In Apple's Mail app, open a message from the unwanted sender, tap the sender's email address, choose View Contact Card, and tap Block this Contact. You can review or reverse the block at Settings > Privacy & Security > Blocked Contacts. Blocking in Mail is different from marking a message as junk or blocking a sender in a separate email provider's app.
These steps use current iPhone Mail. Before blocking, verify the address in the message header: a display name can be copied, and spammers often change addresses. A block on one address may not stop mail from a different address, even if the display name looks the same. For flagging, moving and deleting messages, see how to use Mail on iPhone.
Block a sender in Apple Mail
- Open Mail and tap a message from the sender you want to block.
- Tap the sender's email address in the message header. If a sender panel appears, tap View Contact Card.
- Scroll on the contact card and tap Block this Contact. Confirm if your iPhone asks you to.
- Return to Mail. The sender is now on your iPhone's blocked-contact list; future handling of their messages depends on Mail's blocked-sender settings.
Blocking a contact can affect communication in other Apple apps, including Phone, Messages, and FaceTime, when the contact's details are linked. Check the card before blocking a person you still need to hear from by phone. If your goal is only to quiet an email conversation, consider muting that thread or using your provider's spam controls instead. If long threads are simply hard to follow, you can show the newest email first in an iPhone Mail conversation.
To review the blocked list, open Settings > Privacy & Security > Blocked Contacts. Select a contact and tap Unblock Contact when you want to restore communication. Our guide on how to see blocked numbers on iPhone shows where that list is on each iOS version. Unblocking does not necessarily move older mail out of a junk or trash folder; inspect those folders separately if you are looking for a past message.
If the unwanted mail continues
Open one of the new messages and compare its complete sender address with the address you blocked. Some bulk senders rotate addresses, so a block for one contact cannot cover every variant. Use Move to Junk or the email provider's report-spam feature for unsolicited mail. A suspicious message may also use a forged display name; avoid opening its links or attachments while investigating.
If you read mail in the Gmail or Outlook app, the Apple Mail steps will not appear there. Use that app's sender blocking or spam controls. For example, Google's Gmail blocking instructions for iPhone explain that future messages from a blocked sender go to Spam in Gmail. Choose the app where the mail account is actually being managed. For the Gmail steps on a computer, see how to block someone’s email address in Gmail.
Blocking a sender is also different from removing an email account from the phone. Account removal affects all its messages and syncing, whereas a sender block targets one contact. For a separate phone and message blocking task, see how to block texts and calls on iPhone.
What blocking in Mail can and cannot do
Blocking a sender in Apple's Mail app is a way to handle future messages from that address on your device. It does not stop the sender from creating a new address, and it does not necessarily unsubscribe you from a legitimate mailing list. If the message is a newsletter you requested, use its genuine unsubscribe option or the service's account preferences. If it is suspicious, do not click its links merely to unsubscribe; use Mail's junk reporting or your provider's filtering controls.
Check the exact sender address before blocking. A display name can be misleading, and different addresses can use the same name. After the change, review Mail's blocked-sender handling setting if you want to know whether blocked messages remain visible or are moved. If unwanted mail continues from other addresses, provider-level filtering may be more effective than adding each address individually.
Does blocking delete old emails? No. Handle messages already in the mailbox separately if you no longer want them. For a Windows PC that runs Norton, see where to block an email address in Norton 360.
Apple documents the Mail action in Flag or block emails in Mail on iPhone and the shared blocked list in Prevent contacts from communicating with you.
Matthew Burleigh is the founder, head writer, and editor of Solve Your Tech, which he launched in 2012. He has written technology tutorials since 2008 and worked in IT since 2003, including small-business support, IT management, and consulting. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science from Arizona State University.
Matthew writes practical guides for Windows, iPhone and iPad, Microsoft Office, Outlook, Google apps, and Android. Solve Your Tech’s guides are tested on current devices or checked against official product documentation, with clear steps, sources, and update dates.
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