How To Block An Email Address In 2024

How to Block Emails on Gmail

Gmail does a good job of sorting your incoming mail and placing it in the right places, including moving spam messages to the Spam folder. Still, some unwanted emails can get through and clutter your Inbox.

Blocking a sender is likely the simplest method to halt unwanted emails, directing future messages from that address directly to Gmail's Spam folder. We have a quick video tutorial that shows how to block unwanted emails so that you won’t see them in your Gmail inbox:

To block someone on Gmail using the Gmail web service and to block emails on Android using the Gmail mobile app, follow these steps:

1. Open a message from the sender you would like to stop.
2. Click More (the three vertical dots next to the Reply button) and select Block [sender’s name].
3. A pop-up window will appear and ask you if you want to Block the sender’s address and move all future messages from it to the Spam folder. Click Block to confirm.
4. A confirmation message appears, telling you that you’ve successfully blocked the sender.

Should you ever decide to unblock the sender on Gmail, open any message you’ve received from that contact, click More, and select Unblock [sender’s name]. If you can’t find any message from the sender, click Settings (the gear icon) and select the See all settings. Go to Filters and Blocked Addresses, find the address you would like to unblock, and select the unblock link to the right of it.

The problem with spammers is that they often keep randomly generating new addresses, forcing users to block each new spam message individually. It probably won’t surprise you much to learn that many people simply give up after a while and live with an inbox full of spam emails.

The good news is that Gmail's block sender feature makes it easy to create rules to block an entire domain name. Here’s how to block on Gmail using rules and filters:

1. Click Show search options (located on the right side of the search bar).
2. Type the desired domain name (or individual email address) under From.
3. Click Create filter, which is located in the lower-right corner and may be greyed out.
4. In the dialog box that appears, select Delete it to automatically delete all emails from the desired domain name.
5. Click Create filter.

How to Block Emails on Yahoo

Yahoo gives you the option to block as many as 500 addresses. When you block an address on Yahoo, all messages from it get automatically moved to the Spam folder, leaving you with a clean inbox.

Here’s how to block emails on Yahoo:

1. Log in to your Yahoo account.
2. Hover the mouse cursor over the Settings icon and select More Settings from the pop-up menu.
3. Choose Security and privacy from the left pane.
4. Next to Blocked addresses, select Add.
5. Under Add an email address to block, type the address you would like to block.
6. Click Save.

To unblock an email address on Yahoo, you simply navigate to the Blocked Addresses category again and choose which sender you want to unblock.

The Yahoo mobile app lacks a direct sender blocking feature. Instead, you can mark messages from the unwanted senders as spam.

1. In the Inbox, select the unwanted message or use the Search icon to find the sender.
2. Check the box next to the message and tap More on the bottom action bar.
3. Tap Mark as spam.

How to Block an Email on Mobile Devices using Clean Email

To manage your emails more efficiently on mobile, consider using the Clean Email app, compatible with iOS and Android. It is available for free download, allowing you to clean up to 1,000 emails at no cost. Additionally, it offers complimentary unsubscription from 25 newsletters and lets you test Screener, Auto Clean, and other premium features during a 14-day trial period.

Follow these steps to block an email sender on mobile with Clean Email:

1. Install the app on your device and sign in with your mailbox.
2. Tap the hamburger icon top-left and select Senders from the sidebar.
3. Find and select the sender you wish to block.
4. Go to Settings and select the Block option.
5. Enable the toggle to send existing messages from this sender to Trash. Hit Confirm to finish.

It is also possible to block messages from an entire domain, here’s how:

1. Open the app and select Auto Clean from the sidebar, then hit Create Rule.
2. Name your rule and select Any sender or recipients.
3. Choose Sender Domain from the menu, then type and select the desired domain in the search box.
4. Decide where to direct messages from this domain, such as Archive or Trash. Turn on Apply to existing messages to remove current messages from the domain.
5. Click Create Rule. Messages from this domain will now be automatically trashed upon arrival.

How to Block an Email Address in Outlook

Outlook, formerly Hotmail, provides a straightforward way to stop unwanted emails. When you block an address in Outlook, it prevents any future messages from that sender from appearing in your inbox. Here’s how to block emails on Outlook web service:

1. Go to your Inbox.
2. Choose an email from the address you want to block, then click More options (three dots) on the top toolbar, and click Block.
3. Press OK to confirm your choice.

