The fastest way to block an email address in Yahoo Mail

Open the email from the person you want to block. Look for the three dots (⋯) in the top right corner of the message and click it. Select Block from the menu that appears. Yahoo Mail will move that sender's future emails to your Spam folder automatically.

If you have already deleted the email, you can still block the address without finding the original message. Go to your Settings (the gear icon in the top right), select Blocked addresses, and type in the email address you want to block. Click Add to list. From that moment on, emails from that address go straight to Spam.

The block takes effect when ready. The sender will not receive a notification that you have blocked them — their emails straightforward disappear into your Spam folder where you will not see them unless you check that folder directly.

Key Takeaways

  • You can block an address in two ways: from an open email using the three-dot menu, or from Settings by typing the address directly.
  • Blocked emails go to your Spam folder, not deleted, so you can review them later if you change your mind.
  • The sender receives no notification that they are blocked.
  • You can unblock an address at any time by returning to Settings and removing it from your blocked list.
  • Blocking works for individual email addresses, not entire domains, so someone can contact you from a different email account.

What happens to emails after you block someone

When you block an address, Yahoo Mail routes all incoming messages from that sender to your Spam folder. You will not see a notification in your inbox. The emails remain in Spam for 30 days before Yahoo Mail deletes them permanently, unless you delete them sooner.

If you need to review a blocked sender's emails before they disappear, you can open your Spam folder and read them there. You can also unblock the address at any time, which restores normal delivery to your inbox for future messages.

How to unblock an email address

Go to Settings (the gear icon) and select Blocked addresses. You will see a list of every address you have blocked. Find the one you want to unblock and click the X next to it. The address is now unblocked, and emails from that sender will arrive in your inbox normally again.

Unblocking does not retrieve old emails that were sent to Spam while the address was blocked. Those messages remain in your Spam folder or are deleted if the 30-day window has passed.

Blocking does not stop all unwanted mail

Blocking an individual address works only for that specific email. If someone sends you mail from a different account, that new address will not be blocked. You will need to block each address separately.

For mass unwanted mail or spam, Yahoo Mail's spam filter catches most of it automatically. If spam is getting through to your inbox, you can mark it as spam (which trains the filter) or block the specific addresses. If a sender is using many different addresses, blocking individual ones becomes impractical — in that case, consider using Yahoo Mail's Do Not Mail feature or creating a filter rule that sends emails matching certain keywords to Spam.

When blocking is not enough

Blocking prevents emails from reaching your inbox, but it does not stop someone from sending them. If you are being harassed or threatened, blocking is a first step, but you may need to take additional action.

Save copies of threatening or abusive emails before blocking the address — keep them as a record in case you need to report the behavior to Yahoo Mail support or to law enforcement. You can forward these emails to Yahoo Mail's abuse team at abuse@yahoo.com. If the harassment is severe or involves threats, contact your local police department.

Blocking on mobile Yahoo Mail

The process is nearly identical on the Yahoo Mail app for iPhone or Android. Open an email from the sender you want to block, tap the three dots (⋯), and select Block. On some versions of the app, the three dots appear in the top right; on others, they appear at the bottom of the message.

If you cannot find the block option in the app, switch to the web version of Yahoo Mail on your phone's browser. The web version always has the three-dot menu and the Settings option for managing your blocked list.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can someone tell if I blocked them?

No. When you block an address, the sender receives no notification. Their emails straightforward fail to arrive in your inbox. They may suspect you blocked them if you stop responding, but Yahoo Mail does not send them any message confirming it.

What if someone blocks me — will I know?

You will not receive a notification that someone blocked you. Your emails will appear to send normally, but they will land in their Spam folder instead of their inbox. You may notice they stop responding, but there is no official way to confirm you are blocked.

Can I block an entire domain instead of one address?

Yahoo Mail's block feature works only for individual email addresses. You cannot block an entire domain like @example.com. If you are receiving spam from many addresses at the same domain, you can create a filter rule in Settings that sends emails from that domain to Spam, which is more efficient than blocking each address one by one.

Will blocking delete emails that are already in my inbox?

No. Blocking only affects new emails from that sender going forward. Emails already in your inbox stay there. Only future messages from that address go to Spam. If you want to remove old emails from a blocked sender, you must delete them manually.

Can I block emails based on subject line or keywords?

Blocking works only on email addresses. To filter based on subject lines or keywords, use Yahoo Mail's filter feature in Settings. You can create a rule that automatically sends emails containing certain words to Spam or another folder.