From time to time, we receive unwanted messages via e-mail from various sources. While spam filters continue to improve, they certainly aren’t perfect. Users may find that even after they’ve removed themselves from an e-mail listing they were subscribed to, the messages keep coming. Also, there are instances where users want to resume getting messages from a previously-blocked address. To block or unblock a specific e-mail address, select your e-mail client from the list below and follow the instructions.

Google Gmail

Block a sender using an existing message

  • Sign in to your Gmail account.
  • Open a message from the sender you want to block.
  • Click the More icon located near the top-right corner of the e-mail.
  • Select Block “Sender” in the drop-down menu that appears, where Sender is the name of the e-mail sender.

If you have a different e-mail client than the ones listed below, the steps may be very similar. We suggest reading through these sections as it may answer your question.

  • Gmail

  • Outlook

  • Outlook.com

  • Yahoo! Mail

  • Thunderbird

  • Block a sender using an existing message

  • View or remove e-mail address you’ve blocked

  • In the prompt that appears, click the button.

View or remove e-mail addresses you’ve blocked

  • Sign in to your Gmail account.
  • Click theicon in the upper-right corner of the screen.
  • Under Quick settings, click See all settings.

You can unblock a sender at any time by repeating the process above and selecting Unblock next to the sender’s name.

  • Near the top-middle of the screen, click the Filters and Blocked Addresses tab.
  • Check the boxes (A) next to the senders you want to remove from the list, then click the Delete button (B).

Microsoft Outlook

Block a sender from a message

  • Open Microsoft Outlook.
  • Open a message from the sender you want to block.
  • Right-click somewhere in the message.
  • In the drop-down menu that appears, click Junk, and then Block Sender.

Add or remove an address on your blocked senders list manually

  • Open Microsoft Outlook.
  • Click Home.
  • Under the Delete group, click Junk, and then click Junk Email Options.
  • On the Blocked Senders tab, click Add.
  • Type the e-mail address of the person or company you want to block and click OK.

Outlook.com

Block a sender from your Inbox

  • Log in to your Outlook.com e-mail account.
  • Right-click a message from the sender you want to block.
  • In the drop-down menu that appears, in the third section, select Block.

Messages from this sender are now immediately moved to your Junk Email folder.

You can unblock an address by selecting the address on the Blocked Senders tab and clicking Remove.

  • Block a sender from your Inbox

  • Remove blocked addresses using an existing message

  • Remove blocked addresses from the settings menu

  • In the prompt that appears, click the OK button.

Remove blocked addresses using an existing message

  • Log in to your Outlook.com e-mail account.

  • Locate the sender’s message in the Deleted Items folder.

  • Right-click the message and select Stop ignoring from the third section of the drop-down menu.

  • Click the OK button to confirm.

Remove blocked addresses from the settings menu

  • Log in to your Outlook.com e-mail account.

  • Click the icon in the upper-right corner of the window.

  • Click View all Outlook settings at the bottom of the menu that appears.

  • In the next window, under Settings, select Mail and then Junk email.

  • On the right side of the screen, click the delete icon next to each address you want to unblock.

  • Once you’re finished with your selections, click the button in the bottom-right corner of the window.

Yahoo! Mail

  • Log in to your Yahoo! Mail account.

  • Right-click a message from the sender you want to block.

  • Select Block senders from the drop-down menu that appears.

  • Block a sender using an existing message

  • Block a sender through the settings menu

  • Remove a blocked address from the settings menu

  • In the prompt that appears, check the boxes next to the e-mail address and Block all future emails option. You can also check the box for the Delete all existing emails option, if desired.

  • Click the button.

Block a sender through the settings menu

  • Log in to your Yahoo! Mail account.
  • Click in the upper-right corner of the window.
  • In the drop-down menu that appears, near the bottom, select More Settings.
  • On the left side of the next screen, click the Security and privacy option.

You can block more than one sender at a time by checking the boxes next to multiple messages in a folder (e.g., your Inbox), and then follow the same steps listed above.

  • In the window that appears to the right, click the link.
  • Type the sender’s e-mail address and click Save.

Remove a blocked address from the settings menu

  • In the Security and privacy section, move your mouse pointer over the e-mail address you want to unblock and click the Delete blocked sender icon that appears on the right side.

  • You should see that entry disappear from the list and a “Blocked sender deleted” message in the top-middle section of the screen.

Mozilla Thunderbird

  • Open Mozilla Thunderbird.
  • Open a message from the sender you want to block.
  • Right-click their address at the top of the message and select Create Filter From.
  • In the Filter Rules window that appears, type a name for the filter. For example, you could name it something like “Blocked Addresses.”
  • In the Perform these actions section, change the box to Delete Message.
  • Click OK.

To edit your blocked address list, go to Tools, then Message Filters.

  • How to stop spam.
  • How to tell if an e-mail is a scam.
  • How to delete or move e-mail messages.
  • How to delete an e-mail account or address.
  • Help my e-mail address was hacked.
  • See the e-mail definition for further information and related links.
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