Block a sender in Yahoo Mail in three steps

Open the email from the sender you want to block. Click the three-dot menu icon in the top right of the message, then select Block sender. 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 sender. Go to your Spam folder, find an email from that address, open it, and use the same three-dot menu to block them. Once blocked, any new messages from that address skip your inbox entirely.

You can also block a sender without opening their email. Right-click on the message in your inbox list and choose Block sender from the menu that appears. This method is fastest when you want to block someone quickly without reading what they sent.

Key Takeaways

  • Blocked senders' emails go to your Spam folder, not deleted, so you can review them later if needed.
  • You can block a sender from an open email, from your Spam folder, or by right-clicking a message in your inbox list.
  • Yahoo Mail does not notify the sender that you have blocked them.
  • To unblock someone, go to Settings, select Blocked addresses, find the sender, and click the X next to their name.
  • Blocking stops emails from reaching your inbox but does not prevent the sender from creating a new address and contacting you again.

Where blocked emails actually go

When you block a sender, Yahoo Mail does not delete their messages. Instead, it routes them to your Spam folder where they sit unless you delete them yourself. This means you can still read a blocked sender's email if you change your mind or need to check what they sent.

Messages from blocked senders will never appear in your inbox, but they also will not bounce back to the sender or trigger any kind of notification. The sender has no way to know you blocked them — their email straightforward arrives in a folder you do not see during normal use.

Unblock a sender if you change your mind

Click the gear icon in the top right of Yahoo Mail and select Settings. In the left sidebar, choose Security and privacy, then scroll down to Blocked addresses.

You will see a list of every address you have blocked. Find the sender you want to unblock and click the X button next to their name. That sender's emails will now arrive in your inbox again, and their old messages in Spam will no longer be hidden from you.

Block an entire domain instead of one address

If you are getting unwanted email from multiple addresses at the same company or service, you can block the whole domain. In your Blocked addresses list, type the domain name with an asterisk — for example, *@unwantedcompany.com — and click Add.

Every email from any address at that domain will now go to Spam. This is useful when a service keeps sending you messages from different sender addresses, or when you want to stop all mail from a particular organization without blocking each address one at a time.

What blocking does and does not do

Blocking stops emails from reaching your inbox, but it does not stop the sender from emailing you. They can send as many messages as they want — you just will not see them in your main folder. If you are being harassed or threatened, blocking alone may not be enough to protect you.

Blocking also does not prevent someone from creating a new email address and contacting you again. If a blocked sender switches to a different account, those new messages will arrive in your inbox unless you block the new address too. Each address or domain must be blocked separately.

Use filters for more control over specific senders

Yahoo Mail's filter feature gives you options beyond blocking. Go to Settings, select Filters, and click Add new filter. You can set rules for emails from a specific sender — move them to a folder, mark them as read automatically, or send them to Spam.

Filters are useful when you want to keep emails from a sender but organize them separately, or when you want to handle mail from a sender in a specific way without blocking them completely. You can create different rules for different senders based on what you actually want to happen to their messages. Unlike blocking, filters let you stay aware of incoming mail while keeping it out of your main view.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a blocked sender tell that I blocked them?

No. Yahoo Mail does not notify blocked senders, and their emails do not bounce back to them. They will not receive any message or indication that you blocked them. Their emails straightforward arrive in your Spam folder without any feedback to them.

Will blocking delete emails I already received from that sender?

No. Blocking only affects future emails. Messages you already received from that sender stay in your inbox or wherever they are. Only new emails from blocked senders go to Spam.

What happens if I block someone by mistake?

Go to Settings, select Security and privacy, find Blocked addresses, and click the X next to their name. They are unblocked when ready, and their future emails will arrive in your inbox again. Any emails they sent while blocked are still in your Spam folder.

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

Blocking works only by sender address or domain. If you want to filter based on subject line or keywords, use Yahoo Mail's filter feature instead. Filters let you create rules for any part of an email, not just the sender.

Do I need to block someone if they are already in my Spam folder?

Not necessarily. If their emails are already going to Spam, blocking prevents them from ever reaching your inbox if they change something about how they send mail. Blocking is most useful for senders whose messages currently arrive in your inbox but you do not want to see.