Block Senders in Gmail
While you can't currently block messages from specific addresses or domains in Gmail, you can set up filters to send those unwanted messages directly to the Trash, never to be seen. Follow these easy steps to banish all unwanted mail.
Contents
Steps
Use a Gmail Extension
- If you're using Google Chrome: Add the Block Sender for Gmail extension from the Google Chrome web store.
- Then in Gmail, open any message you want to block. You will see a new Block button. Pressing this button will create a Gmail filter blocking the sender.
- A confirmation message will appear, allowing you to undo the block. Afterwards, a Gmail filter is created so that future messages from this sender skip your inbox and are put in the trash automatically.
Manually Setup Filters
- Open Gmail. Determine which sender you no longer wish to receive messages from.
- Click the triangle on the right-hand side of the search bar at the top of the screen. A window will appear. Ensure “All mail” is selected in the Search drop-down at the top left of the window.
- Enter in the sender you want to block. In the From space, type in the email address of the sender you’d like to filter.
- To be sure the search worked properly, click the blue search button at the bottom left of the window. Re-click the down arrow in the search bar to return to the search window.
- Click the “Create filter with this search” hyperlink at the bottom right of the search window. A new window will appear containing a number of possible actions to be applied to your search criteria.
- Select “Delete it” by clicking the checkbox to the right. All messages received from this sender will automatically be sent to the Trash.
Manually Block from Any Open Message
- Click the down arrow in the left corner of an open message. From the drop-down box, select "Filter messages like this."
- Confirm that the search criteria contains the proper information. The From space should already contain the sender's email address.
- Click the "Create filter with this search" hyperlink at the bottom right of the window.
- In the next window, check the box next to "Delete it". You will no longer receive inbox messages from this sender.
How to Undo Filters
- Go to your inbox. Open Gmail Settings by pressing the gear button on the top right, and selecting Settings.
- Then click the Filters tab. You will see the email addresses you blocked. Click Delete to remove any filter.
Tips
- If you are receiving spam messages in your inbox, you can easily report them by first clicking the checkbox next to the messages, and then clicking the "Report spam" button located above your message list. These messages, along with all future emails from these senders, will bypass your inbox and be sent directly to the spam folder.
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