Gmail is a valuable tool for marketing, fundraising, and other campaigns.  But sometimes, these messages can be frustrating as they add a lot of junk to your inbox, making it challenging to find the important emails.

To stop getting spam emails, you can simply use the blocking feature of Gmail. We have provided a comprehensive guide on how to block emails on Gmail on both a desktop and a smartphone. 

How to Block Someone on Gmail Using a Desktop?

If you wonder whether you can block someone on Gmail by using your desktop, the answer is obviously yes! Here are the steps that you are required to follow to block email Gmail:

  1. First, go to Gmail on your desktop.
    Gmail Home Page
  1. Then, open the message of the person whom you want to block on your Gmail and click on the three vertical dots next to the reply button.
    Open the message and select three vertical dots1
  1. Here, select the option to Block “Sender’s Name” in the available drop-down list.
    Select Block Senders name
  1. A pop-up box will show up on the screen to get confirmation for blocking the particular address. Click on the Block option at the bottom right. 
    Click on Block

The procedure has been completed, and you have officially blocked the sender in Gmail. All their future messages will be directly sent to your spam messages folder. However, previously received messages will not be moved unless you manually move them.

How to Block an Email on Gmail Using the Mobile App?

If you prefer to use the Gmail mobile app and want to know how to block Gmail email via this app, you can follow the given procedure:

  1. First, open the Gmail app on your smartphone.
    Visit the Gmail app
  1. Go to the message of the person you want to block on Gmail and click on the three vertical dots next to the reply icon.
    Open the message and select three vertical dots2
  1. A drop-down list will appear. Locate the Block “Sender’s Name” option from the list and click on it.
    Select Block Sender name

That’s it, you’re done with the process of blocking an email on Gmail. All future emails sent by the person will now be routed to the spam folder. 

Note: In case, you change your mind and want to unblock someone on Gmail, just go to Spam folder > open the blocked email > click on Unblock sender > Unblock.

How to Know If Someone Blocked You on Gmail?

You now know how to block someone from your Gmail account, but how do you find out if someone else has blocked you? Here is a trick given below that can be helpful to check:

  1. First, send a normal email to the person that you think may have blocked you.
  2. Wait a few moments, and if the email bounces, you will receive a message stating that it was not delivered. 
  3. Now, try to email someone else to make sure your Gmail is not facing any technical glitches. If this new message was delivered, you can assume that the issue is particularly related to the first person’s email address. 
  4. For confirmation, try to send another email to the first person with a different Gmail account. If the message is successfully delivered this time, it is possible that the person has blocked you.

Note: There is no direct way or option available to check whether someone has blocked you or not. You can only use the above-given method to figure out this.

Also read: How to Avoid Being Labeled as Spam?

Automatically Delete Emails Without Opening Them

It is so annoying when you get an email that says, “Why didn’t you reply to my email even after opening it?”. You can’t hide your viewing status on Gmail, but you can delete the emails without opening them. The process for the same is given below:

  1. Hover over the sender’s name and copy the email address.
    Copy email address
  1. Go to the Settings button visible in the top right corner of the page and click on the “See all settings” option.
    See all settings1
  1. Now, go to the Filters and Blocked Addresses tab.
    Select Filters and blocked addresses
  1. Then, select Create a new filter.
    Select Create a new filter
  1. Paste the copied email address in the From field and select the Create filter.
    Create filter
  1. At last, click on the Delete it checkbox and select the Create filter option. 
    Click on Create filter

Now, all future messages from this particular email address will go directly to your trash folder. 

Common Reasons for Blocking Someone

You know how to block a email on Gmail, but do you know why it is necessary to block someone? Here are the three most common reasons to block the email address Gmail of someone: 

  • Marketing Emails

    Every day, you may receive numerous marketing and promotional emails from various companies. This might be frustrating when you are searching for a useful email. So, if you no longer want to receive emails from that account and there is no way to unsubscribe, you can use the block option.

  • Spam

    You should immediately block emails that seem odd or come from someone requesting financial assistance, personal information, or other dubious things. 

  • Harassment

    In recent times, many cases of email harassment, stalking, and bothering someone have been noticed. These emails may have an impact on the receiver’s mental health, so you should block the sender as well as report them.

Apart from them, sometimes there can be personal reasons as well to block email Gmail. 

Note: In case you feel you are in danger due to the threatening emails, it is advised to contact your local authorities so that they can take the required action as per the applicable cyber harassment laws. 

How’s Blocking Different from Other Gmail Terminologies?

Gmail offers a variety of features to help you keep your inbox safe and organized, such as blocking, reporting spam, and unsubscribing. All three serve distinct functions, which are as follows: 

  • Block

    This feature sends all the emails received from the blocked sender directly to the spam folder.

  • Report Spam

    When you report spam, the email is sent to the spam folder just like blocking. But at the same time, it is also delivered to Google, so that they can better identify similar messages as spam in the future and take necessary action accordingly. 

  • Report Phishing 

    Phishing is designed to harm a company or system by obtaining their sensitive information. When you report phishing, the entire message is sent to Google for review. 

  • Unsubscribe

    After unsubscribing from a sender, you will no longer receive their newsletters. This feature is primarily used for recurring emails that irritate you but are not threatening or suspicious. 

Further, let’s understand how can you apply these methods as per the need.

How to Report Spam and Phishing on Gmail?

Are you getting so many junk messages on your Gmail? Or some suspicious online attacker is sending you harmful emails? Don’t lose tamper or panic in either case! Avoid unnecessary emails and protect your data from malicious activities by using the methods of reporting spam and phishing. 

Report Spam

If you are irritated with junk emails, it is better to report spam on Gmail. For this, you have to follow the given steps:

  1. Open the email that you want to report.
  2. Click on the three dots given on the right side.
  3. From the available drop-down menu, select Report Spam.

Report Phishing

To prevent yourself from any type of fraud or scam, it is advised to report phishing on Gmail for suspicious emails. To do so, you have to complete the following three-step process:

  1. Visit the email you want to report.
  2. Go to the three dots given on the right side of the page.
  3. Select Report Phishing from the available options. 

Apart from these two ways, you can also unsubscribe to avoid receiving mass marketing emails on your device. For this, you just have to open the required email and click on the Unsubscribe link given next to the sender’s email address. 

Closing Thoughts

In this article, we got to know how to block emails on Gmail via desktop and smartphone, along with several other important things related to it. Blocking is considered one of the best methods for protecting your personal email by decluttering your inbox and keeping it organized. 

It will also assist you in avoiding unsolicited emails with harmful links or attachments, obsolete newsletters, and people from whom you wish to disconnect. So follow this how-to block on Gmail guide and stay safe!

FAQs

Q. How to block emails in Gmail on iPhone?

Ans. To block emails in Gmail on iPhone:

  1. Go to Gmail.
  2. Open the message received from the email address that you want to block.
  3. Click on three horizontal dots on the top right side.
  4. At last, click on the Block “Sender’s Name” option. 

Q. Why do Gmail users still receive blocked emails? 

Ans. This is most common in the case of marketing firms, who use third-party services and thus have multiple addresses. Blocking one can still result in receiving messages from one of the alternate addresses. 

Q. Will the sender get the notification if I block him on Gmail?

Ans. No, Gmail does not send any notification to the person who has been blocked. However, they can get to know through some indirect ways. 

Q. How many emails can I block in Gmail?

Ans. You can block up to 1,000 email addresses in Gmail with one account.

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