How to Block Spam Emails on iPhone

Introduction

The world we live in today is an increasingly connected one, which means that your emails are with you wherever you go, spam included! If you're like most people, you're not always at your computer, but you still have to deal with unwanted emails on the go. So, how do you block these emails on your iPhone? This article will show you how to do just that.

Blocking Emails in the Mail App

Although it has its limitations, the native Mail app on your iPhone does offer a basic option to block specific senders. Here's how to do it:

1. In your Mail app, open an email from the sender you want to block and tap on their email address.

2. Then select the option "Block this Contact".

3. Confirm your decision by tapping "Block this Contact" again in the pop-up.

Emails from this sender will now be sent directly to your Trash folder. This works well for basic use-cases, but it has its limitations, which we'll take a look at next.

Limitations

As handy as it might be, the Mail app's blocking feature comes with its limitations, some of which we've outlined here:

• Limited options. It only works for individual email addresses — meaning if a spammer uses different senders, then you're stuck playing a game of whack-a-mole. You also can't block things like subject lines or entire domains.
• Limited destinations. Blocked emails are sent to the Trash folder, which means they're not permanently deleted. There's no option to skip the trash, archive them, or send them to a different folder.
• Limited support. Depending on the email provider, the blocking feature might not work as expected. For example, the blocking may only occurr on your iPhone and not on your other devices.

Note: The inability to sync your block list across your Apple devices/accounts, unless you're using iCloud Mail, is a big drawback for most. This means that if you block someone on your iPhone, they're not necessarily blocked on your iPad or Mac.

To get around these limitations, there are other solutions like Block Sender, which gives you more control over what lands in your inbox, whether its on your phone or computer.

Blocking Emails on iPhone with Block Sender

So how do we get around these limitations? Block Sender offers two options: "forward to block" and "email to block". Let's take a look at how each of these works.

Forward to Block

For most use-cases, the best alternative is to use Block Sender's "forward to block" feature. When you come across an email/sender you want to block, simply forward that email to [email protected].

1. To forward, open the email, click on the left-pointing arrow a the bottom of the screen and select "Forward".

2. In the new email, enter "[email protected]" in the "To" field.

4. Block Sender will then block the email address of the sender of the email you forwarded.

Note: You must have already linked your account with Block Sender and you must forward the email from that linked account.

Email to Block

Now, what if you know of an email address you want to block, but you've already deleted all of their emails from your inbox and don't have any to forward? No problem, simply send a new email to [email protected] with the following format:

domain: [email protected]

Block Sender will then know to block the given email, even if you didn't forward one. In the example above, we're blocking the domain example.com.

Creating Different Types of Blocks

The advantages of this approach are more than simply being able to block emails from any device, but also the flexibility it provides. Using the body of the email, you can specify what exactly to block. Currently we're able to block the following when forwarded or sent an email:

• Email address (ex: email: [email protected])
• Domain (ex: domain: spam.com)
• Subject (ex: subject: You've won a prize!)

For example, say you're forwarding an email and don't want to block just the sender's email, but the entire domain. In that case, you can tell Block Sender you want to block the entire domain of the sender by specifying domain in the body of your forwarded email:

Conclusion

Managing your inbox from a mobile device like iPhone shouldn't have to be a hassle. With the right tools, you can easily block unwanted emails and keep your inbox clean and organized. While the native Mail app offers a basic blocking feature, it has its limitations. Block Sender, on the other hand, provides a more robust solution that allows you to block emails from any device and customize your blocking options.