How to Block Emails on Gmail
Gmail does a good job of sorting your incoming mail and moving spam to the Spam folder, but some unwanted emails still get through.
To block someone on Gmail, open a message from the sender, click More (the three vertical dots next to the Reply button), and select Block [sender's name]. Gmail will ask you to confirm — click Block, and all future messages from that address go straight to your Spam folder.
![Select Block [sender's name]](https://clean.email/user/pages/how-to-block-an-email-address/gmail-block.jpg)
![Select Block [sender's name]](https://clean.email/user/pages/how-to-block-an-email-address/gmail-block-mobile.jpg)
The steps are the same in the Gmail mobile app on both Android and iPhone — open the email, tap the three-dot menu, and tap Block.
Should you ever want to unblock the sender on Gmail, open any message from that contact, click More, and select Unblock [sender's name]. You can also go to Settings → Filters and Blocked Addresses to manage your full blocked list.
The problem with spammers is that they often keep generating new addresses, forcing you to block each one individually. Gmail lets you block an entire domain using filters — we cover that in the domain blocking section below.
> For Google's official documentation, see Block an email address in Gmail.
How to Block an Email Address in Outlook
Outlook provides a straightforward way to stop unwanted emails. Here's how to block emails on Outlook using the web service: go to your Inbox, choose an email from the sender you want to block, click More options (three dots) on the top toolbar, click Block, then press OK to confirm.
To manage your blocked senders list or to unblock someone in Outlook, click the Settings gear icon, choose Mail, and go to Junk email to add or remove senders and domains. Outlook has a limit of 1,024 blocked addresses — if you're hitting that cap, use Outlook Rules for more reliable filtering or a tool like Clean Email that handles blocking without limits.
The Outlook mobile app also lets you block senders individually. For Hotmail users: Hotmail is now Outlook.com, so these same steps apply. See also: How to Block Emails on Hotmail.
> For Microsoft's official documentation, see Block or unblock senders in Outlook.How to Block Emails on Yahoo
Yahoo lets you block up to 500 addresses. When you block an address, all messages from it automatically move to the Spam folder.
To block emails on Yahoo: hover over the Settings icon, choose More Settings, go to Security and privacy, click Add next to Blocked addresses, type the address, and click Save.
To unblock an email address on Yahoo, go back to the Blocked Addresses section and remove the sender.
The Yahoo mobile app doesn't have a direct block option. Instead, select the unwanted message, tap More, and choose Mark as spam. For full blocking on mobile, use the desktop site or a tool like Clean Email.
> For Yahoo's official documentation, see Block and unblock email addresses in Yahoo Mail.How to Block an Email Address in Apple Mail
If the Apple Mail app is your preferred email client, you can block senders on both Mac and iPhone. When you block a sender in Apple Mail, their emails go to Trash and the setting syncs across all your Apple devices.
On Mac: Open the Mail app, select a message from the sender you want to block, place the mouse pointer over the sender's name in the message header, and select Block Contact. A blocked icon will appear next to that sender's name.
On iPhone & iPad: Open the email, tap the sender's name at the top, tap it again to see their details, then choose Block this Contact. You can also long-press an email in your inbox and select Block Sender to block without opening the message.
On iCloud.com: The web version doesn't have a one-click block button. Instead, go to Settings → Rules → Add New Rule, set "is from" to the sender's address, choose Move to Trash, and click Add.
For full step-by-step guides: How to Block Email on iPhone, How to Block Emails on Mac, and iCloud Block Email.
> For Apple's official documentation, see Block senders in Mail on Mac.How to Block Emails on Other Providers
How to Block Emails in AOL
AOL automatically scans and filters incoming messages, but some spam still gets through. To block emails on AOL in a web browser: click the Settings gear icon, choose More Settings, go to Security and privacy, click Add next to Blocked addresses, type the address, and press Save.
AOL lets you create up to 1,000 filters. The AOL mobile app doesn't have a built-in block feature — you can mark messages as spam instead, or use Clean Email's Block feature on mobile.
How to Block an Email Address in ProtonMail
ProtonMail uses a smart spam detection system, but junk emails sometimes get through anyway. To block a sender: click the Settings gear icon → All settings → Filters → scroll to Spam, block, and allow lists → click Add address or domain → choose Block. Enter the sender's address or domain and click Add address.
