> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.clearmyinbox.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Blocking versus unsubscribing

> Unsubscribing asks a sender to stop. Blocking moves their mail out of your inbox whether they listen or not. When to use each in ClearMyInbox.

## The short version

| | Unsubscribe | Block |
| - | - | - |
| What it does | Asks the sender to take you off their list. | Moves the sender's new mail out of your inbox. |
| Who acts | The sender. They can ignore you. | ClearMyInbox, in your own mailbox. The sender is not told. |
| Best for | Legitimate senders that honour the request. | Senders that ignored an unsubscribe, or that have no unsubscribe link. |
| Is mail deleted? | No. | No. It is moved, never deleted. |

Unsubscribe first. Block the ones that ignore you. Your **Unsubscribed** page shows which senders those are: see [Unsubscribe outcomes](/unsubscribe-outcomes).

## How blocking works

* When you block a sender, we move the mail they have already sent that is in your inbox, straight away.
* After that, ClearMyInbox checks your mailbox regularly and moves new mail from blocked senders out of your inbox, usually within a few hours of it arriving.
* Mail is moved after it arrives, so you may briefly see a message before it is moved.
* **Nothing is ever deleted.** Moved mail lives in **ClearMyInbox/Blocked** in your mailbox: a label in Gmail, a folder in Outlook and in IMAP mailboxes. You can look through it at any time.

## What you can block

* A single address, or a whole domain (every address at that sender).
* You cannot block a whole free email domain such as `gmail.com`, and you cannot block your own address or domain.

## Permission to move mail

Blocking moves mail, so it needs permission to change your mailbox.

* **Gmail:** the first time you block a sender, Google asks you to allow this extra permission.
* **Outlook:** you may be asked to reconnect the mailbox.

## Unblocking

Unblock a sender on the **Blocked** page. New mail from them stays in your inbox from then on. Mail that was already moved stays in **ClearMyInbox/Blocked** until you move or delete it yourself.

## If a block shows a warning

"We could not check this one" means we could not reach the mailbox. Reconnect the mailbox on the **Account** page and blocking carries on.

## Which plans include blocking

Blocking is included in the Casual and Professional plans. It is not part of the Free plan or the Week Pass. If you move from a plan with blocking to one without, your blocked senders stay listed but their mail is no longer moved. See [pricing](https://www.clearmyinbox.ai/pricing).

<Note>
  For general advice on blocking spam inside Gmail itself, see [How to block spam emails on Gmail](https://www.clearmyinbox.ai/learn/how-to-block-spam-emails-on-gmail).
</Note>


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