How to Block Unwanted Emails from Hotmail.com

Introduction

Are unwanted emails from Hotmail.com leaving you frustrated, and are you looking for possible solutions to get rid of them? Is your inbox becoming difficult to manage, causing you to accidentally miss important emails?

If these issues resonate with you, then you're in the right place. This article explains why choosing to block the entire hotmail.com domain from your inbox isn't always the best option and presents other alternatives for controlling emails from this domain. By the end of this article, you'll have a clear understanding of managing Hotmail emails using both Gmail and Block Sender.

Why Blocking the Hotmail Domain Might Be a Bad Idea

If you're receiving a lot of spam or unwanted emails from Hotmail addresses, you might be considering to block the entire hotmail.com domain. Since Hotmail was discontinued in 2013 and rebranded as Outlook, this may seem like the right approach.

Most businesses use custom email domains or modern email providers such as Gmail, Yahoo, or Outlook. Many people avoid using Hotmail because it's outdated, and better, more contemporary alternatives are available. Most employers don't prefer candidates using Hotmail addresses since it may appear unprofessional and is not aligned with the latest technology. However, it is still used by some people for personal correspondence or online shopping.

Despite the reasons mentioned above, it's still not a good idea to block the entire "hotmail.com" domain. Although the Hotmail email provider is no longer operational, all Hotmail addresses are now accessible through Microsoft Outlook. Microsoft still allows users to own and create Hotmail addresses.

Another important note is that "hotmail.com" itself is not inherently spammy. If you block the entire domain, you may miss many important emails. Blocking it will result in both legitimate and unwanted emails from Hotmail addresses being marked as spam, leading to important emails being unintentionally missed.

How to Handle Unwanted Hotmail Emails Using Gmail

Gmail provides several features that you can leverage to manage unwanted emails from hotmail.com.

Block the Domain

You may lose important emails if you block the entire hotmail.com domain, so perform this action only if necessary. If you do perform this action, we advise you to check the spam folder regularly for any legitimate emails. Unfortunately, Gmail only provides the option to delete the emails. This is why we recommend using Block Sender to block a domain since Gmail doesn't provide the feature to mark filtered emails as spam. Read this article till the end to find out more.

Gmail doesn't have the option to block domains directly, but we can perform this action using Gmail Filters.

1. Click Show search options (three sliders icon on the right side of the search bar).

2. In the From field, enter the domain @hotmail.com and click Create Filter.

3. Select Delete it from the list of available options and click Create Filter.

After setting up this filter, all future emails from any Hotmail addresses will automatically be sent to the trash folder, where they will be deleted after 30 days.

Block the Sender

If someone from hotmail.com is bombarding you with unwanted emails, you can block that sender to stop receiving those emails.

This action will mark all future emails from that particular Hotmail account as spam.

1. Open any email received from that sender.
2. Click on the three vertical dots menu in the top-right corner of the email and select Block {sender}.

Block Specific Words or Phrases

Are you noticing recurring words or phrases commonly used in unwanted emails from Hotmail addresses? If so, block only those emails from the hotmail.com domain containing those specific terms. Gmail filters offer robust options to set this blocking criterion.

Here's how you can do this:

1. Click the gear icon in the top-right corner and select See All Settings.

2. Navigate to Filters and Blocked Addresses and click Create a New Filter.

3. In the From field, enter the domain @hotmail.com to filter out Hotmail emails.
4. In the Has the words field, enter the words or phrases based on which you'd like to block Hotmail emails, then click Create Filter.

Refer to the list of Gmail's search operators to further refine your filtering criteria.

5. Select Delete it from the list of available actions for the filtered email and click Create Filter.

Block Sender Tool for Unwanted Hotmail Emails

Do you find Gmail filters very complicated, or do you consider Gmail's blocking options limited in some ways? Then, you should give Block Sender a try.

You can sign up for Block Sender and use it through its web-based dashboard or directly through Gmail using its Chrome extension. It offers several options, such as:

• Blocking senders
• Blocking domains and domain extensions
• Blocking IP addresses
• Blocking emails by header or subject
• Bouncing back emails

And much more! It also provides the convenience of sharing blocking rules across multiple email accounts. Let's discuss how to block emails from Hotmail using the Block Sender Chrome extension.

Block the Domain

Block Sender provides the option to block domains directly and mark the emails from those blocked domains as spam—a feature not offered by Gmail.

While we do not recommend blocking the entire Hotmail domain, if you are still interested, here is how to do it:

1. Click the Block Sender icon in the top toolbar of Gmail, then select New Block.

2. Choose Website/Domain from the What do you need to block? dropdown.
3. Enter the domain name hotmail.com in the Website/Domain to Block field.
4. Select Spam from the Where should the blocked emails go dropdown.

5. Click Save.

Block Specific Words or Phrases

Unlike Gmail, Block Sender allows you to block specific words or phrases commonly used in spam and unwanted emails with fewer clicks and no complex filters to set up.

1. Open Gmail. Click the Block Sender icon and select New Block.

2. Select Phrase from the What do you need to block dropdown.
3. Enter the phrase you wish to block in the Phrase to Block field.
4. Decide where you want blocked emails to be sent, such as Trash, Delete, Archive, or Spam folder.

5. Select whether to send an auto-response to the sender. (Optional)
6. Click Save.

Voila! That's how easy this process is.

Conclusion

Blocking the entire Hotmail domain due to receiving a few unwanted or spam emails can be problematic. Adopt better strategies and block only selected emails from this domain to ensure you never miss any important communications. You can leverage Gmail's blocking options, or you can use the power of Block Sender for a more comprehensive solution.