The fastest way to stop spam: use your email provider's built-in block feature
Every major email service — Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail — has a block button built into each message. Open the spam email, look for a three-dot menu or "More" button, and select "Block sender" or "Block this email address". The sender's future messages go straight to spam automatically. This works when ready and requires no settings to change.
If you use webmail (Gmail in a browser, Outlook.com, iCloud.com), the block button appears in the toolbar at the top of the message. If you use a desktop or phone app, the button is usually in a menu you access by tapping or clicking the three dots. The exact wording changes between services, but the result is the same: that sender's address stops reaching your inbox.
Blocking works best for emails from real people or small senders. For large mailing lists — newsletters you signed up for but no longer want — unsubscribing is faster, because one click removes you from the list entirely rather than filtering future messages.
Key Takeaways
- Every email service has a block button in the message toolbar that sends a sender's future emails straight to spam.
- Gmail's spam filter learns from what you mark as spam, so reporting junk trains the system to catch similar messages automatically.
- Unsubscribing from mailing lists is faster than blocking if you want to stop a newsletter or promotional email.
- Creating filters or rules lets you automatically sort emails by sender, subject line, or keywords without deleting them.
- Never reply to spam, click links in suspicious emails, or confirm your address — these actions tell spammers your email is active.
How to block senders in Gmail
Open the spam email in Gmail. At the top of the message, click the three-dot menu (it looks like three vertical dots). Select "Block [sender's name]". Gmail moves that sender's future emails to your spam folder automatically.
Gmail also learns from your actions. When you click the trash icon to delete a message or mark it as spam using the three-dot menu, Gmail's filter notices the pattern. If many users mark emails from the same sender as spam, Gmail starts catching similar messages for everyone. This means the more you report spam, the better Gmail's filter becomes at recognizing it.
You can also create a filter to handle emails more precisely. Click the three-dot menu, select "Filter messages like this", and choose what to do with matching emails — delete them, send them to spam, or sort them into a folder. Filters work on sender address, subject line, or keywords in the message body.
How to block senders in Outlook
In Outlook.com or the Outlook app, open the spam message. Click the three-dot menu at the top right. Select "Junk" and then "Block sender". Outlook moves that sender's future messages to your Junk folder.
Outlook also lets you create rules to handle emails automatically. Go to Settings (the gear icon), select "Mail", then "Rules". Click "Add new rule" and set conditions — for example, "if the sender is [address]" — and an action, such as "move to Junk" or "delete". Rules explore to all incoming mail that matches your conditions, so you can sort multiple senders at once.
If you receive a lot of email from a domain (like all messages from @spamcompany.com), you can block the entire domain rather than individual addresses. In the rule, use the domain name instead of a full email address, and Outlook will catch any sender from that domain.
How to block senders in Apple Mail
In Apple Mail on Mac, right-click the spam message and select "Mark as Junk". Apple learns from this action and automatically filters similar messages in the future. You can also drag messages directly to the Junk folder.
To block a specific sender, select the message, then go to Mail menu > Junk Mail > Mark as Junk. Apple Mail does not have a single "block sender" button like Gmail or Outlook, but marking messages as junk trains the filter to recognize that sender's future emails.
On iPhone or iPad, swipe left on the message and tap the trash icon, or tap "Mark as Junk" if that option appears. The Mail app learns from these actions and improves its spam detection over time. You can also create rules in Mail settings, though this is less common on Apple devices than on desktop email clients.
Unsubscribe from mailing lists instead of blocking
If the email is a newsletter, promotional message, or mailing list you once signed up for, unsubscribing is faster than blocking. Look at the very bottom of the email for a link that says "Unsubscribe" or "Manage preferences". Click it, and you are removed from that sender's list — no future emails arrive.
Unsubscribing works because the sender controls the list. Blocking only affects your inbox; the sender can still send emails, and you just do not see them. If you unsubscribe, the sender stops sending to you entirely, which is cleaner and prevents the email from taking up space in your spam folder.
Be cautious about unsubscribing from emails you do not recognize. Legitimate companies include unsubscribe links because the law requires them. Spam from scammers often includes fake unsubscribe links that confirm your email address is active, which makes the spam worse. If you do not recognize the sender and did not sign up for the list, block or delete instead of unsubscribing.
Create filters and rules to sort emails automatically
Filters let you handle emails based on patterns rather than blocking individual senders. You can sort emails by sender, subject line, keywords, or even the size of the message. Instead of deleting or blocking, you can move emails to a specific folder, mark them as read, or add a label.
In Gmail, click the three-dot menu in any message and select "Filter messages like this". Choose your conditions — sender address, subject keywords, or words in the message body — and then choose an action. You can send matching emails to spam, delete them, star them, or move them to a label you create.
In Outlook, go to Settings > Mail > Rules and click "Add new rule". Set the condition (for example, "if the subject contains [word]") and the action (move to a folder, delete, or mark as junk). Outlook applies the rule to all future emails that match, so you can handle entire categories of mail at once without blocking individual senders.
What not to do when you receive spam
Never reply to spam, even to ask to be removed. A reply tells the spammer your email address is active and monitored, which makes you a target for more spam. Never click links in suspicious emails, because the link may install malware or confirm your address is real.
Do not confirm your email address by clicking "verify" or "confirm" links in emails you do not recognize. Scammers send these messages to test whether an address is active. Clicking the link confirms it, and you will receive more spam.
If an email asks for personal information — passwords, credit card numbers, Social Security numbers — do not respond. Legitimate companies never ask for sensitive information by email. Delete the message or report it as phishing to your email provider using the three-dot menu.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I unblock a sender after I block them?
Yes. In Gmail, go to Settings > Filters and Blocked Addresses and find the blocked sender in the list, then click "Unblock". In Outlook, go to Settings > Mail > Junk Email and remove the address from the blocked senders list. On Apple Mail, there is no unblock list; you would need to manually move future emails from that sender back to your inbox or create a rule to allow them.
Will blocking a sender delete their old emails?
No. Blocking only affects new emails. Old messages from that sender stay in your inbox unless you delete them manually. If you want to remove old emails from a blocked sender, search for their address, select all matching messages, and delete them.
What is the difference between blocking and marking as spam?
Blocking sends a sender's future emails to spam automatically. Marking as spam trains your email filter to recognize similar messages and catch them in the future. Both work, but blocking is when ready and specific to one sender, while marking as spam helps the filter learn patterns across many senders.
Can I block emails by subject line instead of sender?
Yes, using filters or rules. In Gmail, click the three-dot menu and select "Filter messages like this", then set the condition to "Subject contains [word]". In Outlook, create a rule with the condition "Subject contains [word]" and choose an action. This catches all emails with that subject line, even from different senders.
Why do I still get spam after blocking a sender?
Spammers often use different email addresses or domains to avoid blocks. If you keep receiving similar spam from different senders, create a filter based on keywords in the subject line or message body instead of blocking individual addresses. This catches variations of the same spam more effectively than blocking one sender at a time.