How to block emails in Gmail

How to block emails in Gmail
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If you want to know how to block emails in Gmail, then chances are you’ve received spam, someone is being abusive or you simply don’t want to view a sender’s messages any more. Whatever your reason, blocking is very easy to do and it will not only help you steer clear of messages you’d rather not receive, it also helps you to better manage your inbox.

Blocked messages are sent to spam. This means you can, if you wish, drop into your spam folder from time-to-time to see if the blocked sender has actually sent something of use. Otherwise, you can continue using Gmail oblivious to what they may be sending – until, that is, you decide that you may want to begin receiving them in your inbox again, in which case you can simply unblock.

We take a look at both blocking and unblocking here. So let’s check out how to block email in Gmail. You can also look for unsubscribe buttons in emails if you’d like to be taken off mailing lists.

How to block emails in Gmail on a computer

Here we look at how to block and unblock email addresses when using Gmail in a web browser.

1. Find an offending email

(Image: © Future)

First of all, launch a web browser and go to https://mail.google.com/mail. Then click on an email from a sender that you wish to block.

2. Click the three dots

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At the top-right of the email, click the three-dots.

3. Block the sender

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Now select Block [sender’s name] from the drop-down menu that appears.

4. Confirm the block

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A warning will pop up informing you that all future emails from the sender will be marked as spam messages. Click Block to confirm or click Cancel if you have a change of heart.

5. Unblock someone

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Future emails from this sender will be sent to Spam. If you decide that you would like to unblock that person in the future, you can open the email again and click Unblock Sender.

6. See all blocked senders

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You can also view all blocked senders and unblock them if you click the Settings cog, select See all settings and select Filters and Blocked Addresses. Just click Unblock next to an email sender.

Here we look at how to block and unblock email addresses when using the Gmail app.

How to block emails in Gmail on a mobile device

1. Find an offending email

(Image: © Future)

First of all, launch the Gmail app and tap on an email from a sender that you wish to block.

2. Tap the three dots

(Image: © Future)

At the top-right of the email, tap the three-dots.

3. Block the sender

(Image: © Future)

Now tap Block [sender’s name] from the menu that appears. The sender will be blocked.

4. Unblock someone

(Image: © Future)

Future emails from this sender will be sent to Spam. If you decide that you would like to unblock that person in the future, you can open the email again and tap Unblock Sender.


And there you go. You now know how to block emails in Gmail. But before you go, why not discover more. If spam is getting too much, discover how to create a new Gmail account or how to delete your Gmail account. You can also find out how to schedule an email in Gmail and how to disable Gmail's smart features and prevent tracking. There are many other guides in our Gmail tutorials hub too.

David Crookes
Contributor

David Crookes is a freelance writer, reporter, editor and author. He has written for technology and gaming magazines including Retro Gamer, Web User, Micro Mart, MagPi, Android, iCreate, Total PC Gaming, T3 and Macworld. He has also covered crime, history, politics, education, health, sport, film, music and more, and been a producer for BBC Radio 5 Live.