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Block Emails on Gmail, Outlook & Yahoo

Block Emails on Gmail, Outlook & Yahoo
Block Emails on Gmail, Outlook & Yahoo

Online stores and e-commerce websites are notorious for sending emails about the "hottest deals" of the week and "best offers" they shouldn't miss. But, we are not always in the frame of mind to deal with these messages, or we simply lack the time. And knowing how to block emails might be the only way to stop receiving them altogether.

An average of 293.6 billion emails are sent or received every day to all types of people, whether you're a stay-at-home parent or a nine-to-five worker. A lot of them are from annoying, malicious, or simply unwanted sources, and it's essential for your work-life balance to clean up your inbox from such junk.

Let's take a step-by-step look at the instructions you'll need to follow to do this on your favorite email apps.

Why Would You Want to Block Emails?

We depend on email communication for many important things every day. But sometimes, it can be really overwhelming when dealing with the barrage of emails and spam messages we receive.

At some point, seemingly out of nowhere, an email will drop into your account talking about a product or service, and you will have no interest in reading it. And you'll wonder how they got ahold of your email address.

Where are they coming from?

  • Random people you knew. Sometimes, colleagues from work or school, whom you'd rather not have contact with, send too many emails.
  • Outdated subscriptions. You may have subscribed to an email newsletter, but right now, you don't read their emails anymore, and you don't want to keep seeing them either.
  • Forced subscriptions. It could be from a business that bought your address illegally.
  • Phishing emails. It could be from a person who illegally acquired your email and is trying to fish for your personal data. If you accidentally opened a spam email of this sort, you need to be extra careful not to click on any links.
  • By mistake. With a popular name, or a commonly misspelled name, it can happen. Email validation tools exist to help spot common typos, but they still make their way through.

It can be unnerving to open your inbox and find all sorts of unwanted emails. But blocking email addresses isn't always the best option. Sometimes, you can simply unsubscribe.

Should You Block Senders or Unsubscribe?

Unsubscribing from emails is a good option for newsletters you don't have time to read, even if the sub was accidental or forced. If you use the Unsubscribe button, the emails will no longer be sent to you, nor will they go to your Spam folder.

If the email is coming from a legitimate source, you'll find the button beside the sender's name. Alternatively, there could be a link at the bottom of such emails with "unsubscribe," or a variation, written on it. When you click on it, you are usually led to the unsubscribe page.

Blocking email addresses is more appropriate if a business or a person seems shady or annoys you with useless correspondence. It's definitely the best option if you think

  • the sender acquired your email illegally;
  • the email looks phishy; and
  • the email asks you to click a link.

Follow on to see how to block emails on your favorite email service provider.

How to Block Emails From Any Device

This process can be done manually in a few simple steps, regardless of the email providers you're using. Let's begin with Gmail, one of the most-used email services today.

How to Block an Email on Gmail

If you're a Gmail user, you can either block targeted email addresses from your browser of choice (computer or mobile web app) or use the Gmail mobile application. Additionally, Gmail has a handy unsubscribe feature to bid the sender farewell, or you could always report the message and sender to Gmail and tag it as spam.

But if you want to get rid of a sender altogether, let's see how you can block emails on Gmail or you want to place it somewhere else then the best option is to archive email..

Using the Web App on Your Computer

1. Select and open a message from the sender you want to block. If it's not at the top of your inbox, look them up using the search box.

Finding messages from one sender using the search box
Finding messages from one sender using the search box

2. In the top right corner of the email window, find the More button (three vertical dots) and click on it. Then, select the Block Sender option from the drop-down list.

How to block a sender in Gmail
How to block a sender in Gmail

3. Now, all further emails from this email address will go straight to the Spam folder.

If you block a sender by mistake, you can always unblock them using the same procedure.

Note: If you're using Mailbird to manage your Gmail account or any service provider for that matter, you will need to access the webmail interface and block an email address using the instructions in this post. This will let your service provider know that you don't wish to receive emails from that address, and they won't reach your inbox in Mailbird either.

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Using the Gmail App

To keep a cleaner and saner Gmail inbox on your smartphone, take the following action on your mobile device (in this case, Android):

1. Open the Gmail app on your smartphone or tablet.

2. Select a message from the contact you want to block from the messages list or find it with the search feature.

3. Click the More menu (three vertical dots) beside the sender's name. That is, when you look in the right corner, you'll see two such menus and you need the lower one, like in the image below.

How to block senders on Android
How to block senders on Android

4. Finally, click on "Block Sender."

The same process for blocking emails applies if you're using an iPhone or iPad.

How to Block Emails on Yahoo

Yahoo is one of the major providers of email services globally. If your account is on Yahoo, the process is similar and equally simple. Here are the steps to follow.

On the Web Interface

1. Navigate to www.mail.yahoo.com.

2. Find an email from the person or business you want to block.

3. Open the email and click on the Menu button (three vertical dots) in the email window's top center.

How to block senders in Yahoo
How to block senders in Yahoo

4. A drop-down menu shows. Now, select the sender's name or email addresses (in case of a group email), Block all future emails, and Delete all existing emails if you want to get rid of all related messages.

