How to Block a Sender in Gmail (Step by Step)

Some senders just won't quit. Gmail's block feature sends everything from a given address straight to spam, no questions asked. Here's how to do it — and how to pick the right tool for each kind of unwanted email.

Block a sender in three taps

1. Open an email from the sender you want to block.
2. Click the three-dot menu in the top-right of the message.
3. Choose "Block [sender]". All future mail from that address goes to spam.

To undo it later, open any of their messages and choose "Unblock", or manage your list under Settings → Filters and blocked addresses.

Block vs unsubscribe vs report spam

• Unsubscribe — for legitimate newsletters you once opted into. Stops mail at the source, the polite way.
• Block — for a persistent sender you can't unsubscribe from but that isn't outright spam.
• Report spam — for unsolicited or scammy mail. This also trains Gmail to catch similar senders.

Why blocking one address often isn't enough

Big senders rotate addresses and send from several sub-domains, so blocking one address can leave the rest coming through. That's why a filter on the sender's mailing list (its List-Id) or domain is usually more effective than a single block — it catches every address behind the same sender.

A cleanup tool handles this nuance for you: when you clear a sender, it builds a filter targeting the whole mailing list, not just one address — so the newsletter stops while your important mail keeps arriving.

Want to skip the manual work? SweepMyMail finds every newsletter in your Gmail, unsubscribes in one click, and sweeps away the backlog — reading only sender metadata, never your email content. Scanning your inbox is free.