How to Block an Email Address in Zoho Mail
You can use Zoho Mail's anti-spam lists to block specific addresses or entire domains. Click the Settings gear icon → Anti-Spam Lists → choose Email Address or Domain → click Add above the Blocklist field, enter the address or domain, and click Add.
How to Block Emails in GMX and Mail.com
Both GMX and Mail.com use the same interface. Go to E-mail Settings → Blocklist, enter the email address or domain name, and click Save. Both support address-level and domain-level blocking.
For Thunderbird users, see: Thunderbird Block Sender.
How to Block an Entire Domain
Blocking a single address works for known senders, but spammers often keep randomly generating new addresses. To stop all emails from an entire domain (like @spammydomain.com), you need domain-level blocking.
In Gmail: Click Show search options in the search bar, type the domain under From, click Create filter, select Delete it, and click Create filter. All emails from that domain will be auto-deleted.
In Outlook: Go to Settings → Mail → Junk email → Blocked senders and domains and add the domain. You can also create a Rule to auto-delete emails from that domain.
With Clean Email: Select any email from the domain, click Block — Clean Email blocks the entire domain across all your connected accounts. Or create an Auto Clean rule: choose the sender domain, set the action to Trash, and turn on Apply to existing messages. The rule runs automatically on all future emails.
Unsubscribing vs. Blocking
Blocking and unsubscribing serve different purposes. Blocking sends future emails from a sender to your Spam or Trash folder, but it doesn't remove your address from their mailing list — the sender keeps sending, you just don't see the messages. Unsubscribing actually removes you from the list, which makes it the better option for newsletters, marketing emails, and other subscriptions you signed up for.
Clean Email provides an Unsubscriber feature that identifies subscription-based emails and lets you unsubscribe from emails from multiple senders in one place. Hit the Unsubscribe button, and the app follows the unsubscribe links and completes the necessary forms on your behalf.
Block Emails Across All Accounts with Clean Email
Every email provider handles blocking differently, and if you use multiple accounts, you're managing blocked lists in multiple places. Clean Email connects all your accounts and gives you one set of tools to handle blocking everywhere.
Block Sender: Select any unwanted email and click Block. Clean Email blocks the sender (or their entire domain) so future emails go straight to Trash — across all your connected accounts.
Screener: Automatically quarantines emails from unknown senders. You review new contacts and decide who gets through — everyone else stays out of your inbox. This is especially useful when spammers keep changing addresses, because any sender you haven't approved is blocked by default.
Auto Clean: Set rules to automatically trash, archive, or label incoming emails — useful for blocking entire domains and keeping your inbox clean without daily effort.
Your information is secure with Clean Email. The app only examines email header information — subject line, sender, recipient, size, and date. The body and attachments of messages are never downloaded or accessed. Your data is encrypted and never shared.
Clean Email is available as a web app and also offers apps for iPhone, Android, and Mac.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens when you block an email?
When you block an email, future messages from that sender are automatically redirected to your Spam or Trash folder, and you won't receive notifications for these emails. However, the sender of the message won't be notified that they have been blocked or that you aren't reading their emails.
Where do blocked emails go?
Blocked emails typically go to the Spam or Junk folder, depending on your email service provider's settings. You can go to these folders to review and delete those messages. If you don't delete them, those messages will be deleted automatically by the mail provider after a certain time period which may be different for various providers.
Why do I still get emails from a blocked sender?
Sometimes spammers use multiple addresses to send spam to your folder. You might stop one sender but have not yet blocked the others. Finding and blocking the root email domain should cut off all communication with a specific sender.
Does the person know if I blocked their email?
If you add a sender to your blocked senders list, they will not be notified that you blocked them. However, if you would like to notify them, the most common way to do this is to send a message to the sender describing that you plan to stop getting messages from them and why.
How do I block an email address on my iPhone?
Open the Mail app, tap the sender's name at the top of the message, tap it again to see their contact details, and select Block this Contact. The block syncs across all your Apple devices. You can also long-press an email in your inbox and choose Block Sender without opening it.
How to unblock emails if you change your mind?
To unblock emails, go to the settings of your email provider, find the list of blocked addresses or filters, and remove the email address or rule that you previously set to block the sender.