To manage your Outlook blocked senders list or to unblock Outlook email, click the Settings gear icon, choose Mail, and go to Junk email option to add senders and domains to blocked/allowed lists.

The Outlook mobile app allows you to block senders, although it requires blocking them individually. For an even easier approach on mobile, learn how to block an email on Outlook using Clean Email's Screener feature. This tool intercepts messages from new senders, preventing them from reaching your inbox.

Setting up the tool is straightforward: open the Clean Email app, sign in with your mailbox, navigate to the Screener section, and enable the feature. Then the tool will let you decide whether to allow, unsubscribe from, or block the incoming emails. With this setup, the app automatically eliminates future messages from senders you've blocked.

How To Check an Email Address for Spam Before Blocking

Before you decide to block a sender, it might be useful to check an email address for spam to ensure that it’s truly a threat or unwanted. Some emails may appear suspicious but are harmless, while others might be dangerous phishing attempts.

To check email address for spam score, you can use various tools and services that analyze the sender’s reputation, domain history, and potential red flags associated with spam behavior. For example, tools like Spamhaus and MXToolbox can help you verify the legitimacy of an email and determine if it’s linked to spamming activities.

By using these services, you can decide whether to block the sender immediately or take other actions, such as reporting the email to your provider for further analysis. Read our article to learn more about how to check if an email is valid and safe.

How to Block an Email Address in ProtonMail

Even though one of the most secure providers ProtonMail uses a smart spam detection system to automatically block spam messages, sometimes junk emails get through anyway. When that happens, the best defense is to block the sender.

Here’s how to stop receiving emails using ProtonMail’s filters:

1. Go to your ProtonMail inbox and click settings gear icon, located in the upper-right corner. Then click All settings.
2. From the menu on the left, select Filters → scroll down to the Spam, block, and allow lists section → click Add address or domain button → in the dropdown menu choose Block.
3. Choose whether to add an individual email or a domain to the block list.
4. Enter the sender's address or the domain you would like to stop.
5. Click Add address.

To quickly move an email address from the Blocked list to the Allowed list, click the three-dot button in the Edit column, and select the desired destination for the address.

How to Block Emails in iCloud Mail

Is your iCloud Mail address attracting spam email messages? If you use iCloud on your Mac computer, you can block emails on Mac by following these steps:

1. Open the Mail app and select a message from the sender you want to block.
2. Place the mouse pointer over the name in the message header.
3. Select Block Contact. A blocked icon appears next to that sender’s name.

If you use iCloud mail on the web, you’ll block malicious senders using email filters, automatically filtering incoming messages to avoid having to do so manually later.

Here’s how to block emails on iCloud by setting up rules:

1. Go to the iCloud website.
2. Log in to your iCloud Mail inbox.
3. Click the gear icon on the left and choose Settings.
4. Go to the Rules tab and click + Add New Rule.
5. In the drop-down menu under Message select is from. Enter the mail address of the person you want to block.
6. In the drop-down under Action menu choose Move to Trash.
7. Click Add.

To create such a rule on your iPhone, open Settings, click your Apple ID name on top, then go to iCloud → iCloud Mail, choose iCloud Mail Rules and tap Add Rule, then insert the unwanted sender’s name or address, choose the action to perform in Action and Folder menus, click Done to finish.

If the Apple Mail app is your preferred email client on mobile, it's important to know how to block an email on iPhone directly from this app. When you block a sender in the Mail app, their emails are sent to the Trash folder, and the block setting is synchronized across all your Apple devices.

Here’s how to block senders in the Mail app for iOS:

1. Open the Mail app, and select a message from the unwanted sender.
2. Click the sender’s name twice.
3. Choose Block this Contact.
4. Confirm the action.

For added security, there's a method on how to stop spam emails on iPhone without opening the message. Simply long-press the email in your inbox, preview it, and select Block Sender.

How to Block Emails in AOL

To protect your account, AOL automatically scans and filters incoming messages, but any automatic anti-spam solution is guaranteed to make a mistake from time to time.

