can unblock someone at any time by finding them in your Contacts, tapping Edit, and selecting "Unblock this Contact".
  • Blocking someone does not delete past messages or calls — those remain in your history unless you delete them manually.
  • A blocked person may not know they are blocked; their calls and texts will straightforward fail to go through without a notification to them.

How to block someone in the Phone app

Open the Phone app and go to the "Recents" tab at the bottom. Find the person you want to block — you can scroll through recent calls or use the search bar at the top to find them faster. Tap the info icon next to their name (it looks like a circle with an "i").

Scroll down to the bottom of the screen. You'll see a red button that says "Block this Caller". Tap it, then confirm by tapping "Block Contact" in the popup that appears. That person can no longer call you, and their calls will go straight to voicemail without ringing your phone or showing up in your recent calls list.

How to block someone in Messages

Open the Messages app and find the conversation with the person you want to block. You can scroll through your message list or search for their name at the top. Tap and hold on the conversation until a menu appears, then tap "More" (three dots) and select "Block". Alternatively, swipe left on the conversation and tap the block icon.

If you want to block them from a specific message instead, open the conversation, tap the person's name at the top of the thread, tap "Info", scroll down, and tap "Block this Contact". Once blocked, you won't receive their text messages, and any messages you send to them will fail to deliver (though you won't see a notification saying they're blocked).

How to block someone in FaceTime

Open the FaceTime app and find the person in your recent calls or contacts. Tap the info icon next to their name. Scroll down and tap "Block this Contact". You can also open your Contacts app, find the person, tap "Edit", scroll to the bottom, and select "Block this Contact" — this will block them from FaceTime and also from calling or texting you through the Phone and Messages apps.

A blocked person cannot start a FaceTime call with you, and if they try, the call will fail on their end. They won't receive a message saying they're blocked, but they'll see that the call didn't go through.

How to block someone from your Contacts app

Open Contacts and search for the person's name or scroll to find them. Tap their contact card to open it. Tap "Edit" in the top right corner. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the card. You'll see a red "Block this Contact" button. Tap it and confirm.

Blocking someone this way blocks them from Phone, Messages, and FaceTime all at once. This is the fastest method if you want to block someone across all three apps without opening each one separately.

What happens when you block someone

A blocked person cannot call you, text you, or start a FaceTime call with you. Their calls go to voicemail, their texts fail to send, and their FaceTime requests don't come through. They won't see a notification telling them they're blocked — their call or message will straightforward fail, and they may assume your phone is off or you're not available.

Any messages or calls from them that arrived before you blocked them stay in your history. Blocking does not delete past conversations. If you want to remove old messages, you'll need to delete them manually by opening the conversation and tapping "Edit" and then "Delete All" in Messages, or by swiping left on a call in the Phone app's Recents tab.

If the person tries to contact you from a different phone number or account, you won't be blocked from that contact method — blocking is tied to the specific phone number or Apple ID you blocked, not to the person themselves.

How to unblock someone

Open your Contacts app and search for the person's name. Tap their contact card. Tap "Edit" in the top right. Scroll to the bottom and tap "Unblock this Contact". Confirm by tapping "Unblock" in the popup.

You can also unblock someone by going to Settings > Phone (or Messages, or FaceTime) > Blocked Contacts, finding their name, and tapping "Edit" and then "Unblock". Once unblocked, they can call, text, or FaceTime you again, and you'll see their attempts to contact you normally.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can someone tell if I've blocked them?

Not directly. Their calls will go to voicemail, their texts will fail to send, and their FaceTime requests won't come through — but they won't receive a message saying you blocked them. They may suspect it if they can't reach you but can reach others, but iPhone doesn't notify them.

If I block someone, do my old messages disappear?

No. Blocking does not delete past conversations. Your message thread with them stays in your Messages app unless you delete it manually. If you want to remove it, open Messages, find the conversation, swipe left, and tap "Delete".

What if someone blocks me — will I know?

You won't get a notification, but you may notice signs: your calls go straight to voicemail, your texts show as "Not Delivered", or your FaceTime requests fail. However, these things can also happen for other reasons, like a bad connection or their phone being off.

Can I block someone from a different phone number?

Yes. Each phone number or Apple ID is blocked separately. If someone calls you from a different number, that call will come through unless you block that number too. You'll need to block each number individually.

If I unblock someone, will they see my old messages?

Yes. Unblocking restores access to your entire message history with that person. They'll be able to see all past conversations if they look at your thread together, though they won't be notified that you unblocked them.