How do I unblock a sender in Gmail?

Last reviewed: October 20, 2026 · Markdown version

Open any email from that sender, click More next to Reply, and choose Unblock. If you cannot find one of their emails, go to Settings, See all settings, Filters and Blocked Addresses, tick the sender and click Unblock selected addresses. Both routes are on Google's block page, and its promise for afterwards is short: "When you unblock a sender, all future emails from them go to your inbox" (Block an email address in Gmail, read 20 October 2026). Future is the word to notice. What they sent while blocked is still in Spam, and the section below covers getting it out.

From one of their emails

This works on every device. On a computer, open the message and, at the top right, next to Reply, click More, then Unblock followed by the sender's name. In the Android and iPhone apps it is the same with taps (Block an email address in Gmail (Android) and (iPhone & iPad), read 20 October 2026). Since a blocked sender's mail goes to Spam, that is where to look for a message to open. The app pages say so in a tip: "If you can’t find the sender’s message, you may find it in Spam", reached from Menu, then Spam.

From the blocked list, on a computer

When there is no message to open, perhaps because Spam has already emptied itself, use the list. The computer version of Google's page gives the route: Settings, See all settings, then "At the top, click Filters and Blocked Addresses", "Check the box next to each sender", and "Click Unblock selected addresses". The Android and iPhone versions of the page give no equivalent list in the apps, so this one needs a browser. It is also the place to check who you have blocked over the years; the list can hold addresses you no longer remember adding.

Getting their mail out of Spam

Unblocking changes where new mail goes. Google's block page says nothing about the messages that went to Spam while the block was on, so move them yourself: open Spam, tick the messages and click Not spam. Google's page on wrongly filed mail adds a reason to do it even if you do not need those emails: "After you remove the email, future emails from that sender won’t go to Spam" (Fix issues with valid emails in Spam, read 20 October 2026). Do not leave it long. Mail in Spam does not wait: "Emails in your trash or spam are permanently deleted after 30 days" (Gmail messages are missing, read 20 October 2026).

Still going to Spam after unblocking

Google expects this to happen sometimes, and its page opens with exactly that case: "After you unblock a sender, their emails should no longer be sent to Spam. If their emails continue to go to Spam, try these steps." Beyond Not spam, it gives two more:

Add them to your contacts. "When you add the sender to Google Contacts, their emails won’t go to Spam."
Make a filter that protects them. Search for their address with Show search options, click Create filter, and tick the box "Never send it to Spam". (Both from the Fix issues with valid emails in Spam page above.)

Unblocked, but the mail still is not in your inbox

A block is not the only thing that moves mail on arrival. The Filters and Blocked Addresses tab you opened above also lists your filters, and one set up to delete or archive that sender's mail keeps doing so whatever the block says. Google's filter page tells you how to clear one: "Click Edit or Delete to remove the filter" (Create rules to filter your emails, read 20 October 2026). That includes rules made by Adinand Email Cleaner: its auto-trash rules are native Gmail filters, so they appear in that list and keep sending a sender's mail to Trash, even after the app is deleted, until the rule is removed. More on finding and removing one: deleting a Gmail filter.