To block a sender in Outlook, open any email from them, click Junk on the toolbar, and select Block Sender. Done. Their future emails go straight to your Junk folder.
But for sales reps and account managers dealing with high email volumes, blocking individual senders is only part of the problem. According to the Fyxer Admin Burden Index, 2026, a survey of 5,000 UK and US office workers, 50% of inbox activity is noise. Marketing emails account for 31% of everything that lands in your inbox. Notifications take another 21%. The volume alone is enough to bury the emails that actually matter.
This guide covers how to block senders across Outlook desktop, web, and mobile, how to manage your blocked senders list permanently, and what to do when blocking alone isn't enough.
How to block a sender in Outlook desktop
Blocking a sender in the desktop version of Outlook only takes 4 steps. This method ensures that emails from unwanted contacts do not appear in your inbox.
- Open Outlook and select an email from the sender you want to block
- Click Junk on the toolbar
- Select Block Sender
- Confirm the action
Future emails from this sender will go directly to your Junk Email folder before being automatically deleted
Tip: If you use Outlook 2016, 2019, or Microsoft 365, the steps are the same. For older versions, check the Help section under “Junk Email Options.”
