Have you ever wanted to block someone on your iPhone but wondered what actually happens when you do? You can block contacts through your Messages, FaceTime, and Phone apps, and blocking a contact in one app will block them across the board. However, blocking doesn’t prevent someone from trying to reach you—and they won’t get a notification that they’ve been blocked, so they might start to wonder why you aren’t answering their messages.
You’re blocking them, though, so you probably don’t care too much about that last part. So here’s how to block someone on your iPhone—and where those messages go (or don’t go).
How to block someone in iPhone Messages
To block a number in Messages, open the conversation, tap the contact’s name, number, or image at the top of the screen, and hit the “i” info icon. Tap the name or number again and scroll down to the bottom of the contact screen to “Block this Caller.”
When a blocked number tries to send you a text message, it won’t go through. If they’re on iOS, they might not even see the “delivered” note in their Messages app—though it’s possible they’ll see your chat bubble turn from blue (iMessage) to green (SMS). You’ll see nothing on your end.
Messages also has an option to filter texts from senders who aren’t in your Contacts list. You’ll still get the messages, but they’ll be delivered to a separate “Unknown Senders” inbox. You also won’t see notifications for these texts.
The Unknown Senders tab will appear alongside a “Contacts & SMS” tab in Messages if you enable this feature (Settings > Messages > Filter Unknown Senders).
How to block someone from calls and FaceTime
To block a number in the Phone or FaceTime, tap the “i” info icon next to the number or contact and hit “Block this Caller” on the contact screen.
You can manage your blocked contacts in Settings > Phone (or Messages or FaceTime) on your iPhone. Unblock numbers at any time to resume receiving messages, calls and notifications.
Calls from blocked contacts go directly to voicemail. On your end, you’ll see a special “Blocked Messages” folder in your voicemail inbox if they leave a message (found at the bottom of your voicemail message list). You won’t receive any notification they called, however.
This story was originally published in 2016 by Thorin Klosowski and was later updated by Emily Long. It was updated again on Oct. 29, 2021 to meet current Lifehacker style guidelines.