Block a sender in Yahoo Mail from the message itself

The fastest way to block someone is to open their email and use the block button. Open the message from the sender you want to block, then look for the three-dot menu icon in the top right corner of the email. Click it and select Block sender. Yahoo will move that sender's future emails to spam automatically.

Once you block someone, you won't see their emails in your inbox anymore — they go straight to your Spam folder. You can still find them there if you need to, but Yahoo won't notify you when they arrive. If you change your mind later, you can unblock them from your blocked senders list.

Key Takeaways

  • You can block a sender by opening their email, clicking the three-dot menu, and selecting Block sender.
  • Blocked emails go to your Spam folder automatically, and you won't receive notifications about them.
  • You can manage your blocked list from Settings to unblock someone or add an address without opening an email first.
  • Blocking a sender is different from marking a single email as spam — blocking stops all future emails from that address.
  • If someone uses multiple email addresses, you may need to block each one separately.

Block someone from your settings without opening their email

If you don't want to open an unwanted email, you can add the address to your blocked list directly from Settings. Click the gear icon in the top right of Yahoo Mail, then select Settings. Go to the Security and privacy tab on the left side.

Under the Security and privacy section, find Blocked addresses. Click Add address and type in the email address you want to block. Click Add and Yahoo will block that sender when ready. Any emails from that address will go to spam from that point forward.

The difference between blocking and marking as spam

Blocking a sender and marking a single email as spam are two different actions. When you mark one email as spam, you're telling Yahoo that particular message is unwanted, but the sender can still email you again. When you block a sender, all their future emails go to spam automatically.

Use Block sender for addresses you never want to hear from again. Use Mark as spam when you want to report a single unwanted message but might want to receive emails from that sender in the future. If you accidentally mark a legitimate sender as spam, you can recover those emails from your Spam folder.

Unblock a sender if you change your mind

Go to Settings, then the Security and privacy tab. Find Blocked addresses and you'll see a list of everyone you've blocked. Click the X next to any address to unblock them. That sender's emails will no longer go to spam automatically.

After you unblock someone, their emails will arrive in your inbox like any other message. If they've sent you emails while they were blocked, those messages will still be in your Spam folder — unblocking doesn't move old emails back to your inbox.

What happens to emails from blocked senders

When you block someone, their emails don't disappear — they go to your Spam folder. You can still read them if you check Spam, but Yahoo won't show you a notification when they arrive. This means you won't see a badge or alert telling you that a blocked sender has emailed you.

Blocked emails stay in your Spam folder for 30 days by default, then Yahoo deletes them automatically. If you need to keep an email from a blocked sender, you can move it to another folder before the 30 days are up. Just open the Spam folder, find the message, and drag it where you want it.

Block multiple addresses from the same sender

Some people use more than one email address. If someone keeps contacting you from different addresses, you'll need to block each one separately. There's no way to block an entire domain at once in Yahoo Mail — you have to add each address individually to your blocked list.

If you're getting spam from many addresses that look similar (like spammer@domain.com, spammer2@domain.com, and spammer3@domain.com), blocking each one takes time but is the most reliable method. Some spam filters can catch patterns, but blocking each address you recognize gives you the most control.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will the sender know I blocked them?

No. Yahoo doesn't send a notification to blocked senders. They won't know their emails are going to your spam folder unless they try to contact you another way and you tell them.

Can I block an entire email domain instead of just one address?

Yahoo Mail doesn't have a built-in feature to block entire domains. You have to block individual email addresses. If you're getting spam from many addresses at the same domain, you may want to use Yahoo's spam filters or mark those emails as spam to train the filter.

What if someone creates a new email address after I block them?

Your block only applies to the specific address you blocked. If they contact you from a new address, it won't be blocked automatically. You'll need to block the new address the same way you blocked the first one.

Can I block emails by subject line or content instead of sender?

Yahoo Mail doesn't let you block based on subject lines or keywords. You can only block by sender's email address. If you want to filter emails by content, you can create custom filters in Settings to automatically move certain messages to folders.

Do blocked emails take up space in my mailbox?

Blocked emails go to your Spam folder, which counts toward your storage. If your Spam folder is full, Yahoo will delete the oldest messages automatically after 30 days. You can also manually empty your Spam folder to free up space.