You blocked him/her on Gmail because you didn’t want to see his/her messages — perhaps it was spam, or you’ve blocked him/her accidentally. Suppose today your mind changed, however? Suppose you wanted to see his/her messages once again?
Bad news: you can’t unblock a person on Gmail. But not exactly that hard to accomplish either. You can unblock somebody in two seconds on your phone or computer. In this 2025 guide, you will be able to step by step guide on how to unblock someone on Gmail, what you benefit from when you unblock a person, and how to make the most out of your block list.
Why You Would Like to Unblock Somebody
It’ll block a Gmail and will divert his mail to your Spam folder. It’s paradise but then you’ll have some such moments when you’ll want to unblock.
You will Unblock someone because:
- You blocked the wrong person unintentionally.
- Fight is over and fought and now you would like to become friends with him.
- Their mail is no longer spam or nuisance.
- You need their email for admin or office work.
Unblocking resumes normal delivery. When you unblock a sender, his emails reappear in your inbox as if they never went anywhere.
How Blocking Works in Gmail
You won’t even think about how blocking works until you unblock.
When you block someone in Gmail:
- His emails go straight to Spam and never show up in your inbox.
- His address auto-completes by Gmail on your block senders list.
- They have no idea they are blocked.
What does unblocking them do
- Gmail unblocks them from the blocked senders list.
- They’ll show up in your inbox with their new message.
- Delete or filter manually if needed.
Unblock Someone in Gmail in Desktop (Web Browser)
When you open Gmail in your PC, blocking somebody is easy in three clicks or less.
Steps:
- Open Gmail.com in your web browser.
- Log into Gmail.
- Tap ⚙️ Settings icon top right.
- Tap See all settings.
- Tap Blocked Addresses and Filters.
- Scroll down and you’ll be able to see the list of blocked addresses.
- Look for the e-mail address that you wish to unblock.
- Tap Unblock on their right side.
- There’ll be a warning that you really want to unblock them — tap Unblock again.
That’s it. Gmail will then unblock them from your block list.
Note: All their incoming mail will now arrive in your inbox as usual.
Unblock Someone From a Message Directly
You can unblock someone directly from their message if you have one of their messages in the Spam folder.
Steps:
- Open Gmail.
- Open the Spam label in the left sidebar.
- Search for an email from the person you want to unblock.
- Open the message.
- Message top, click Unblock sender.
- Confirm.
Gmail will now send all of this person’s mail directly to your inbox.
Tip: There’s a trick trick which is technically the same as entering “Not Spam” if you’re unsnubbing the exact same message from spam folder.
Unblock Someone in Gmail on Mobile (Android or iPhone)
With Gmail via its mobile app, blocking someone is just as easy.
Android steps:
- Launch Gmail app.
- Tap top-left menu icon (☰).
- Tap Spam.
- Get mail of the person whose mail you had blocked.
- Open it.
- Click top-right corner three-dot button (⋮).
- Click Unblock [sender’s name].
- Yes.
iPhone Steps:
- Open Gmail app.
- Click on menu button (☰).
- Click on Spam.
- Open one of the sender’s mail.
- Click on top-right corner More (⋯).
- Click on Unblock sender.
His/her mail will now be in your regular inbox.
Alternate Method: Use Filters to Unblock
You might, sometimes or perhaps a thousand times, created a filter forwarding one’s mail to trash or spam automatically. You will need to delete or modify such a filter.
Steps:
- Open Gmail in your computer.
- Click the Settings icon (⚙️) → See all settings.
- Click on Filters and Blocked Addresses.
- Look for them to check if they are filtered by their e-mail address.
- Click Delete or Edit alongside the filter.
- If editing, remove the rule that sends their mail to spam or trash.
- Click Save changes.
This will prevent mail from them from appearing in your inbox.
How to See Whom You’ve Blocked
You may even not know the person you have blocked on Gmail. You see them in one spot.
Steps:
- Click on Gmail Settings (⚙️ → See all settings).
- Click the Filters and Blocked Addresses link.
- Scroll down to Blocked Addresses.
- There, each blocked address will have a button, “Unblock”.
What You’ll See When You Unblock Someone
Gmail will deliver new mail from the person to your inbox after you’ve unblocked.
Here’s the catch:
- Spam from the person still stays.
- They can be reversed manually.
- New mail will appear in your inbox normally.
- They’ll never know that you’ve unblocked them.
- You can block them again if you want to later.
Unblocking is working perfectly well without any issue.
What to Do If You Can’t Unblock Someone
If you’re clicking the Unblock button and absolutely nothing has been done, then try these easy things:
- Refresh Gmail or log off and log on again.
- Clear browser cache or cookies.
- Check if you’re signed into the correct Gmail account.
- Check whether you don’t have an active filter which continues to send this person’s mail to spam.
- If you’re a work or school Gmail address, check to see if admin policy overrode your settings.
Using Blocked Contacts Smrtly
Block and unblock should be muting your inbox, not clogging it up. Some use tips below:
Tips
- Block when you never ever don’t ever want to ever even ever want to ever get any mail from that address.
- Check your block list again in a few months.
- If you just do not wish to be replied to by someone, block and do not filter.
- To block ad letter or news letter, click on the link unsubscribe.
- In case the person is spam mail or spamming, block and report spam.
Bright management keeps your Gmail secure but lets good communication reach it.
Quick Review
Unblock a person on Gmail
- Settings → Blocked Addresses and Filters → Unblock next to sender.
- Or open message and touch Unblock sender.
- OK.
Phone
- Open Gmail app → Spam → Search message → Tap three dots → Unblock.
Their future mail arrives at your inbox as normal.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How do I know who is blocked on Gmail?
Open Settings → Blocked Addresses and Filters. There you see the blocked senders list.
What happens if I unblock someone?
Their new mail arrives at your inbox. Their old mails are still in Spam.
Will this other person ever know that I unblocked him?
No. Gmail will never tell them.
Can I just block and unblock some dude like that repeatedly?
Yes, you can block or unblock any address whenever you want with Gmail.
Does unblocking recover deleted mail?
No. It will never have mailed before. Your deleted mail will only be deleted if you’ve trashed or archived it.
