Block a sender in Hotmail or Outlook.com

To block an email address in Hotmail or Outlook.com, open the message from the sender you want to block, then click the three dots (more actions) at the top right of the email. Select Block from the menu. The sender's future emails will go straight to your Junk folder, and you won't see notifications for them.

If you've already deleted the message, you can still block the address. Go to your Junk folder, find any message from that sender, open it, and follow the same steps. You don't need to keep the original email to set up the block.

Once you block someone, Outlook won't delete their emails — it routes them to Junk instead. This means you can unblock them later if you change your mind, and you can still see what they sent if you check your Junk folder.

Key Takeaways

  • Blocked senders' emails go to your Junk folder automatically, and you won't receive notifications about them.
  • You can block a sender from an open email by clicking the three dots and selecting Block.
  • Blocking does not delete past emails — they stay in your mailbox unless you delete them yourself.
  • You can unblock a sender at any time through your Junk Email settings.
  • Blocked addresses stay blocked across all your Outlook devices and the web version.

Block multiple addresses or a domain

If you're getting unwanted mail from many addresses at the same company or domain, you can block the entire domain instead of blocking each address one at a time. Open any email from that domain, click the three dots, and select Block. Outlook will ask whether you want to block just that address or the whole domain — choose the domain option.

Blocking a domain means all future emails from anyone at that company (for example, everyone at example.com) will go to Junk. This is useful when you're receiving spam from multiple accounts at the same organization, but be careful — if you have legitimate contacts at that domain, their emails will also be blocked.

Unblock a sender you blocked by mistake

To unblock someone, go to Settings in the top right corner of Outlook.com or Hotmail, then select View all Outlook settings. Click Mail in the left sidebar, then Junk email. You'll see a list under Blocked senders showing every address and domain you've blocked.

Find the sender you want to unblock, click the trash icon next to their name, and confirm. Their emails will no longer go to Junk, and you'll start receiving notifications from them again. The change takes effect when ready across all your devices.

What happens after you block someone

When you block a sender, their emails arrive in your Junk folder instead of your inbox. You won't see a notification badge or alert for their messages. If they send you multiple emails, they all go to Junk together, so you can see the full conversation there if you need to.

The blocked sender doesn't receive any notification that you've blocked them. They won't know their emails are going to your Junk folder — from their perspective, they're sending mail normally. If they contact you through another method asking why you haven't replied, blocking won't have told them anything.

Blocking is not the same as reporting spam. If an email is actually spam or phishing, you can report it separately by opening the message, clicking the three dots, and selecting Report phishing or Report junk. This helps Microsoft identify malicious senders across all users.

Block senders in the Outlook desktop app

If you use Outlook on your computer (the desktop version, not the web), the process is slightly different. Open an email from the sender you want to block, then go to the Home tab at the top. Click Junk, then select Block Sender. The sender will be added to your blocked list when ready.

In the desktop version, you can also manage your blocked senders list directly. Click File, then Options, then Trust Center, then Trust Center Settings. Select Blocked Senders to see your full list and add or remove addresses manually.

Blocked senders still appear in your sent folder

If you've been corresponding with someone and then block them, the old emails you sent to them stay in your Sent folder. Blocking only affects incoming mail, not your outgoing messages. You can still see the conversation history if you need to refer back to it.

This also means that if you block someone by mistake and then unblock them, they'll be able to see all the emails you sent them before the block — nothing is hidden or deleted on their end.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will the person I blocked know I blocked them?

No. Blocked senders receive no notification. Their emails straightforward go to your Junk folder instead of your inbox. They won't know unless you tell them or they contact you through another method and you explain it.

Can I block emails from a specific subject line or keyword?

Hotmail and Outlook don't have a built-in filter for blocking by subject line or keyword. Instead, you can create a rule through Settings that automatically moves emails with certain words to Junk. Go to Settings, Mail, Rules, and create a new rule with your criteria.

What's the difference between blocking and deleting?

Deleting removes a single email from your inbox. Blocking stops all future emails from that sender from reaching your inbox — they go to Junk instead. Deleted emails are gone; blocked senders' emails are still there, just in a different folder.

If I block someone, will they still see my read receipts?

No. Once you block a sender, they can't see whether you've read their emails or any other activity on your account. Read receipts stop working for blocked addresses.

Can I block emails on my phone?

Yes. In the Outlook mobile app on iPhone or Android, open an email from the sender you want to block, tap the three dots, and select Block. The process is the same as on the web version.