How to Block an Email in Outlook
Stop spam and block unwanted emails in Outlook (2025). Step-by-step for desktop, web, and mobile. Simple, fast, and done right.
How to Block an Email in Outlook
If you’re tired of spam slipping through in Outlook, you’re at the right place. The whole point of blocking unwanted emails is about taking control of your inbox. Let’s see exactly how to block emails in Outlook, on desktop, web, and mobile!
Here’s What You Need to Know First
Before you go full “block and delete,” a few things to understand about how Outlook actually handles blocked emails:
- Blocking a sender sends their future emails to Junk, not straight to the void. You may still see them in the Junk folder.
- Blocked domains ≠ bulletproof, which means that some spam still slips through if the sender uses variations or workarounds.
- Outlook’s “block” isn’t the same as unsubscribe, it’s more aggressive, and it doesn’t notify the sender.
Our pro tip: For high-volume junk, creating rules and filters is more powerful than just hitting "Block." We’ll show you how to do both.
Block Emails in Outlook on Desktop (Windows/Mac)
If you’re using the Outlook desktop app, blocking senders is fast, but you’ve got more power under the hood if you want to go deeper.
Quick Steps
Here’s how to block a sender with a few clicks:
- Open the offending email,
- Click the "Junk" dropdown in the top ribbon,
- Select "Block Sender.",
- Confirm when prompted.
Done. Emails from this sender will now go directly to your Junk Email folder, which also means clean inbox, instantly.
But heads-up: this only blocks that specific address. If spam is coming from a domain (e.g. @badsite.com), you’ll want to go further.
Alternative: Use Rules to Auto-Block Domains
If you want to block absolutely everything from a domain, and not just one email address, custom rules are your best move.
Here’s how:
- Go to Home > Rules > Manage Rules & Alerts,
- Click New Rule > “Apply rule on messages I receive.”,
- Choose “with specific words in the sender’s address.”,
- Enter the domain (e.g. @annoyingspam.com),
- Set the action to move to Junk, delete, or forward elsewhere.
The whole point of this method is to give you total control, knowing that it works also great against persistent cold emailers or newsletters that ignore unsubscribes.
Don’t be the one getting blocked. If your cold emails keep ending up ignored, bounced, or flagged, it’s not your copy, it’s your sender rep. Just use Mailreach’s Email Warmup to build domain trust, improve inbox placement, and avoid spam filters from the start, and the job will be done.
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Block Emails in Outlook Web
Outlook Web has a cleaner UI in 2025, and thankfully, blocking is just as easy.
New Outlook UI (2025) – Step by Step
- Open the message from the sender you want to block,
- Click the three-dot menu (More actions) in the top-right,
- Choose “Block” from the dropdown,
- Confirm to send all future emails from that sender to Junk.
You can also manage blocked senders manually:
- Go to Settings > Mail > Junk Email,
- Add email addresses or full domains to your blocklist manually.
Good to know: Combine block + sweep + rules to nuke recurring spam with zero mercy.
Block Senders on Outlook Mobile App (iOS & Android)
Mobile Outlook gives you fewer options, but you can still block senders and keep your inbox clean on the go.
iPhone / iPad
- Open the email you want to block,
- Tap the three dots (...) at the top-right corner,
- Select “Move to Junk” or “Report Junk.”
While there’s no native "block sender" button on mobile, marking as junk repeatedly helps Outlook learn and really efficiently syncs with your web and desktop preferences.
Android
Same deal:
- Open the unwanted email,
- Tap the menu (three dots) > “Report Junk”,
- Done.
Keep in mind that mobile apps rely heavily on your main account’s block/junk settings, so changes sync across devices. Want to block more precisely? Set the rules on desktop or web.
Want to Go Further? Create Filters and Auto-Actions
Blocking is great, but if you're serious about email hygiene, you need filters and automated rules.
These let you auto-delete based on keywords, domains, or subjects, but also tag emails from a sender as “Phishing” or even move emails to folders for review before nuking them.
To build custom rules, it’s quite simple in fact:
- On desktop: Rules > Manage Rules & Alerts,
- On web: Settings > Rules > Create New Rule.
Then, you can set some conditions like:
- “If sender contains ‘@cheapads.com’”
- “If subject contains ‘Win a Free iPhone’”
Then choose actions: move, delete, forward, etc.
Good to know: These rules run 24/7, keeping your inbox clean while you sleep!
Common Issues and How to Fix Them
Even when you block a sender, Outlook doesn’t always behave like you'd expect. Let’s take a look at the usual problems:
“I blocked the sender but still get emails”
So you blocked someone… and their emails still show up? Welcome to Outlook reality.
Blocking a sender in Outlook doesn’t erase their existence, it simply moves their future emails to the Junk folder, not the trash, not oblivion. That’s by design. Outlook plays it safe in case you blocked someone by mistake.
But here’s the issue: your Junk folder still gets filled, and some blocked senders sneak through using slight variations of their email addresses or domains.
Here is how to fix it:
- Create a rule to auto-delete any email from that address or domain,
- Go to Rules > Manage Rules > New Rule, and choose: “if sender contains...” → “permanently delete it.”,
- Want to go nuclear? Block the entire domain, not just the individual email address.
Once set, you’ll never see that sender again. Inbox peace = restored.
“How do I unblock someone?”
You blocked someone without really thinking about it or by accident? It happens.
Luckily, Outlook makes it easy to reverse it. But keep in mind: unblocking doesn’t retrieve past messages, it just lets future emails come back to your inbox.
Here is how to fix it:
- In Outlook Web: Go to Settings > Mail > Junk Email
- In Outlook Desktop: Go to Home > Junk > Junk Email Options > Blocked Senders
- Find the sender or domain you blocked, select it, and hit “Remove”
Boom, unblocked, and you will quickly start seeing their emails again in your inbox.
Good to know: If it’s someone important, you can simply add them to your Safe Senders list to avoid future mishaps!
“Does Outlook block read receipts?”
Here’s the sneaky one: blocking a sender does not stop them from tracking opens, so if their email uses a pixel-based tracking tool, you could still trigger a read receipt when opening the message in Junk or Preview.
Worse, most people don’t realize images (and pixels) auto-load in Outlook unless you tell it not to.
Here is how to fix it:
- Go to Settings > Mail > Layout > External Images (Outlook Web)
- Or File > Options > Trust Center > Automatic Download (Desktop)
- Disable automatic image downloads
You need to know that this will protect you from invisible tracking pixels, phishing attempts and even clickbait open-baiting. So if you're in outbound sales: keep this in mind, plenty of people block images by default, so don’t rely solely on opens to measure engagement.
You block spam. Others block you. So if your emails are triggering filters, you won’t even know, unless you test. Good news: Mailreach’s Spam Test shows you where your email really lands, why it’s flagged, and how to fix it fast.
Get a Free Spam Test report right now!
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