The fastest way to block an email in Gmail
Open the email from the sender you want to block. Look for the three vertical dots (more options menu) in the top right corner of the email and click it. A dropdown menu will appear — select Block "[sender name]" from the list. Gmail will when ready move that sender's future emails to spam and hide any existing messages from them.
That is the complete process. Once you block someone, their emails stop appearing in your inbox, and you will not see notifications when they send you messages. If you change your mind later, you can unblock them from the same menu.
Key Takeaways
- Blocking an email sender takes three clicks: open the email, click the three-dot menu, and select Block.
- Blocked senders' emails go to spam automatically, and you will not receive notifications from them.
- You can unblock a sender at any time by finding one of their emails in spam and clicking Unblock.
- Blocking works the same way on Gmail's website, phone app, and tablet app.
- If someone uses multiple email addresses, you will need to block each address separately.
Where to find the block option on different devices
On a computer, open Gmail in your web browser and click on any email from the sender. In the top right corner of the email, you will see three vertical dots. Click them and look for the Block option in the menu that drops down.
On an iPhone or Android phone, open the Gmail app and tap the email you want to block. Tap the three vertical dots in the top right corner of the screen. Scroll down in the menu that appears and tap Block. The process is identical on both phone types.
On an iPad, the steps are the same as on a phone. Open the email, tap the three dots, and select Block from the menu. Gmail syncs your blocked list across all your devices, so blocking someone on your phone blocks them on your computer too.
What happens when you block someone
When you block an email address, Gmail automatically sends all future emails from that sender to your spam folder. You will not see a notification when they send you a message, and their emails will not clutter your inbox. Any emails you already received from them before blocking will be hidden from your main inbox view.
The blocked sender does not receive a notification that you blocked them. From their perspective, they can still send you emails — they just will not know whether you are reading them. If they call or text you asking why you are not responding, they will not have a technical reason to point to.
Blocking is not the same as unsubscribing. If someone sends you marketing emails and includes an unsubscribe link, clicking that link removes you from their mailing list. Blocking removes one specific email address from your inbox. For newsletters and marketing, unsubscribing is often the better choice because it tells the sender to stop contacting you through official channels.
How to unblock an email address
If you blocked someone and want to receive their emails again, go to your Gmail spam folder. Find any email from that sender — it will be in spam because of the block. Click the three vertical dots on that email and select Unblock. Gmail will when ready move that sender back to your normal inbox and stop filtering their future emails to spam.
You can also unblock someone from your Gmail settings. Click the gear icon in the top right corner of Gmail and select See all settings. Go to the Filters and Blocked Addresses tab. You will see a list of every email address you have blocked. Find the one you want to unblock and click the Unblock link next to it.
Blocking multiple addresses from the same person
If someone is sending you emails from different addresses, you will need to block each address separately. Gmail does not have a way to block all variations of a name or domain at once. For example, if someone emails you from both john.smith@gmail.com and j.smith@gmail.com, you must block each one individually.
If you are being contacted by many addresses from the same person or organization, blocking becomes tedious. In that case, consider creating a filter instead. Filters let you automatically send emails to spam based on keywords in the subject line or sender name, which can catch multiple addresses at once. You can set up a filter from the same Filters and Blocked Addresses tab in Gmail settings.
When blocking does not stop the emails
If you block someone and their emails keep appearing in your inbox, they may be using a different email address. Check the sender's address carefully — it might look similar to the one you blocked but have a slight difference. Block the new address the same way you blocked the first one.
Another possibility is that the email is coming from an automated system or service, not directly from a person. For example, if you blocked someone on a dating app but the app sends you notifications from a noreply address, blocking the person's account will not stop the app's notifications. In that case, you need to change your notification settings within the app itself or block the noreply address.
If emails keep arriving and you cannot identify the sender, check the full email header to see the actual sending address. In Gmail on a computer, click the down arrow next to Reply and select Show original. This displays the technical details of where the email actually came from, which may be different from what appears in the From field.
Blocking versus reporting spam
Gmail offers two separate actions: Block and Report Spam. Blocking stops one specific email address from reaching your inbox. Reporting spam tells Gmail that an email is unwanted and helps train Gmail's spam filters to catch similar messages in the future. You can do both at the same time.
If you receive a phishing email (a fake email pretending to be from your bank or a service you use), report it as spam rather than just blocking it. Reporting helps protect other Gmail users from the same scam. If you receive unwanted marketing emails, blocking the sender is usually enough unless you think the email is fraudulent.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the person I blocked see that I blocked them?
No. The sender will not receive any notification that you blocked them. Their emails will silently go to your spam folder, and they will have no way to know from Gmail itself that you blocked them. If they contact you through another method asking why you are not responding, that is the only way they would find out.
If I block someone, will they see my out-of-office message?
No. When you block someone, their emails go straight to spam without triggering your out-of-office reply. Out-of-office messages only go to senders whose emails reach your inbox normally.
Does blocking someone on Gmail block them from other Google services?
No. Blocking an email address in Gmail only affects Gmail. That person can still contact you through Google Meet, Google Chat, YouTube, or any other Google service. If you want to block them on other services, you will need to do that separately in each service's settings.
What if I block someone by mistake?
Go to your spam folder, find an email from that sender, and click the three dots. Select Unblock and they will be unblocked when ready. You can also unblock from Gmail settings under Filters and Blocked Addresses. There is no waiting period — unblocking takes effect right away.
Can I block an entire domain instead of one email address?
Gmail does not have a built-in block-by-domain feature, but you can create a filter to catch all emails from a domain. In Gmail settings under Filters and Blocked Addresses, create a new filter with the domain name (for example, @unwanteddomain.com) in the From field. Set it to skip the inbox and go to trash or spam. This catches all addresses from that domain in one rule.