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Gmail Now Offers Option To Block Specific Email Addresses

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Gmail has added the ability to block specific email addresses this week. This feature is useful if you are being harassed by a spammer or a cyberbully repeatedly. Now you can block people with only two clicks, which is a bit easier than creating filters. After blocking an email address, messages will be sent to the spam folder. And if you blocked an email address unintentionally, you can unblock it in the Settings:

In the web version of Gmail, you will be able to find the block feature in the drop-down menu connected to the Reply button of an opened email. This feature will be added to the Gmail Android app sometime this week.

Gmail is also adding an "unsubscribe" feature to its Android app so you can remove yourself from annoying mailing lists with a couple taps. To unsubscribe from a mailing list using the Gmail Android app, simply go to the email and tap on the “More” button. At the top right corner, you will see a button that says “Unsubscribe.”

It's worth mentioning that Gmail and Yahoo! Mail both do not offer a way to completely block email addresses from sending messages. And Microsoft Outlook does something similar with its Junk folder.

Email messages that are blocked and sent to spam folders consumes storage allotment unnecessarily, especially if there is a specific spammer that repeatedly sends you junk. What I recommend doing is setting up a filter for those persistent spammers so that their messages goes straight to your Trash. And messages in your Gmail Trash folder for more than 30 days are automatically deleted. To send messages from a specific email address straight to the Trash folder, tap on the check boxes next to their names. And then tap on “More,” followed by “Filter messages like these.”

After you click on that link, it will open up a pop-up that looks like this:

Gmail Filters / Screenshot Credit: Amit Chowdhry

When you click on "Create filter with this search," tap on "Delete it."

Once you set up that filter, messages from that specific email address will be sent to the Trash automatically. And those messages will be deleted in 30 days.

However, the advantage of the new blocking and unsubscribing features is that you can clear out junk mail much easier than before. Personally, I plan to block a lot of junk email that I receive using these new features.

What are your thoughts about Gmail adding a block feature? Please leave a comment!