Blocking a Sender
Some e-mail providers have a system to block or blacklist specific senders. In most cases it's simply an easy-to-use front-end to a filter system: you provide an e-mail address and it builds a filter for you to auto-delete any messages from that sender. As of 9/2015 Google has added a similar one-click blocking mechanism to Gmail* (https://support.google.com/mail/answer/8151). You can now easily mark a sender to be blocked and Gmail automatically creates a filter to do so which is listed on the Settings->Filters and Blocklist page.Gmail's implementation of blocking is a little more forgiving of mistakes (blocking the wrong address) or "blocker's remorse" in that the blocked e-mail is placed in the Spam label. Other providers who have a blocking feature permanently deleted the messages. Placing them in Spam instead gives one the ability to recover messages that shouldn't have been blocked (as long as it is done before the 30-day auto-delete). It should also be noted that while the message are placed in Spam, they are not reported as spam to Gmail's spam filtering system. The spam label is just a place to store them until manually or automatically deleted.
The one down-side to this is that the blocked messages show up as unread in Spam. This means that those who routinely check the Spam label for false-positives may be mislead to thinking there is new spam to check when it's just a new blocked sender's e-mail. If this is an issue, the alternative is to create your own filter instead of using the block function. This type of blocking has always existed in Gmail and it allows you more control over how it works and what it does with the messages.
Typically you will simply want to delete the messages. But there may be a case where there is some personal or legal reason you need to save these "blocked" messages. In such a situation you might label the messages, archive them (so they are not in the Inbox), and mark them as read. This is an example of why having full control over the filter is useful and more flexible than simple blocking.
So to create a simple blocking filter, do the following:
- Go to Settings->Filters and Blocklist
- Click the "Create a new filter" link towards the bottom of the page.
- Enter the sender's e-mail address in the From field
- Click the "Create filter with this search" link.
- Check the box for "Delete it".
- [optional] Check the box for "Mark as read".
It may be interesting to note that Google Apps accounts have another option to do blocking: http://support.google.com/postini/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=141187 although this can only be done by the domain administrator.
Blocking with a Return Error Message
While the above process will satisfy most blocking requirements, there are times when one may want the sender to know their message was not delivered. That is, you want them to receive a bounced error message.While there are a few providers that have this capability, it is not something Gmail supports. Even so, it is possible to simulate, or fake a bounced message back to the sender. Just like the above blocking, it involves creating a filter, but it adds the use of the Canned Response capability (Settings->Labs->Canned Response). So with the Canned Response lab enabled:
- Compose a message.
- Use the "Canned Responses" drop-down menu and select "New canned response..."
- Give it a name.
- Complete the message content (see below) and save the draft.
Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently:Note: you should fill in your correct e-mail address in place of "your.name@gmail.com" to match the correct failure format. There's no problem using your address since they already have the address in order to send the message in the first place. It's not any new information. But if one is really concerned (paranoid) you could replace it with something like "*****@gmail.com" as if the address had been masked out. It just will look that much less like a true bounced message.
your.name@gmail.comTechnical details of permanent failure:
The requested recipient could not be reached.
You do not have permission to send to this recipient.
SMTP Error 550 5.7.1 Requested action not taken: message refused.
An alternative message that's a bit more to-the point about why it failed:
Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently:Unlike the earlier message that has some ambiguity, this one clearly says the sender was blacklisted.
your.name@gmail.comTechnical details of permanent failure:
SMTP Error 550 5.7.1 Rejected, your address is blacklisted by the recipient.
Alternatively, you could use the error for a non-existent account which might suggest you deleted it:
Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently:
your.name@gmail.comTechnical details of permanent failure:
Google tried to deliver your message, but it was rejected by the recipient domain. We recommend contacting the other email provider for further information about the cause of this error. The error that the other server returned was: 550 550-5.1.1 The email account that you tried to reach does not exist. Please try
550-5.1.1 double-checking the recipient's email address for typos or
550-5.1.1 unnecessary spaces. Learn more at
550 5.1.1 http://support.google.com/mail/bin/answer.py?answer=6596 im3si6082088bkc.81 (state 13).
And now create the actual filter:
- Go to Settings->Filters and Blocklist
- Click the "Create a new filter" link towards the bottom of the page.
- Enter the sender's e-mail address in the From field
- Click the "Create filter with this search" link.
- [optimal] Check the box for "Skip the Inbox (Archive it)"
- [optinal] Check the box for "Apply the label" and select one from the drop-down list.
- Check the box for "Send canned response" and select one from the drop-down list.
- [optional] Check the box for "Mark as read".
Note 2, the optional steps are basically to keep these messages out of your Inbox by placing them in a label of your choice. You can then decide to save them if needed, or every so often go and delete all the messages in that label.
Clearly this system isn't perfect. The biggest problem being that you can't delete the message and also send the canned response. Still, it's a reasonable work-around given that Gmail doesn't have the ability to bounce a messages. And it will satisfy the needs some users have to block a sender with a message so they know they are blocked.
Of course, as already mentioned, it may not fool a more knowledgeable e-mail user. But what can they do about it? If they send a message saying "I know it's fake" all they'll get is another failure report.
Summary
It's unfortunate that there are reasons why one may want or need to block a sender from e-mailing to your account. But fortunately Gmail provides the tools to keep such messages out of your Inbox. It may take some self-control to not look at them in Trash if the content may be disturbing. But they can be deleted permanently without opening.And the workaround for simulating a bounced error return is pretty easy to setup and use. It should work for most cases, and help provide one a level of protection from unwanted contact.
* Gmail is a trademark of Google, Inc. This page is not sponsored by or affiliated with Google.
