Block a sender in the Mail app

Open the email from the sender you want to block. Tap the sender's name or email address at the top of the message — this opens a small menu with their contact details. Look for the option that says Block this Contact and tap it. A confirmation message will appear asking if you're sure; tap Block again to confirm.

Once you block someone, their emails stop arriving in your inbox and go straight to the trash folder instead. You won't get notifications when they send you mail. If you change your mind later, you can unblock them by going to Settings > Mail > Blocked Contacts, finding their name, and tapping Edit followed by Unblock.

This method works on any iPhone running iOS 13 or newer. If you're using an older version of iOS, the block option may not appear in the Mail app — in that case, you'll need to use a different method described below.

Key Takeaways

  • Blocked emails go to your trash folder automatically, so you won't see them in your inbox but can still retrieve them if needed.
  • The Mail app's block feature works only for emails sent to your iCloud, Exchange, or Gmail account — it does not block emails sent to other email services.
  • You can unblock a contact at any time through Settings > Mail > Blocked Contacts.
  • If blocking doesn't work, the sender may be using a different email address, and you'll need to block that address separately.
  • Blocking someone in Mail does not block their text messages, calls, or messages in other apps — those require separate blocks in their own apps.

Block a sender using VIP and filters

If the block option doesn't appear in your Mail app, you can create a filter to automatically delete or move emails from that sender. Open Mail and tap the mailbox icon at the bottom left. Tap Edit in the top right corner, then tap the plus sign to create a new mailbox. Name it something like "Blocked" and tap Save.

Now go back to your inbox, find an email from the sender you want to block, and swipe left on it. Tap the three dots (more options), then Move Message. Select your new "Blocked" mailbox. This moves that one email, but to move all future emails from this sender automatically, you'll need to set up a rule — unfortunately, the iPhone Mail app does not have a built-in rules feature like desktop email clients do.

A simpler workaround is to mark emails from that sender as spam. Swipe left on their email, tap the three dots, and select Mark as Junk. After you do this a few times, Mail may start automatically sending their emails to your junk folder, though this is not may provide.

Block emails from a Gmail account

If your iPhone email is connected to Gmail, you can block senders directly through Gmail's web interface, and the block will sync to your iPhone. Open a web browser on your iPhone or computer and go to gmail.com. Find an email from the sender you want to block, click the three dots next to the message, and select Block [sender's name].

Gmail will move that sender's emails to spam automatically from that point forward. The block syncs to your iPhone within a few minutes, so you won't see their emails in the Mail app either. If you want to unblock them later, go back to Gmail, find one of their emails in your spam folder, click the three dots, and select Unblock [sender's name].

This method is more reliable than the Mail app's block feature because Gmail's servers enforce the block on all devices where you access your Gmail account, not just your iPhone.

Block emails from an Exchange or corporate account

If your iPhone is set up with an Exchange account (usually a work email), blocking works through the Mail app the same way as with iCloud — tap the sender's name, select Block this Contact, and confirm. However, some corporate email systems have additional restrictions, and your IT department may have disabled the block feature.

If the block option doesn't appear, contact your company's IT support or help desk. They may need to set up the block on their end, or they may have a different process for blocking senders on Exchange accounts. In the meantime, you can move emails from that sender to a folder manually or mark them as junk.

What happens when you block someone

Blocked emails go to your trash folder, not a separate "blocked" folder. This means you can still see them if you open the trash, but they won't clutter your inbox or trigger notifications. The sender does not receive a notification that you've blocked them — from their perspective, the email was sent normally.

Blocking only affects email. If the person has your phone number, they can still call or text you. If they have your social media accounts, they can still message you there. To stop contact across all channels, you'll need to block them separately in each app — Phone, Messages, iMessage, Facebook, Instagram, and so on.

If a blocked sender creates a new email address and sends you mail from that address, the new address is not automatically blocked. You'll need to block each email address individually. This is why blocking is most effective for spam or unwanted marketing emails, which typically come from the same address repeatedly.

Unblock a sender you blocked by mistake

Go to Settings on your iPhone home screen. Scroll down and tap Mail. Tap Blocked Contacts. Find the person you want to unblock in the list, swipe left on their name, and tap Unblock. Their emails will start arriving in your inbox again within a few minutes.

If you unblock someone and still don't see their old emails, those messages are still in your trash folder. Open Mail, tap Mailboxes at the bottom, scroll down to Trash, and look for their messages there. You can move them back to your inbox by swiping left and tapping Move.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a blocked sender tell that I blocked them?

No. When you block someone, their email is sent normally from their perspective. They won't receive a notification or error message. The only way they'd know is if they ask you directly or notice you're not responding to their emails.

Do blocked emails take up storage space on my iPhone?

Yes, blocked emails in your trash folder count toward your iCloud storage if you're using iCloud Mail. To free up space, you can permanently delete them by opening Trash, tapping Edit, selecting the emails, and tapping Delete. You can also set Mail to automatically delete trash after 30 days in Settings > Mail > Account > Mailbox Behaviors.

What if the sender is using a spoofed email address?

A spoofed address is one that looks like it's from a trusted company but isn't. Blocking it won't stop the sender if they keep creating new fake addresses. Mark these emails as junk instead, and consider reporting them to Apple or your email provider. For Gmail, click the three dots and select Report phishing.

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

The iPhone Mail app does not have a keyword filter feature. If you want to block emails based on content rather than sender, your best option is to mark them as junk repeatedly so Mail learns to filter them automatically, or to use Gmail's web interface, which has more advanced filtering options.

Does blocking someone in Mail also block them in iMessage?

No. Blocking in Mail only blocks email. To block someone's text messages or iMessages, open the Messages app, find their conversation, swipe left, and tap Block this Caller. You'll need to block them separately in each app.