It’s a little-known function, but Google gave Gmail a “block sender” option back in 2015. Previous to its introduction, users had to set up a specific email filter in order to prevent some emails from reaching their inbox.
You should probably block emails on Gmail first and foremost because of spam. Approximately 14.5 billion spam emails are sent every day, or about 45% of all emails sent.
Naturally, not every email sender you’ll want to block will be a spammer. There are times when you may need to ban specific contacts or individual senders. Here’s how to ban emails on Gmail in any scenario.
How to Block an Email Address in Gmail
The default spam button in Gmail is the first temptation when getting an unwanted email, but that feature should only be used to report spam and junk email, which are bulk emails that are sent from very dubious sources.
There are more effective techniques to deal with a single person who is sending you unsolicited emails.
It only takes a few minutes and is quite easy to block certain emails in Gmail. There are only four easy steps needed.
Step 1. Open up the message from the person you want to block.
Step 2. Click the three-dot menu option in the right-hand corner of your email window, otherwise known as the More menu.
Step 3. From there, select Block <Name>.
Step 4. It’s as simple as that – you no longer will receive emails from that particular email address.
How to Block an Email Address in Gmail on a Smartphone
The procedure is the same whether you’re trying to ban an email on an iPhone or an Android smartphone.
Step 1. Open up the Gmail app on your phone.
Step 2. Navigate through the emails in your inbox and find the email and sender that you want to block.
Step 3. Open up the email.
Step 4. Choose the More icon (three dots) directly to the right of the sender’s name (not the three dots in the top right-hand corner).
Step 5. You should see an option to Block. Press that, and you’re done.
Unblocking A Sender In Gmail
It’s possible that you accidentally blocked someone, or that your opinion of the person or email address you blocked, has changed. Fortunately, unblocking a sender in Gmail is also very easy.
Option 1
Step 1. Choose the person that you want to unblock inside Gmail. A big Unblock sender button will appear.
Step 2. Click the confirmation, and you’re done.
Option 2
You can still find the sender even if you don’t have their email address on hand.
Step 1. Click the cog button and choose Settings.
Step 2. Head over to the Filters and Blocked Addresses option.
Step 3. In the section under the heading The following email addresses are blocked, choose the sender.
Step 4. Click Unblock.
Step 5. It’s as easy as that – you’ve successfully unblocked that person.
How to Tell If Your Email Is Blocked
What if you think your email has been blocked? There isn’t a quick way to find out, but you may find this hack useful.
Step 1. Send an email to the person that you think may have blocked you.
Step 2. Wait a little while to see if the email bounces. If it does, you will receive an email saying that it was undeliverable.
Step 3. Send another email to another email address. This is to make sure that your email is working correctly. If that email goes through, you can assume that there’s a problem with the first email being received.
Step 4. Set up a temporary Gmail account and then try to send an email to the first address again. If that one goes through, your first email has likely been blocked.
If the email you think you’re being blocked from belongs to a contact you speak to regularly, then you may have been blocked by mistake, and it’s time to pick up the phone and check.
You can block and unblock senders as many times as you wish. Whether you’re blocking or unblocking in Gmail, it’s a straightforward and useful option to have at your disposal.
Spam, Spammers, Spoofing, and Phishing: What You Need to Know
Since spammers are intelligent individuals, they will always manage to access your Gmail inbox in an effort to either obtain your personal information or even persuade you to part with your hard-earned money.
Two of the most popular strategies they employ to do this are spoofing and phishing. What you should know is as follows.
Spoofing
Spoofing is when spammers attempt to deceive you into thinking an email is from a reliable source. They generate exact replicas of popular business emails and distribute them to unknowing recipients.
They can be difficult to detect if you aren’t paying attention to the email addresses and the content you get. As a result, it can be very simple for you to unintentionally click on the links in these emails, which could result in malware being installed on your computer or the extraction of your personal information.
Phishing
Similar to spoofing, phishing involves spammers producing emails that look authentic but are actually fake. The unknowing receiver then clicks on a link, which directs them to a convincing-looking website where their personal data, including banking and credit card information, is stolen.
Paying close attention to the emails you receive is just one of many methods to prevent falling for these frauds. Additionally, you may set up filters to make sure that emails of this nature never again reach your inbox.
Make sure you always mark these emails as spam to Google when they arrive in your primary mailbox.
