A Gmail filter matches an address. Batmail's rules read what each email says.
Block a sender from any message by opening it, choosing More, then Block.
On a computer
- Open Gmail on your computer.
- Open a message from the sender.
- At the top right, next to Reply, click More.
- Click Block “sender name”.
Steps from Gmail Help: Block an email address in Gmail, read 21 October 2026.
After you block a sender, all future emails from them go to Spam.
Illustration, invented mail
This week at the outfitters
Northwind Offers
to me
- Filter messages like these
- Block “Northwind Offers”
- Report spam
A filter reaches further than Block, because it can match a domain and choose where the mail goes.
Block works on the sender of the message you opened. A company that writes from many addresses, such as a shop’s offers, receipts and reminders, needs a filter that matches the domain, the part of the address after the @. The three choices send the next email to three different places.
| What you choose | Where the next email goes | How to get it back |
|---|---|---|
| Block the sender | Spam | Unblock the sender. After that, future emails go to your inbox. |
| Filter: Skip the Inbox (Archive it) | All Mail, with no copy in the inbox | Open All Mail, or search in:archive. |
| Filter: Delete it | Trash, then deleted for good after 30 days | Open Trash and use Move to, within 30 days. |
Steps from Gmail Help: Organize & archive email, read 21 October 2026.
To block a whole domain, paste its search into Gmail and choose what happens to the mail.
Replace newsletter.example with the part of the sender’s address after the @. The search matches every address at that domain, so one filter covers the sender’s whole list of addresses.
from:(newsletter.example)
What the filter does
- You describe it
from:(newsletter.example)Any address at that domain counts.
- Gmail matches it
Each new email is checked against the search.
- Gmail acts
It does what you ticked.
Skip the Inbox, apply a label, or delete it.
Saving it as a filter
- Open Gmail on a computer.
- In the search box at the top, click Show search options.
- Enter your search criteria: paste the search above. To check it, click Search and look at the emails that show up.
- At the bottom of the search window, click Create filter.
- Choose what you would like the filter to do: Skip the Inbox (Archive it) keeps the mail out of the inbox, and Delete it sends it to Trash.
- Click Create filter.
Steps from Gmail Help: Create rules to filter your emails, read 21 October 2026.
Illustration, invented mail
- Caught
Northwind Offers
9:41 AM
Final hours for the weekend sale
Studio team
9:12 AM
Agenda for Thursday's planning call
- Caught
Northwind Offers
8:30 AM
Your points are about to expire
Sam
Yesterday
Lunch on Friday?
- Caught
Northwind Offers
Yesterday
New arrivals picked for you
Studio team
9:12 AM
Agenda for Thursday's planning call
Sam
Yesterday
Lunch on Friday?
Caught mail is under the labelBlocked
Settings keeps the list of blocked senders, so you can undo a block later.
- Open Gmail on a computer.
- At the top right, open Settings, then click See all settings.
- At the top, click Filters and Blocked Addresses.
- Check the box next to each sender you want back.
- Click Unblock selected addresses.
Steps from Gmail Help: Block an email address in Gmail, read 21 October 2026.
The same tab lists your filters. Find the filter, click Edit to change it or Delete to remove it.
Blocking a person works the same way, and Gmail's policies cover harassment.
To block someone who writes to you directly, open one of their messages and use More, then Block, as above. Google’s Help adds that anyone who uses Gmail to harass, intimidate or threaten you is violating Gmail’s Program Policies, and that if you feel you are in danger you should contact your local authorities right away. You can also report the message as spam.
If the sender is a mailing list you joined, Google points to a gentler step: if you get frequent promotional emails and newsletters but do not want to block the sender, unsubscribe from the email. Google’s unsubscribe steps are on their own page.
The Gmail app blocks a sender too, but filters are made on a computer.
Android phone and tablet, iPhone and iPad
- Open the Gmail app.
- Open the message from the sender.
- At the top right, next to Reply, tap More.
- Tap Block “sender name”.
Steps from Gmail Help: Block an email address in Gmail, read 21 October 2026.
Unblocking is the same path with Unblock at the end. If you cannot find the sender’s message, it may be in Spam: tap Menu, then Spam. Google writes its filter steps for a computer, and a filter you save there sorts the whole account, so the app shows its effect too.
These are the questions people ask next.
What happens to emails from a sender I block in Gmail?
Gmail sends every future email from that sender to Spam. Spam empties itself: Google says emails in Spam are permanently deleted after 30 days, or sooner if you empty Spam yourself.
How do I unblock someone in Gmail?
On a computer, open Settings, choose See all settings, open the Filters and Blocked Addresses tab, tick the sender and choose Unblock selected addresses. You can also open an old message from them and choose Unblock from the More menu. After you unblock a sender, their future emails go to your inbox.
Can I block a whole company or domain in Gmail?
Block works on the sender of the message you opened, so a company that writes from many addresses needs a filter. A search such as from:(example.com) matches every address at that domain, and the filter can skip the inbox or delete the mail on arrival.
Does blocking a sender unsubscribe me from their mailing list?
No. Google's Help says blocking does not unsubscribe you; future emails from the sender simply go to Spam. If you signed up to the list, unsubscribe instead so the sender stops writing.
Can I set up a Gmail filter in the Gmail app?
Google's instructions for filters are written for a computer, and a filter you make there applies to the whole account, so it also sorts the mail you read in the app. Blocking a sender works in the app and on a computer.
Every step on this page comes from these official pages.
Read on . Spot a step that has changed? Email support@batmail.ai and we will fix it.