How to block a sender in Gmail, Outlook and Apple Mail

To block a sender, open one of their emails and choose Block: in Gmail it is under More next to Reply, in Apple Mail it is in the menu next to the sender's name, and in Outlook.com you add them under Settings, Mail, Junk email. Their future mail then goes to Spam or Junk instead of your inbox.

Blocking does not unsubscribe you. The sender keeps sending, and your mail app keeps filing it away. For a newsletter or a company's marketing mail, unsubscribing is usually the better first step. Blocking is for senders who ignore that, or never offered it. Our guides to stopping cold emails and stopping political emails cover two common cases.

Block a sender in Gmail

1. Open Gmail on a computer and open an email from the sender.
2. At the top right, next to Reply, click More.
3. Choose Block "".

Google says that after you block a sender, all future emails from them go to Spam. Blocking works on one address at a time. A company that sends from many addresses needs a filter instead.

Block a whole company in Gmail with a filter

A filter catches every address at a domain, such as everything from quora.com.

1. In the Gmail search bar, click Show search options.
2. In From, type the domain, for example @quora.com.
3. Click Create filter.
4. Choose what happens to the mail, such as deleting it or skipping the inbox, then click Create filter.

Google's filter guide lists every action a filter can take.

Unsubscribe in Gmail instead

Gmail's Manage subscriptions page lists the mailing lists that send to you. On a computer, click More in the left column, then Manage subscriptions. Google says unsubscribing there leaves every active mailing list from that sender, and that blocking a sender does not unsubscribe you. Google is still rolling the page out, so it may not appear for you yet.

Block a sender in Outlook.com

1. Open Settings, then Mail, then Junk email.
2. To block one address, type it under Blocked senders and click Add.
3. To block a whole company, type its domain under Blocked domains and click Add.
4. Click Save.

Microsoft says Outlook then moves that sender's messages to the Junk Email folder, and that items in Junk are deleted after 14 days.

Block a sender in Apple Mail on a Mac

1. Open Mail and select an email from the sender.
2. Point at the sender's name in the message header, click the arrow, and choose Block Sender.

Apple's guide to reducing junk mail says a blocked icon then shows next to the sender in the message list, and you can block up to 3,000 senders. To undo it, choose Unblock Sender from the same menu.

Questions

Does blocking a sender unsubscribe me?

No. Blocking only changes where their mail lands in your mailbox. The sender still has your address and keeps sending. Google's help page says this directly for Gmail, and the same is true in Outlook and Apple Mail.

Will the sender know I blocked them?

Blocking happens in your own mailbox. The sender's mail is delivered as usual, and your mail app moves it to Spam or Junk when it arrives, so from their side nothing changes.

Why do I still get mail from someone I blocked?

Most often the company sends from more than one address, and you blocked only one. Block the whole domain in Outlook.com, or use a filter on the domain in Gmail. Also check that you blocked the sender on the account the mail arrives at, if you have several. If hundreds of new lists start mailing you at once, see how to stop subscription bombing.

Should I block or unsubscribe?

Unsubscribe from a real company's newsletter or marketing mail first, since that stops the mail at the source. Block senders that ignore unsubscribing, cold sales email with no way out, and anything that looks like a scam. Never click unsubscribe in an email you think is a scam. For spam in general, see how to stop spam emails.

Stop it in Alrighty

Alrighty, a mail app for Mac, Windows and Linux, lists every mailing list that sends you mail, with how often each one sends, and leaves any of them in one click. If a list keeps sending after you leave, Alrighty moves it to Junk for you. People who keep emailing with no way to unsubscribe, mostly cold outreach, are listed too, and one click sends them to Junk. See how it works on the features page, or read how to stop mail from Facebook, Pinterest or Quora.