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Avoid unwanted communications from other accounts on Google
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This wikiHow teaches you how to prevent people from contacting you on a variety of Google apps. If you block someone in Google Chat, Hangouts, Maps, or Photos, the same user will not be able to contact you on any of those platforms. If you block someone's address in Gmail, messages will be routed to your spam folder rather than arrive in your inbox. And if you use Google Voice, blocking someone's phone number will also prevent that person from contacting you via voice or SMS text message in Google Hangouts.
Things You Should Know
- Click the three-dot menu next to a person on Gmail to find the Block option. This will only block that user on Gmail, not other Google apps.
- Tap the Updates tab within Google Maps to find other users' activity and block anyone you no longer want to interact with on the app.
- If you block another user on Google Chat, you will still see their messages within any organizations or groups that you share with them.
Steps
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Open the Gmail. If you're using a phone or tablet, tap the multicolored "M" icon on your home screen or in your app list. If you're on a computer, sign in to your account at https://www.gmail.com . If you're receiving emails you don't want from a specific address, you can block the address in Gmail. Blocked messages will automatically be routed to your Spam folder.
- Blocking an email address in Gmail will not block that person in any other Google applications.
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Click or tap a message from the person you want to block. This opens the message.Advertisement
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Click or tap the three-dot menu. It's the three horizontal (iPhone/iPad) or vertical (Android/computer) dots at the top-right corner of the message. A menu will expand. [1] X Research source
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Select the Block option. It will appear next to the sender's name. You'll see a confirmation message that says "You have blocked (email address)" and the message will move to your spam folder.
- If the message was spam, select Report spam on the confirmation message to report it.
- Messages will be automatically deleted from your Spam folder after 30 days.
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Open the Hangouts app on your phone or tablet. It's the green chat bubble icon with white quote marks inside. Blocking someone in Hangouts will also prevent them from contacting you in Google Voice, Google Photos, Google Maps, and Google Chat. [2] X Research source
- Google Hangouts will be going away in early 2021.
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Tap the Conversations tab (iPhone/iPad only). It's the gray speech bubble at the bottom. If you're using an Android, skip this step.
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Tap the person you want to block. This opens the chat.
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Tap the three vertical dots. It's at the top-right corner of the screen.
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Tap People . A list of contacts will appear.
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Tap the user and select Block (Android) or Block User (iPhone/iPad). A confirmation message will appear.
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Tap Block . Now that you've blocked this person, they won't be able to send you messages or chat requests.
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Go to https://hangouts.google.com in a web browser. If someone you don't want to talk to is bothering you in Google Hangouts, you can block them. Blocking someone in Hangouts will also prevent them from contacting you in Google Voice, Google Photos, Google Maps, and Google Chat.
- Google Hangouts will be going away in early 2021.
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Click the person you want to block. This opens the conversation.
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Click Settings . It's the gear at the top of the conversation. A list of options will expand.
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Click Block and Report . A confirmation window will appear.
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Choose whether to report the user. If you want to report the person for harassing or spamming you, check the box next to "Also report." If not, make sure there's no checkmark in the box.
- If you report someone for harassment, the last 10 messages in your conversation will be sent to Google for review.
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Click Confirm . The selected user can no longer contact you in Hangouts.
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1Open the Google Chat app. It's the green overlapping chat bubbles on your home screen or in your app list.
- Google Chat will be replacing Google Hangouts in the first half of 2021. [3] X Research source Until then, Google Chat is only available to G Suite users. If you're a home user, see the Hangouts method instead.
- If you block someone's Google account here, they will also not be able to contact you in the classic Google Hangouts or Google Photos.
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2Tap Chat . It's at the bottom of the screen.
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3Tap the person you want to block. This opens the conversation.
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4Tap the person's name at the top of the chat. A menu will expand.
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5Tap Block & Report or Block . You'll see the "Report" option if the person you're blocking is outside of your organization. If they are a part of your organization, it'll just say "Report."
- If you want to report a person who is outside of your organization for abuse, check the box next to "Also report" before you continue. If you report someone for harassment, the last 10 messages in your conversation will be sent to Google for review.
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6Tap Block to confirm. The selected Google user can no longer contact you via Google Chat, Hangouts, Google Maps, or Google Photos.
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1Go to https://chat.google.com in your web browser. If you want to prevent another person with a Google account from contacting you on Google Chat, you can easily do so from your web browser.
- Google Chat will be replacing Google Hangouts in the first half of 2021. Until then, this method just covers the version of Google Chat that comes with G Suite. If you're a home user, see the Hangouts method.
- If you block someone's Google account here, they will also not be able to contact you in the classic Google Hangouts or Google Photos. [4] X Research source
- If the person you block is in your organization, they'll still be able to see when you're online. They'll also be able to see that they can no longer send you messages.
