# If I block an email address, will the blocked sender know I did? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 4, 2008, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-block-an-email-address-will-the-blocked-sender-know-i-did/451773 "2008-06-04T16:38:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jeepus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeepus/32/3593_2.png) [@jeepus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeepus)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2008, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-block-an-email-address-will-the-blocked-sender-know-i-did/451773/1 "2008-06-04T16:38:56Z")
I have an angry ebay seller ranting at me. I contacted a seller with a few questions about an item, then told her that I had decided against bidding on her auction when I noticed how expensive her shipping charge would be, and she’s offended; mad as a bee. I don’t want to hear from this person anymore, and have blocked her email address in my Outlook. I’ve never blocked an address before and I’m just curious; if she sends me more emails, what will happen? Will her message go directly to the junk file? To deleted? Will I never see another email from this address at all because it is blocked? Does the person who I have blocked get an email saying that my address no longer accepts email from your address? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2008, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-block-an-email-address-will-the-blocked-sender-know-i-did/451773/2 "2008-06-04T16:58:42Z")
It depends on how you block it and what email program you’re using. I know with Yahoo, for example, you can direct certain addresses to deliver directly to your trash folder. Others may bounce the emails she sends you back to her as undeliverable. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2008, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-block-an-email-address-will-the-blocked-sender-know-i-did/451773/3 "2008-06-04T17:07:35Z")
Outlook will send blocked email to your “Junk” folder by default, which means as far as the sender is concerned the email has been received. ---
**Author:** ![MrSquishy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@MrSquishy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSquishy)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2008, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-block-an-email-address-will-the-blocked-sender-know-i-did/451773/4 "2008-06-04T17:09:14Z")
In my version of Outlook (2007), in Junk E-mail Options, under the Blocked Senders tab, it says: > [@](#): > > E-mail from addresses or domain names on your Blocked Senders List will always be treated as junk e-mail. Sounds like all that will happen is that email from those senders will go into the Junk folder, and that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![jeepus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeepus/32/3593_2.png) [@jeepus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeepus)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2008, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-block-an-email-address-will-the-blocked-sender-know-i-did/451773/5 "2008-06-04T17:29:47Z")
OK, thanks for the responses. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2008, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-block-an-email-address-will-the-blocked-sender-know-i-did/451773/6 "2008-06-04T17:44:33Z")
So, does this mean there’s a junk folder that should be deleted occasionally? ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2008, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-block-an-email-address-will-the-blocked-sender-know-i-did/451773/7 "2008-06-04T18:55:45Z")
[QUOTE=Yllaria] So, does this mean there’s a junk folder that should be deleted occasionally? [/QUOTE] Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2008, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-block-an-email-address-will-the-blocked-sender-know-i-did/451773/8 "2008-06-04T23:01:23Z")
[QUOTE=HeyHomie] Yes. [/QUOTE] With a qualification. Junk folders are generally emptied automatically. Messages over a certain age get deleted but the system is set to delete once a week. If you delete spam too soon, the sender sees that the address is active and spams some more in the hope that some will get past the filters. If your email client has the option to delete spam after a certain delay, just forget about the junk folder altogether. It will take care of itself. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-block-an-email-address-will-the-blocked-sender-know-i-did/451773/9 "2008-06-05T01:37:39Z")
> [@](#): > > If you delete spam too soon, the sender sees that the address is active and spams some more in the hope that some will get past the filters. 😕 How does the sender know how often or when you delete your email? ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-block-an-email-address-will-the-blocked-sender-know-i-did/451773/10 "2008-06-05T02:49:52Z")
[QUOTE=Myglaren] With a qualification. Junk folders are generally emptied automatically. Messages over a certain age get deleted but the system is set to delete once a week. If you delete spam too soon, the sender sees that the address is active and spams some more in the hope that some will get past the filters. If your email client has the option to delete spam after a certain delay, just forget about the junk folder altogether. It will take care of itself. [/QUOTE] Yeah, I’m pretty sure they only know when you read their mail if you have your client set to open attachments automatically or retrieve images automatically-- something that requires your machine to put in a request (for a file or image) to the spammer’s server. Get gmail, solve all your problems.