How to Block an Email on Gmail

Author Info

Last Updated: February 1, 2021

Tired of getting unwanted e-mails from some people you know? E-mail servers only filter messages as spam when it detects it or it’s from a suspicious sender, but for ordinary messages from normal senders, it still goes to your inbox even if you don’t want it to. If you’re using a Gmail account, you can’t exactly block e-mail addresses, but you can set a filter to divert these messages straight to the trash folder.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Logging Into Your Gmail

Download Article

Open your web browser and go to mail.google.com.
2
Log into your account. Enter your username/email and password.
- If you do not have a Gmail account you'll need to create one. Follow the instructions to do so.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Blocking an Email

Download Article

Inside your Gmail, there’s a search bar on top of the page that you can use to search your e-mail account. Click on the down arrow on the right part of this search bar, and a window to specify your search will drop down.
2
Type in the address you want to block on the “From” field. You can do this just by typing the e-mail address. This will affect all the messages from this address, regardless of what the message contains. If you want to be a little more specific, you can set the other fields too:
- To—Filter an e-mail who has a particular recipient.
- Subject—Enter any words that might be included in the subject line of the mail.
- Has the words—If the mail has any words in its body that’s declared here, it will be filtered out.
- Doesn’t have—If the body of the mail doesn’t have the words declared here, it will be filtered out.
- Doesn’t have attachments—E-mails that don’t have files with it will be filtered out.
- Don’t include chats—Skip messages/threads that you’ve replied to.
- Size—If the size of a message falls under the range set here, it will be filtered.
- Date—Set the range of time the messages will be filtered.
This option is located at the bottom-right corner of the search filter window.
4
Select the corresponding action for the filter. If you want to block it, select “Delete It.”
- Every time you receive a message that falls under the criteria of the filter you created, it will be redirected straight to the trash bin.

Community Q&A

Search

Add New Question

Question

Does it send them a notification?

Community Answer

No, no notification is sent to them if you block them. They just won't receive any responses from you.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 2 Helpful 2

Ask a Question

200 characters left

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Submit

Tips

Filters only affect new e-mails. Existing messages or those that you’ve already received won’t be included or filtered out.

Thanks
Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0