The fastest way to block an email address in Yahoo Mail

Open the email from the sender you want to block. Look for the three dots (more options menu) in the top right corner of the email and click it. Select Block sender from the dropdown menu. Yahoo Mail will when ready move that sender's future emails to your Spam folder and prevent them from reaching your inbox.

If you have already deleted the email, you can still block the sender by going to your Spam folder, finding an email from that address, and using the same three-dot menu to select Block sender. The block takes effect right away — you will not see a confirmation message, but the sender is now blocked.

Blocked senders can still send you email, but it goes straight to Spam. You can unblock someone at any time by going to Settings, finding the blocked address in your blocked senders list, and removing it.

Key Takeaways

  • Click the three-dot menu on any email and select Block sender to send that address's future messages to Spam.
  • Blocked emails still arrive in your Spam folder — they are not deleted, just hidden from your inbox.
  • You can block senders from your inbox, Spam folder, or Trash folder using the same menu option.
  • To unblock someone, go to Settings, scroll to Blocked senders, find the address, and click Unblock.
  • Blocking works on both the Yahoo Mail website and the Yahoo Mail mobile app.

Where to find your blocked senders list

Go to the gear icon in the top right of Yahoo Mail and select Settings. On the left side, click Security and privacy. Scroll down until you see Blocked senders — this shows every address you have blocked.

From this list, you can see exactly who is blocked and unblock anyone you change your mind about. Click the X next to a sender's address to remove them from the blocked list. After you unblock them, their emails will no longer go to Spam automatically, though they may still be caught by Yahoo's spam filters if they look suspicious.

Blocking email addresses from different folders

You do not have to find the original email to block someone. If you see an unwanted email in your Spam folder, Trash, or any other folder, open it and use the three-dot menu to block the sender. This works the same way as blocking from your inbox.

This is useful if you want to block someone whose email you have already deleted. Go to Trash, find an email from that sender if it is still there, and block them. If the email is no longer in Trash, you can still type the sender's address directly into your blocked senders list by going to Settings > Security and privacy > Blocked senders and looking for an option to add a new blocked address manually.

The difference between blocking and reporting spam

Blocking a sender and reporting an email as spam are two different actions. When you block a sender, their future emails go to Spam. When you report as spam, you tell Yahoo that the email is unwanted and help train Yahoo's filters to catch similar messages from anyone.

If someone is sending you unwanted email but is not a scammer or spammer, blocking is usually enough. If the email looks like a phishing attempt, contains a virus, or is clearly spam, report it as spam in addition to blocking. To report spam, open the email, click the three-dot menu, and select Report phishing or Report spam depending on what type of email it is.

Blocking on the Yahoo Mail mobile app

The process on iPhone or Android is nearly identical to the website. Open the email you want to block, tap the three dots in the top right corner, and select Block sender. The sender is blocked when ready and their future emails go to Spam.

To view your blocked senders list on mobile, tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the bottom right, select Settings, then Security and privacy, and scroll to Blocked senders. You can unblock addresses from this screen the same way you do on the website.

What happens after you block someone

Once you block a sender, every email from that address goes directly to your Spam folder. You will not get a notification when they send you something — the email straightforward appears in Spam without alerting you. This means you will not see it unless you check your Spam folder.

The sender does not know they have been blocked. From their perspective, they sent you an email normally. They will not receive a bounce-back message or any indication that you blocked them. If they try to contact you through a different email address, that new address will not be blocked unless you block it separately.

Blocking multiple addresses and managing bulk unwanted email

If you are receiving unwanted email from many different addresses, block each one individually using the three-dot menu. There is no way to block multiple addresses at once, but blocking takes only a few seconds per sender.

If you are getting spam from addresses that look similar or come from the same domain (for example, multiple addresses ending in @spamcompany.com), you can block each one as it arrives. Yahoo Mail does not have a built-in feature to block an entire domain, but blocking individual addresses will reduce the volume significantly. For persistent spam problems, also check your email subscriptions in Settings to unsubscribe from mailing lists you no longer want.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I block an email address without opening the email?

Not directly from your inbox list. You need to open the email first to access the three-dot menu and block option. However, if you have already received emails from that sender, you can go to Settings > Security and privacy > Blocked senders and add the address manually if Yahoo provides that option, or straightforward open any email from that sender and block them.

What if someone blocks me on Yahoo Mail?

If you are blocked, your emails still send normally from your perspective — you will not get an error message. The recipient will not see your emails in their inbox; they go to Spam. You will have no way to know you are blocked unless the person tells you or you notice they never respond.

Can I block emails by subject line or keyword?

Yahoo Mail does not have a built-in filter to block emails by subject line or keyword. You can only block by sender address. If you want to filter emails by content, you can create rules in Settings > Mail options > Filters to automatically move emails with certain words to Spam, but this is different from blocking a specific sender.

Will blocking someone stop them from seeing my emails?

No. Blocking only stops their emails from reaching your inbox — it does not prevent them from receiving emails you send them. If you send them an email after blocking them, they will receive it normally. Blocking is one-way only.

Can I block emails from a group or mailing list?

You can block the sender address associated with the group or mailing list using the same block sender option. However, if the mailing list sends from multiple addresses, you will need to block each address separately. For mailing lists you subscribed to, look for an unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email instead — unsubscribing is usually faster than blocking.