The fastest way to block an email address
Open the email from the person you want to block. Click the three dots (more options) in the top right corner of the email. Select Block "[sender's name]" from the menu. Gmail will move that sender's future emails to spam automatically, and you won't get notifications when they write.
That's the complete process. Once blocked, you won't see emails from that address in your inbox, and Gmail won't alert you that they've sent anything. If you change your mind later, you can unblock them the same way — just open a blocked email from spam, click the three dots, and select Unblock.
Key Takeaways
- Blocking sends all future emails from that address straight to your spam folder without notifications.
- You can block someone directly from their email by clicking the three dots and selecting the block option.
- Blocked emails still arrive in Gmail's system but go to spam instead of your inbox.
- Unblocking takes the same steps as blocking — open a spam email from them and select unblock.
- Blocking only affects one email address, so someone can still reach you from a different account.
Where to find the block option if you don't see it when ready
If you open an email and the three dots don't show a block option right away, make sure you're looking at the sender's message, not a forwarded copy or a message you sent yourself. The block option only appears when you're reading an email someone else sent to you.
On a computer, the three dots sit in the top right of the email, next to the archive and delete buttons. On a phone or tablet, swipe up on the email to reveal more options, then tap the three dots. The block option should appear in that menu. If it still doesn't show, try refreshing the page or closing and reopening Gmail.
What happens after you block someone
When you block an email address, Gmail routes all messages from that sender to your spam folder. You won't see a notification, and the email won't appear in your inbox count. The sender doesn't receive any message telling them they've been blocked — from their perspective, their emails straightforward go out as normal.
Blocked emails stay in your spam folder for 30 days before Gmail deletes them automatically. If you want to see what a blocked sender wrote, you can check your spam folder at any time. However, Gmail won't notify you that new spam has arrived, so you'd have to look manually.
Blocking doesn't stop all contact from that person
Blocking works only on the specific email address you block. If someone has multiple email accounts, they can still reach you from their other addresses. If you're being contacted repeatedly from different accounts, you may need to block each address separately as they arrive.
If blocking individual addresses becomes overwhelming, consider using Gmail's filter feature instead. Filters can automatically delete or archive emails based on keywords, sender domain, or other patterns, which can catch messages from multiple addresses at once. You can set up a filter by clicking the three dots on any email and selecting Filter messages like this.
How to unblock someone later
To unblock an email address, go to your spam folder and find an email from that sender. Click the three dots and select Unblock "[sender's name]". Their future emails will return to your inbox, and you'll get notifications again.
If you don't have any emails from the blocked sender in your spam folder, you can unblock them through Gmail settings instead. Click the gear icon in the top right, select See all settings, go to the Filters and Blocked Addresses tab, and look for the blocked address in the list. Click Unblock next to their name.
The difference between blocking, muting, and filtering
Gmail offers three ways to handle unwanted email, and they work differently. Blocking sends emails to spam and stops notifications. Muting keeps emails in your inbox but removes notifications and hides them from your conversation list — useful if you want to read them later but don't need alerts. Filtering automatically sorts emails by rules you set, like sending them to a folder or deleting them.
Choose blocking if you don't want to see the person's emails at all. Choose muting if you want to keep the emails but silence notifications. Choose filtering if you want to sort multiple senders or types of mail automatically. You can use more than one method on the same sender if needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the person I blocked tell that I've blocked them?
No. The sender won't receive any notification or message. Their emails will appear to send normally from their perspective, but they'll land in your spam folder instead of your inbox. They have no way to know you've blocked them unless you tell them.
What if I block someone by mistake?
Go to your spam folder, find an email from that person, click the three dots, and select unblock. Their emails will return to your inbox starting with the next message they send. Emails they sent while blocked will still be in spam, but you can move them back to your inbox manually if you need them.
Does blocking someone on Gmail block them on other Google services?
No. Blocking only affects Gmail email. The person can still contact you through Google Meet, Google Chat, or other Google products. If you need to block them across multiple services, you'll need to adjust settings in each one separately.
Can I block an entire domain instead of just one email address?
Gmail doesn't have a built-in block-by-domain feature, but you can create a filter to catch all emails from a domain. Click the three dots on an email from that domain, select Filter messages like this, and modify the sender field to include the domain (for example, @companyname.com). Then choose to delete or archive all messages matching that pattern.
Will blocked emails still count toward my storage quota?
Yes. Blocked emails in your spam folder still use storage space until Gmail deletes them after 30 days. If you're running low on storage, you can manually delete spam emails sooner by selecting them and clicking delete, or by emptying your entire spam folder at once.