Definition
💡 Block, in regard to email, means to prevent a sender’s future messages from arriving in your inbox. This is similar to blocking a caller on your mobile phone to stop them from contacting you again.
Example
If you receive suspicious, malicious, or harassing messages, you can block the email address for the sender.What happens when you block an email address?
When you block an email address, future messages from that sender automatically go to your spam or junk folder, depending on your service provider.
Is the sender notified when you block an email?
The sender is not notified when you block them. While most providers allow you to silently block senders, there may be some that bounce the message back to the sender with an undeliverable notification. If you’re concerned about a possible bounce-back, review your service provider’s policies on blocking email addresses.
How to block a sender
The procedure for blocking an email sender differs per the service provider. However, you’ll usually find this option in the list of other actions you can take on the message.
As an example, you can block a sender in Gmail using the steps below:
- Open the message and click the three dots in the upper right corner of the email.
- Select Block “Sender”.
- Confirm by choosing Block in the pop-up window.