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2Click the three vertical dots next to the person's name under "Chat." You may not see the three vertical dots until you hover the mouse over the person's name. A menu will expand.
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3Click Block & Report . This option has a circle with a diagonal line cutting through it. If the person is in your organization, you'll click Block instead.
- To report the person for abuse in addition to blocking, check the box next to "Also report." You can only report people outside of your organization.
- If you report someone for harassment, the last 10 messages in your conversation will be sent to Google for review.
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4Click Block to confirm. The selected Google user can no longer contact you via Google Chat, Hangouts, or Google Photos.
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Open the Google Maps app. It's the multicolored pushpin icon on your home screen or in the app list. If you want to prevent someone from finding your Google Maps profile, you can block them in the mobile app.
- Blocking someone in Google Maps will also block them in Google Chat, Google Hangouts, and Google Photos.
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Tap the Updates tab. It's the bell icon at the bottom-right corner. This opens the For You tab.
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Tap the profile of the person you want to block. You can tap any of their reviews, ratings, or other contributions on the For You tab. [5] X Research source
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Tap the three vertical dots on the person you want to block. This icon is next to the person's name. A menu will expand.
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Tap Block User . Once you've blocked this user, they won't be able to follow you or view your profile. They may see your contributions, such as reviews, when checking out different places in Maps—but they can't get to your reviews from your profile.
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1Open the Google Voice app. If you're using an Android, look for the green chat bubble icon with a white phone inside. On an iPhone or iPad, the icon is a green phone receiver with a fan-like symbol above it. [6] X Research source If you're using a computer, point your browser to https://voice.google.com and sign in to your Google account.
- Blocking someone's phone number in Google Voice will also prevent that person from calling you or sending you SMS messages in Google Hangouts.
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2Click or tap the Messages, Calls, or Voicemail tab. You can block someone from any of these tabs.
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3Select a call, text, or voicemail from the person you want to block. This displays the content or information.
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4Click or tap the three-dot menu. If you're using an iPhone or iPad, it'll be three horizontal dots at the top-right corner. The dots are in a vertical stack at the top-right corner on Androids and in a web browser on a computer.
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5Select Block number . If you don’t see this option, click or tap People & options first. A confirmation message will appear.
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6Click or tap Block to confirm. You will no longer receive calls, voicemails, or messages from the blocked user.
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Open the Google Photos app on your phone or tablet. It's the white icon with a red, yellow, green, and blue pinwheel inside. Use this method to block someone who has joined your shared album(s) or is sending you unwanted messages in Google Photos. [7] X Research source
- Any content the user contributed to your shared album will be removed once they've been blocked.
- Blocking someone in Google Photos also prevents that Google user in Google Hangouts, Google Maps, and Google Chat.
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Tap the chat bubble icon. It's at the top-left corner of the Photos app.
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Tap the album the person you want to block belongs to. It can be an album of yours that they joined, or one of their that you joined.
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Tap the person's profile photo. It'll be near the top of the album page along with your photo (and the photos of anyone else who is a member). A menu will expand.
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Tap the three dots next to the person you want to block. A brief menu will expand.
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Tap Block person . A confirmation message will appear.
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Tap Block to confirm. If you are the owner of the album, this will remove the person and any content they've contributed. If the person you block is the album owner, you'll be removed, as will your own shared content.
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Go to https://photos.google.com in a web browser. Use this method to block someone who has joined your shared album(s) or is sending you unwanted messages in Google Photos.
- Any content the user contributed to your shared album will be removed once they've been blocked.
- Blocking someone in Google Photos also prevents that Google user in Google Hangouts, Google Maps, and Google Chat.
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Click the Sharing tab. It's on the left side of Google Photos. This displays all of your shared albums.
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Click the three vertical dots on the album the person joined. You'll have to hover the mouse cursor over the album name to bring up the dots. A menu will expand.
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Click Block UserName . It'll say the person's name instead of UserName, of course.
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Click Block to confirm. If you are the owner of the album, this will remove the person and any content they've contributed. If the person you block is the album owner, you'll be removed, as will your own shared content.
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References
- ↑ https://support.google.com/mail/answer/8151?co=GENIE.Platform%3DiOS&hl=en&oco=1
- ↑ https://support.google.com/hangouts/answer/2945109
- ↑ https://techcrunch.com/2020/10/15/hangouts-meet-chat/
- ↑ https://support.google.com/chat/answer/9277792
- ↑ https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/6388749?co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid&hl=en
- ↑ https://support.google.com/voice/answer/115089?co=GENIE.Platform%3DiOS&hl=en&oco=1
- ↑ https://support.google.com/photos/answer/7066109
About This Article
Article Summary
X
1. Open Gmail.
2. Click or tap a message.
3. Click or tap the three dots.
4. Select Block
.
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Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 73,855 times.
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