How to Block Unwanted Emails From Senders in Yahoo! Mail

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by Heinz Tschabitscher
An independent writer who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997.
Updated September 27, 2018

If you're seeing emails from specific senders that you'd rather not see, Yahoo! provides a way to block them easily and never see another message from those senders again. In fact, Yahoo! Mail can block all mail from as many as 500 email addresses. All mail from these senders will be deleted automatically before you even see it.

Blocking Unwelcome Senders Is Not Blocking Junk Emails

Don't let a large number of blockable addresses lure you into thinking you can fight spam with this method, though. Spammers can and often do use a fresh address (or domain name) for every junk email they send.

Instead, use the list of blocked senders for individual senders whose messages you do not want to receive but cannot stop easily. Instead of having to delete every new mail from each of these addresses by hand, Yahoo! Mail can do the cleaning for you.

Instructions for Blocking Email From Specific Senders in Yahoo! Mail

To have Yahoo! Mail delete all mail from a particular address automatically:

  1. Hover the mouse cursor over the settings gear icon or click that gear.

  2. Select More Settings from the menu that has appeared.

    Screenshot of Yahoo Mail's interface with Gear icon and More Settings highlighted

  3. Go to the Security and Privacy category, then click the + Add button.

    Screenshot of Yahoo Mail's Security and privacy section, highlighting the + Add button

  4. Type the unwanted email address in the Address field, under the "Add an email address to block."

    Screenshot of Yahoo Mail's Address field and Save address in Security and privacy panel

  5. Click Save.

Instructions for Blocking Email From Specific Senders in Yahoo! Mail Basic

To add an email address to the list of blocked senders in Yahoo! Mail Basic:

  1. Make sure Options is selected in the top Yahoo! Mail Classic navigation bar drop-down menu next to your account's name.

  2. Click Go.

  3. Open the Blocked Addresses category (under Advanced Options).

  4. Enter the email address you want to be blocked under Add an address.

  5. Click +.

Can I Block Senders from Yahoo! Mail Mobile or the Yahoo! Mail Apps?

No, you can block unwanted email addresses only in the desktop version of Yahoo! Mail. Try opening the desktop (rather than the mobile) version on your phone.