Blocking senders in Yahoo
Blocking senders in Yahoo

Using the Smartphone App

Blocking emails using the Yahoo app follows a pretty simple process. And this automatically sends all future emails from the blocked sender to your spam folder. If you're using the Android or iOS mobile app, follow this guide:

1. Open the Yahoo Mail app on your device.

2. Locate and open an email from the sender you want to block.

3. On the right side of your smartphone screen, tap on the More menu (three vertical dots).

Blocking senders in the Yahoo smartphone app
Blocking senders in the Yahoo smartphone app

4. From the drop-down menu that shows, select Spam. Once completed, you'll only get future emails from this sender in your spam folder.

How to Block Emails on Outlook and Hotmail

Microsoft Outlook is another widely used platform. It is the updated version of Hotmail. The service is available for both desktop versions and mobile devices. Here are the steps to follow to block an email on Outlook.

Using the Web App

1. Go to your inbox at outlook.live.com

2. Open the message from the contact you want to block.

How to block emails in Outlook
How to block emails in Outlook

3. Find the Junk drop-down menu in the top bar and click on it.

Junk email options in Outlook.live
Junk email options in Outlook.live

4. Here, you have a few options. You can flag the email as junk (spam) or a phishing message, or block emails from the sender.

Using the Smartphone App

Unfortunately, Outlook does not allow for blocking senders through mobile apps, whether Android or iOS.

However, you may achieve this by using your phone to access the Outlook web app on your mobile browser. Then follow the steps outlined in the preceding section. Alternatively, you can mark a message as spam.

1. Open the Outlook mobile app.

2. Find an email from the sender you want to block.

3. Open the email and tap on the three vertical dots in the upper right-hand corner. Note that this time, it's not the vertical dots in the email window.

Blocking senders on the Outlook smartphone app
Blocking senders on the Outlook smartphone app

4. Tap on "Mark as Junk." All future emails from the sender's email address will go straight to your spam folder.

Note that the instructions on how to block emails on Hotmail will be the same as for Outlook as Hotmail uses the same interfaces.

How to Block Unwanted Emails in Mail on Mac

This is easy. If you use a Mac, open the Mail app on your Mac.

1. Then select an email from the contact you want to block.

2. Place the point next to their name in the mail content header.

Block unwanted email in Mac Mail
Block unwanted email in Mac Mail

3. Click the arrow. Different options will come up. Choose "Block" to stop receiving emails from the sender.

How to a block contact in Mac Mail
How to a block contact in Mac Mail

4. Once you perform the previous action, the blocked icon will display close to the contact name in the email list. And there will be a banner in their message to remind you that you blocked the sender.

Alternatively, you can add senders directly to the list of blocked addresses. To do this, simply follow the process below.

Choose Mail > Preferences > Junk Mail > Blocked

Junk mail settings in Mac Mail
Junk mail settings in Mac Mail

How to Block Senders on iPhone and iPad

Although initially impossible, the Mail app on your iPhone now allows users to block unwanted emails. Let's see how to block emails on an iPad, not a phone, for a change:

1. Open your Mail app.

2. Open the message from the sender you wish to block.

How to block senders on iPad Mail
How to block senders on iPad Mail

3. Click on the sender's name.

iPad Mail menu
iPad Mail menu

4. On the menu that appears, click "Block this contact." That's all.

Subsequently, emails from the sender will go directly to your Trash folder.

What's Next?

Next, you need an email client. After you set up a good system of blocking and unsubscribing from newsletters, spam, phishing, and other annoying or malicious correspondence, you can do more for optimizing email management. Here's what you might need:

  • A system of folders or labels - for keeping all your emails organized and easy to reach in case you need to retrieve information or attachments.
  • A contacts manager - for keeping information about your contacts and knowing which emails are safe to open.
  • A unified inbox - for handling multiple email accounts in one space.
  • Integrations - apps like Google Workspace, Asana, and Evernote for better productivity.

All these elements help improve the way you use email and even decrease the time you spend reading, replying, and searching for information in your inbox. If you don't have any of the elements mentioned above, they're easy to get with Mailbird's email management software.

Conclusion

Blocking and unsubscribing are great ways to bring back sanity to your email process and cultivate a healthy email relationship. It helps you keep things simple and clean in your inbox and protects you from cyber attacks like phishing emails.

Interestingly, the steps for how to block emails are easy to follow on all major email services. And if you later decide that you want to get messages from blocked senders, you can follow the same process to unblock them. Click here for more practical tips on managing your email inbox.

And if you want more functionality out of your email app, try Mailbird in a free trial.

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FAQ

How do I stop unwanted emails?

There are two ways to stop unwanted emails:1. Use the Unsubscribe button/link to get rid of promo materials and newsletters that you haven't consciously subscribed to or that don't interest you any longer.2. Block senders that keep coming back to your inbox, annoy you, or seem malicious.

Can you permanently block emails?

If you've carried out all the steps above, there's a good chance you will stop seeing spam messages you don't want anymore. However, if you continue to get emails after unsubscribing, mark the sender as spam and report them to your email client.