How to Block (and Unblock) Email Addresses in AOL Mail

Blocking stops an address from reaching your AOL inbox. You can block straight from one of their emails, and AOL’s help says your blocked list holds up to 1,000 addresses.

Block an email address

1. Open an email from the sender, or select it in your mailbox.
2. Click the More icon.
3. Click Block Senders.
4. Optionally, choose to also delete the emails you’ve already received from that sender.
5. Click Ok.

Unblock an address

1. Click the Settings icon, then More Settings.
2. Click Security and Privacy.
3. Move your mouse over the email address, then click the Delete icon next to it.

Only accept mail from your contacts

For a stricter option, AOL can block everyone who isn’t in your Contacts:

1. Click Settings, then More Settings.
2. Click the Security and privacy tab.
3. Turn on Block all senders except contacts.
4. Click Ok to confirm.

Use it carefully: AOL says to add anyone you’re expecting mail from to Contacts first. If you later notice email isn’t arriving, this switch is one of the first things AOL suggests checking — see AOL Mail troubleshooting.

Block, or mark as spam?

• Block a specific person or address you know and don’t want to hear from.
• Mark as Spam for junk and scams. AOL says this teaches its filter about the sender and routes their future emails to Spam, and for some trusted mailing lists it offers an Unsubscribe option instead. See stopping spam in AOL Mail.

Don’t click links in spam to unsubscribe — AOL warns that any link in a spam message, including the unsubscribe link, could be dangerous.

After you block someone

• If you ticked the option to delete their emails, those messages go to Trash — and AOL empties Trash after 7 days. Restore anything you still need before then (how to restore deleted AOL emails).
• Your block list lives under Settings › More Settings › Security and Privacy. Review it now and then, especially if you’re close to the 1,000-address limit.
• Blocking works on one exact address. Spammers often switch addresses, so for junk, marking as spam usually works better over time.

Other ways to keep mail out of your inbox

If you’d rather keep the messages but move them out of the way, a filter can send everything from one sender straight to a folder or to Trash. Remember that AOL empties Trash after 7 days.