The fastest way depends on your email provider

Most email providers let you block a sender in one or two clicks from inside your inbox. Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo Mail, and Apple Mail all have a block button built in — you do not need to read anything or change settings in a separate menu. The blocked person can still send you messages, but they land in a spam or blocked folder instead of your inbox, and you will not get a notification.

The exact steps differ slightly between providers, but the principle is the same: open the email from the person you want to block, find the block option (usually three dots or a menu button), and confirm. After that, their future emails are automatically sorted away.

If someone is sending you many unwanted emails from different addresses, or if you want to block emails containing certain words or phrases, you may need to use filters or rules instead of a straightforward block. That takes a few more steps but gives you more control.

Key Takeaways

  • Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo Mail, and Apple Mail all have a one-click block button in the email itself or in the sender's contact card.
  • Blocked emails still arrive on the server but go to a spam or blocked folder, so the sender does not know they are blocked.
  • If someone is using multiple email addresses to contact you, blocking one address at a time will not stop them — you may need to use a filter instead.
  • Filters let you automatically delete, archive, or sort emails based on the sender's address or words in the subject line.

How to block in Gmail

Open the email from the person you want to block. Click the three dots (more actions menu) in the top right of the email. Select "Block [sender's name]" from the dropdown menu. Gmail will ask you to confirm — click "Block" again.

After you block someone in Gmail, their emails go to spam automatically. If you change your mind, you can unblock them by going to Settings > Filters and Blocked Addresses > Blocked addresses, finding their name, and clicking "Unblock."

How to block in Outlook

Open the email from the person you want to block. Click the three dots in the top right corner. Select "Block" from the menu. Outlook will move that email to your Junk folder and send future emails from that address there as well.

To unblock someone in Outlook, go to Settings > Mail > Junk email. Scroll down to "Blocked senders" and you will see a list of everyone you have blocked. Click the X next to their name to remove them from the list.

How to block in Yahoo Mail

Open the email from the sender you want to block. Click the three dots menu button. Select "Block sender." Yahoo Mail will confirm the block and move that email to spam.

Yahoo keeps a list of blocked senders in your account settings. To see who you have blocked or to unblock someone, go to Account info > Security and privacy > Blocked users.

How to block in Apple Mail

On an iPhone or iPad, open the email and tap the sender's name at the top. Tap "Block this Contact" and confirm. On a Mac, right-click the email and select "Block Contact" from the menu.

Blocked contacts in Apple Mail are stored in your Contacts app. To unblock someone, open Contacts, find their name, and remove the block from their contact card.

Using filters when someone uses multiple addresses

If the same person is emailing you from different addresses, blocking one address will not stop them. Instead, create a filter that catches emails based on content rather than sender address alone. Most email providers let you filter by subject line, keywords in the message body, or a combination of both.

In Gmail, go to Settings > Filters and Blocked Addresses > Create a new filter. Enter a word or phrase that appears in all their emails (like a name or a repeated phrase), then choose what to do with matching emails — delete, archive, or send to spam. In Outlook, go to Settings > Mail > Rules and create a rule that sorts emails containing certain words into a folder or deletes them. Yahoo Mail and Apple Mail have similar filter options in their settings menus.

Filters are also useful if you want to block emails from a whole domain — for example, all emails from anyone at a particular company. You can enter the domain name (the part after the @ symbol) as the filter criteria.

What happens after you block someone

When you block someone, they do not receive a notification that you have blocked them. Their emails still reach your email server, but your email provider automatically sorts them into a spam or blocked folder instead of your inbox. You will not see a notification when they send you a message.

The blocked person can still see your email address and send messages to it — they just will not know whether you are reading them. If they contact you through another method (phone, text, social media) to ask why you are not responding, they may realize they have been blocked, but the email system itself does not tell them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can someone tell if I have blocked them?

No. Blocked emails arrive on the server but go to spam or a blocked folder instead of your inbox. The sender does not receive a bounce-back message or any notification. They may suspect they are blocked if you stop responding, but the email system does not confirm it.

What if I block someone by mistake?

You can unblock them at any time through your email provider's settings. In Gmail, go to Settings > Filters and Blocked Addresses > Blocked addresses. In Outlook, go to Settings > Mail > Junk email > Blocked senders. In Yahoo and Apple Mail, the process is similar — find the blocked list in your account settings and remove their name.

Will blocking someone delete their old emails?

No. Blocking only affects new emails going forward. Any emails from that person that are already in your inbox will stay there. If you want to remove old emails from someone, you need to delete them manually or use a filter to archive them.

Can I block emails with certain words instead of blocking a person?

Yes. Use your email provider's filter or rules feature to automatically delete, archive, or sort emails that contain specific words or phrases. This is useful when you want to block a topic rather than a specific person, or when someone keeps emailing you from different addresses.

What is the difference between blocking and unsubscribing?

Unsubscribing removes you from a mailing list — it tells the sender's system to stop sending you emails. Blocking prevents emails from reaching your inbox but does not notify the sender. Use unsubscribe for newsletters and marketing emails, and block for unwanted personal contact.