Blocking an email address in Gmail stops messages from that sender reaching your inbox
When you block someone in Gmail, their messages go straight to spam and you won't see notifications for them. The person doesn't know they're blocked — Gmail doesn't send them a message about it. You can unblock them later if you change your mind. Blocking works on desktop and mobile, and the block stays in place across all your devices because it's tied to your Gmail account, not your computer.
The block only affects email from that specific address. If someone sends you mail from a different email account, that message won't be blocked. You'll need to block each address separately.
Key Takeaways
- Blocked emails go to your spam folder automatically, and you won't receive notifications about them.
- The person you block has no way of knowing they're blocked, and blocking doesn't send them any message.
- You can unblock someone at any time by finding their message in spam and selecting unblock.
- Blocking one email address doesn't block other addresses from the same person if they have multiple accounts.
- The block applies across all devices where you use your Gmail account.
How to block someone on desktop Gmail
Open Gmail in your web browser and find any message from the person you want to block. This can be a current message or an old one — it doesn't matter. Click the three vertical dots (the menu icon) in the top right corner of the email. A dropdown menu will appear with several options.
Select Block "[sender's name]" from the menu. Gmail will ask you to confirm. Click Block again, and the block is active immediately. Any future emails from that address will skip your inbox and land in spam instead.
If you've already deleted the message, you can still find it in your Trash folder. Open Trash, locate the message, and follow the same steps — click the three dots and select Block.
How to block someone on Gmail mobile app
Open the Gmail app on your phone or tablet and find a message from the person you want to block. Tap the three vertical dots in the top right corner of the message. A menu will pop up with several options.
Tap Block "[sender's name]". Gmail will ask you to confirm the block. Tap Block again, and it's done. The block takes effect right away on your phone and across all your other devices.
What happens after you block someone
All messages from the blocked address go into your spam folder automatically. You won't see them in your inbox, and Gmail won't send you notifications about them. If you ever want to see what they sent, you can check your spam folder — the messages are still there, just hidden from your main inbox.
The person who is blocked has no way to know. Gmail doesn't send them a notification, and there's no message telling them the block happened. From their perspective, their emails simply go out as normal — they won't know whether you're reading them or not.
How to unblock someone in Gmail
If you change your mind, you can unblock someone at any time. Open Gmail and go to your spam folder. Find a message from the person you want to unblock. Click the three vertical dots and select Unblock "[sender's name]". Confirm the unblock, and their future messages will go back to your inbox normally.
On mobile, the process is the same — open the Gmail app, go to spam, find their message, tap the three dots, and select Unblock. The change takes effect immediately across all your devices.
When blocking doesn't work the way you expect
If someone has multiple email addresses, blocking one address won't block the others. They can still email you from a different account. You'll need to block each address separately as messages from them arrive. This is why blocking is most useful for one-off unwanted senders rather than someone determined to contact you from many different accounts.
Blocking also doesn't stop someone from seeing your emails if you've already sent them messages. It only affects new messages coming in from that address going forward. If you're concerned about someone accessing old conversations, consider whether you need to change your password or review your account security settings.
If you're receiving a lot of unwanted mail from many different addresses, blocking individual senders becomes tedious. In that case, you might want to create a filter that automatically sends certain types of messages to spam based on keywords or sender patterns. Filters are more powerful than blocking for handling bulk unwanted mail.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the person I blocked see that I blocked them?
No. Gmail doesn't notify them or give any indication that they're blocked. Their emails simply go to spam on your end, and they have no way of knowing this happened. They might notice if you stop responding to their messages, but Gmail itself doesn't tell them about the block.
If I block someone and then unblock them, can they see my old emails?
Yes. Unblocking someone doesn't hide your previous messages from them. If you sent them emails before blocking, they can still see those messages in their inbox. Blocking and unblocking only affects new incoming messages, not the history of what you've already sent.
What's the difference between blocking and reporting spam?
Blocking stops one specific address from reaching your inbox. Reporting spam tells Gmail that a message is unwanted and helps train Gmail's spam filters for all users. You can do both — report the message as spam and then block the address. Blocking is faster if you just want to stop one person.
Will blocking someone stop them from seeing my Gmail status or profile?
Blocking only affects email messages. It doesn't hide your profile picture, status, or other information from the person. If you want to limit what someone can see about you, you'll need to adjust your Google Account privacy settings separately from Gmail blocking.
Can I block an entire domain instead of just one email address?
Gmail's block feature only works on individual email addresses, not entire domains. If you want to block all mail from a company domain, you'll need to create a filter instead. Filters let you set rules based on sender domain and automatically send those messages to spam or delete them.