Blocking a contact stops them from calling, texting, or FaceTiming you

When you block a contact on an iPhone, that person cannot reach you through calls, text messages, or FaceTime. Their calls go straight to voicemail as if your phone is off. Text messages from them arrive on their end as "delivered," but you never see them. FaceTime requests fail silently on their screen. You do not receive notifications that they tried to contact you.

The blocked person does not get a message saying they are blocked. From their perspective, your phone straightforward does not answer or respond. If they know your number well enough, they might suspect it, but the iPhone does not tell them directly.

Blocking is different from muting notifications. When you mute someone, their messages and calls still reach you—you just do not hear a sound or see a banner. When you block someone, the contact attempt never arrives at all.

Key Takeaways

  • Open the Contacts app, find the person, tap "Block this Caller" near the bottom of their card, and confirm the choice.
  • You can also block someone directly from a text conversation by swiping left on their message thread and tapping the block icon.
  • Blocked contacts cannot call, text, or FaceTime you, and their attempts do not trigger notifications on your phone.
  • You can unblock someone at any time by going to Settings > Phone > Blocked Contacts, finding their name, and tapping "Unblock."
  • Messages and calls from a blocked contact are not deleted from your phone—they straightforward stop arriving after the block takes effect.

Block someone from the Contacts app

Open the Contacts app on your home screen. Scroll to find the person you want to block, or use the search bar at the top to type their name. Tap their contact card to open it.

Scroll to the bottom of their card. You will see a red button that says "Block this Caller." Tap it. A confirmation message appears asking if you are sure. Tap "Block Contact" to confirm. The person is now blocked.

Block someone from a text or call

If you want to block someone without opening Contacts, you can block them directly from a conversation. Open the Messages app and find the text thread from the person you want to block. Swipe left on their message thread (or tap and hold it, then swipe left). A red block icon appears. Tap it, then confirm by tapping "Block" in the popup.

You can also block someone from the Phone app. Open Phone, go to the Recents tab, find the person's name or number, tap the info icon (a circle with an "i"), scroll down, and tap "Block this Caller."

What happens to old messages and calls

Blocking someone does not delete their old messages or call history from your phone. All the text conversations and call logs from before you blocked them stay in your Messages and Phone apps. You can still read old messages from that person if you want to.

Once you block them, no new messages or calls from that contact will arrive. If you unblock them later, future messages will come through again, but they will not see the old conversations you had before the block.

Unblock a contact if you change your mind

If you want to unblock someone, go to Settings on your home screen. Tap Phone (or Messages if you blocked them for texts specifically). Scroll down and tap "Blocked Contacts." You will see a list of everyone you have blocked.

Find the person you want to unblock and tap "Edit" in the top right corner. Tap the minus sign next to their name, then tap "Unblock." They are now unblocked and can call or text you again.

Alternatively, you can unblock someone from their contact card. Open Contacts, find their name, tap their card, scroll to the bottom, and tap "Unblock this Caller" if that option appears.

Block unknown callers and spam

If you are getting calls from numbers you do not recognize, you can block all calls from unknown numbers instead of blocking individual contacts. Go to Settings > Phone > Silence Unknown Callers. Turn this on, and calls from numbers not in your Contacts, Mail, or Messages will go straight to voicemail.

For text spam, you can report and block in one step. In Messages, swipe left on the message thread and tap the block icon, or tap "Report Junk" to send the message to Apple and block the sender at the same time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a blocked contact tell they are blocked?

No official notification tells them, but they may suspect it if calls always go to voicemail and texts never get responses. Their calls and messages will appear to send normally on their end, so they cannot be certain without trying to reach you another way.

Will a blocked contact see my old messages?

No. Once you block someone, they cannot see any of your messages—old or new. If you unblock them later, they still cannot see conversations from before the block. They only receive new messages sent after you unblock them.

Can I block someone from FaceTime only?

Blocking on iPhone blocks calls, texts, and FaceTime all together. You cannot block someone from FaceTime alone without also blocking their calls and messages. If you only want to avoid FaceTime, you would need to decline their requests individually.

What if I block someone by accident?

You can unblock them when ready. Go to Settings > Phone > Blocked Contacts, find their name, tap Edit, and tap Unblock. They will be able to reach you again right away.

Do blocked contacts go to a separate folder?

No. Old messages from blocked contacts stay in your regular Messages thread. They are not moved to a separate folder. You can still read the conversation history, but no new messages from that contact will arrive.