How to Block Someone on Gmail and What Happens When You Do

Quick Gmail Block and Unblock Tips

• To block someone on Gmail, tap the three-dot menu next to an email and press Block Sender.
• To block marketing emails, tap the Unsubscribe link next to the sender’s name.
• To unblock someone on Gmail, access Filters and Blocked Addresses under your Gmail settings on desktop and tap Unblock.

How to Block Someone on Gmail

Before we show you what happens, here are the steps to block someone on Gmail.

On Phone: Open the received email in the Gmail app and tap the three-dot menu next to the sender’s name. Press Block sender to block the sender’s email address.

On Desktop: Open your desired email in Gmail, click the vertical three-dot menu, and select Block sender.

Will the Sender Know You’ve Blocked Their Email?

No, the person you blocked on Gmail will not be notified of your action. Moreover, there’s no surefire way for blocked contacts to confirm they’ve been blocked on Gmail.

In layman’s terms, blocking someone on Gmail is more of a silent block than social platforms such as Facebook or WhatsApp where the blocked contact can easily recognize it when they won’t view your profile details.

Can You Send or Receive Emails From a Blocked Address?

A blocked email address can still send you emails but they’ll be silently delivered to your Spam folder without appearing in your Primary label. You can always expand the Spam label in the sidebar to check these emails from the blocked sender.

Similarly, you can send emails to an address you’ve blocked on Gmail, but the conversations will remain restricted to your Spam folder.

What Happens to Old Emails From the Blocked Contact

Nothing. Old and previous emails you’ve exchanged with the blocked contact will remain in your inbox unless you delete them. However, new responses to old email conversations from the blocked contact will no longer appear in the inbox as a thread.

Interestingly, you can always move newly received emails from the blocked sender to your regular inbox by pressing Move to Inbox when you open the blocked email.

Does Blocking Someone on Gmail Also Block Them on Other Google Services?

No. Although you only require a single Google account to access all its services, Google treats them as different entities. Therefore, whatever happens in Gmail, stays in Gmail.

So when you block someone on Gmail, the action is restricted to its platform, and the person may reach you directly on other Google products using the same address.

How to Find People You Blocked on Gmail

If you’re having second thoughts or wish to review the list of blocked email addresses, you must access Gmail on a desktop or use its web version. For some reason, the Gmail app doesn’t let you see blocked email addresses/people on mobile. Follow these steps to view blocked addresses on the Gmail web interface:

Step 1: Open Gmail in your desired web browser and click the Gear icon to See All Settings.

Step 2: Click the Filters and Blocked Addresses tab. Scroll down to see the list of email addresses you’ve blocked on Gmail.

Unblocking an Email Address on Gmail

Once you’ve located the list of blocked email addresses using the above section, click unblock next to a blocked address on Gmail.

If you’re on mobile, tap the Unblock sender button, located below the blocked sender’s address in the Spam email.