If you're getting overwhelmed by spam messages, take spam filtering into your own hands and proactively block emails on AOL in a web browser by following the steps below:

1. Log in to your AOL Mail account.
2. Select the settings gear icon at the top right, then choose More Settings.
3. Go to Security and privacy, and press Add in the Blocked addresses section.
4. Type in the email address to block.
5. Press Save to enable the filter.

AOL Mail lets you create up to 1,000 filters, and you can use them to automatically delete emails from certain senders, mark messages as read, and so on. To remove a blocked email address, hover the mouse cursor over it and click the trash icon.

The AOL mobile app lacks a built-in feature for blocking unwanted senders. While you can block senders via AOL Mail in a mobile web browser, this might not be the most convenient option. The recommended alternatives are to use Clean Email’s Block feature, or to mark email senders as spam:

1. Open the AOL mobile app and go to your Inbox.
2. Tap the contact's photo to select the message from unwanted sender, then tap More at the bottom.
3. Select Mark as spam.

How to Block an Email Address in Zoho Mail

You can use email filters in Zoho Mail to block an email address and automatically delete all emails sent from it. Additionally, filters can help you automate certain email management tasks, such as labeling or forwarding emails.

To create a filter in Zoho Mail that adds an email address or domain to a block list:

1. Log in to your Zoho Mail account.
2. Click the Settings gear icon at the top.
3. Select Anti-Spam Lists and choose Email Address to block specific emails. For entire domains, select the Domain section.
4. In the Allowlist/Blocklist Emails tab, click Add above the Blocklist field.
5. Click Add button when you’re finished.

How to Block Emails in GMX

GMX has an effective spam filter that protects users from annoying and potentially dangerous spam messages. Users can also block any mail account they want to stop receiving emails from it. We recommend you take advantage of this option to block clever spammers that have managed to get around the GMX spam filter.

Here’s how to block an email address in GMX:

1. Sign in to your GMX account.
2. Click E-mail Settings under the Personalization section on the left panel.
3. Select Blocklist.
4. Enter the email address or domain name that you want to be blocked.
5. Click Save.

How to Block Emails in Mail.com

You can block any email address in Mail.com using the blacklist. All addresses added to it are automatically moved to the Spam folder. The Mail.com blacklist supports not only complete addresses (example@domain.com), but also domain names (domain.com). When you add a domain name to the blacklist, Mail.com automatically blocks all email addresses associated with it.

Here’s how to block someone on email by managing your Mail.com blacklist:

1. Log in to your Mail.com inbox.
2. Click E-mail Settings on the left panel.
3. Select Blocklist.
4. Enter the sender's address or domain name.
5. Click Save to add it to your blocked list.

Unsubscribing vs. Blocking

Blocking emails and unsubscribing from them serve different purposes in managing your inbox. Blocking stops emails from a specific sender by sending them to your Spam or Trash folder. However, if you're dealing with subscription emails and wish to stop them, remember that blocking doesn't remove your address from the sender's mailing list, and won't prevent the sender from continuing to send messages

On the other hand, unsubscribing is a more proactive approach for emails you've signed up for, like newsletters or marketing emails. These emails typically include an unsubscribe link, often found at the bottom. By following this link and completing the required steps, you can stop receiving future communications from that sender.

For cases involving subscriptions, Clean Email provides its Unsubscriber feature, a convenient tool that identifies subscription-based emails. This allows you to easily unsubscribe from emails from multiple senders in one place, saving time and effort, particularly when dealing with a large volume of subscription emails.

Simply hit the Unsubscribe button, and the app takes over, following the unsubscribe links and completing the necessary forms or other actions on your behalf. This makes the unsubscribing process straightforward and efficient.

Conclusion

In 2024, learning how to block an email address is crucial for effective digital communication management. This article provides clear instructions for popular email services like Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, and others, empowering users to control their inboxes. By blocking unwanted messages, users not only keep their inboxes clean but also enhance their online safety, shielding themselves from spam and potential security threats.

Clean Email stands out as a comprehensive tool for managing emails, offering features like Auto Clean, Unsubscriber, Screener, and more. These functionalities automate routine inbox management tasks, allowing users to focus on important emails. The app's user-friendly interface and privacy-focused features make it an essential tool for anyone looking to optimize their email experience in a secure and organized way.