The fastest way to block someone in Yahoo Mail
Open the email from the person you want to block. Click the three dots (more actions menu) in the top right of the message. Select Block from the dropdown. Yahoo Mail will move that sender's future emails to spam automatically, and you won't see notifications when they arrive.
If you've already deleted the email, you can still block the address. Go to your Blocked Addresses list in Settings, click Add email address, type the sender's address, and save. Either way takes about 30 seconds.
Blocked senders can still send you mail — Yahoo Mail just routes it to spam so you don't see it. If someone uses a different email address, that one won't be blocked automatically.
Key Takeaways
- You can block an email address directly from any message by clicking the three-dot menu and selecting Block.
- Blocked emails go to your spam folder, not deleted, so you can review them later if needed.
- Blocking one email address does not block similar addresses or variations — each address must be blocked separately.
- You can view and unblock addresses anytime in your Yahoo Mail Settings under the Blocked Addresses section.
- Blocking is different from reporting spam; blocking stops future mail from that sender, while reporting helps Yahoo identify spam patterns.
Where to find your blocked addresses list
Log into Yahoo Mail and click the gear icon in the top right corner. Select Settings. On the left sidebar, click Security and privacy. Scroll down to Blocked addresses — you'll see every email address you've blocked and the date you blocked it.
From this page, you can add new addresses to block without opening an email from them. You can also unblock addresses if you change your mind. Click the X next to any address to remove it from your blocked list when ready.
What happens when you block someone
When you block an address, Yahoo Mail sends their emails directly to your spam folder. You won't get a notification when they send you something. The blocked sender does not receive any message telling them they've been blocked — from their side, it looks like their email was delivered normally.
The person can still see your email address and send you messages. If they use a different email account, those messages won't be blocked. Blocking is one-way: it affects only what you see, not what they can do.
Emails already in your inbox from a blocked sender stay where they are. Blocking only affects new mail arriving after you set the block.
Blocking vs. reporting spam
Blocking stops one specific email address from reaching your inbox. Reporting spam tells Yahoo Mail that an address is sending unwanted bulk mail, which helps Yahoo improve its spam filters for all users. You can do both at the same time.
If you report an email as spam, it goes to your spam folder and Yahoo records it. If you block an address, future mail from that sender goes to spam automatically. For one-off unwanted emails from people you know, blocking is usually enough. For bulk mail or repeated unwanted marketing, reporting spam is more useful because it helps Yahoo identify patterns.
Unblocking an address if you change your mind
Go to Settings, then Security and privacy, then Blocked addresses. Find the address you want to unblock and click the X next to it. The address is unblocked when ready, and their future emails will go to your inbox normally again.
Unblocking does not recover emails that were sent while the address was blocked — those stay in your spam folder. You can move them back to your inbox manually if you want to read them.
When blocking doesn't work the way you expect
If someone is still reaching you after you've blocked them, they may be using a different email address. Check the sender's address carefully — variations like firstname.lastname@domain.com and firstnamelastname@domain.com are treated as separate addresses. You'll need to block each one.
If emails from a blocked address keep appearing in your inbox instead of spam, log out of Yahoo Mail completely, clear your browser cache, and log back in. Sometimes the block takes a few minutes to take effect across all Yahoo's servers. If it still isn't working after an hour, the address may have been added to your blocked list incorrectly — delete it and add it again, making sure there are no extra spaces before or after the email address.
Blocking email addresses on mobile Yahoo Mail
Open the Yahoo Mail app on your phone. Find the email from the person you want to block. Swipe left on the message (iPhone) or long-press it (Android). Tap the trash or delete icon, then select Block sender from the options that appear. The process is the same as on desktop.
To view your blocked list on mobile, tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines), scroll to Settings, then Security and privacy, then Blocked addresses. You can add or remove addresses from this screen the same way you would on a computer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I block an entire domain instead of just one email address?
Yahoo Mail does not have a built-in feature to block all addresses from a domain at once. You can block individual addresses, but if someone is sending from multiple addresses at the same domain, you'll need to block each one separately. Some email clients offer domain-level blocking, but Yahoo Mail's standard settings do not.
Will the person I blocked know that I blocked them?
No. From the sender's perspective, their email was delivered successfully. They won't receive a notification or bounce-back message. The only way they'd know is if you told them or if they noticed you stopped responding to their messages.
What's the difference between blocking and deleting an email?
Deleting removes one message from your inbox. Blocking stops all future messages from that address from reaching your inbox — they go to spam instead. If you delete an email but don't block the sender, their next message will still arrive in your inbox normally.
Can I block emails by subject line or content instead of sender address?
Yahoo Mail's block feature works only by email address, not by subject line or message content. If you want to filter emails by keywords, you can create rules in Settings under Filters and blocked addresses to automatically move messages containing certain words to spam or a folder.
If I block someone, will they see that I read their old emails?
No. Blocking affects only incoming mail. It does not change the read or unread status of emails already in your inbox, and the sender cannot see whether you've opened their past messages. Blocking is invisible to the other person.