How to block someone on Gmail quickly and easily

Recently, I started receiving a number of harassing emails to my Gmail account. Although they weren't threatening, they very quickly became bothersome, and clearly, the sender wasn't getting the hint that I wanted nothing to do with their noise or their service. I realized my only recourse was to block the sender. 

It took me a moment to realize the ability to block senders in Gmail is right there, staring me in the face the whole time… both on the web and mobile apps. Once that sender was blocked, all returned to its usual state of (relative) peace.

Also: How to block senders in Apple Mail — quickly and effectively

Blocking senders can come in very handy when you're being harassed by an individual, when a company continues to send you spam, or when you suspect someone is targeting you for some nefarious reason. The feature is built into Gmail. Let me show you how it's done.

Blocking a sender in web-based Gmail

What you'll need: The only things you'll need for this are a valid Gmail account and a sender to block. That's it.

Blocking a sender in the Gmail mobile app

It's just as easy to block a sender with the Gmail mobile app. Here's how.

1. Open Gmail on your phone

Log in to your phone and open the Gmail app. 

2. Locate the email from a sender

Next, locate and open an email from the sender in question.

3. Block the sender

You'll see two different three-dot menus. You want to tap the menu associated with the sender, not the email itself. In that menu, you'll see an entry for Block user. Tap that entry and the sender is blocked.

Also: How to change Gmail notifications so you stop missing important emails

Do use caution with this, as there's no confirmation for the blocking. 

If you find you need to unblock users, your best bet is to do so from the web-based version of Gmail.

And that's all there is to block unwanted senders in Gmail. Use this feature wisely and you won't have to worry about that person or organization harassing you from the email address you've blocked.