Block List and the do-not-contact check

ListPlus has two ways to catch contacts you shouldn't email: a Block List you maintain yourself, and an automatic check for clearly unreachable addresses. Both surface as checks in the Analyze panel — see "What the Analyze panel checks and how the quality score works" for how checks and selections work in general.

What is the Block List for?#

The Block List under Settings holds email addresses and domains that must never be used in a campaign, one per line. The data quality checks then flag every row in your lists that matches an entry, so you can exclude those contacts before exporting. It does not filter search results or enrichment.

Where the Block List lives and how it works#

Open it from the Settings panel (the gear icon at the bottom of the left rail, tooltip "Settings") → Block List, or via ⌘K → "Open Block List". There's one Block List per workspace: every member of the workspace sees the same entries and can add or remove them, and it's checked against every list in that workspace — you add an entry once, not per list. If you work in several workspaces, each has its own Block List (see "What is a workspace?"). Type or paste entries into the box, one per line (commas and semicolons also work), and click Add. ListPlus detects the type automatically: anything with an @ is treated as an email, anything else as a domain (e.g. example.com); duplicates are skipped and a confirmation shows how many were added and how many duplicates were skipped. Hover an entry in the list and click the trash icon to remove it. There's no bulk file import — paste multiple lines at once instead.

What gets flagged, and how domain entries match#

A domain entry blocks every email at that domain, not just one address — add competitor.com once and any @competitor.com email in any list of the workspace is flagged. Matching is exact, not by subdomain: competitor.com does not match mail.competitor.com — add that subdomain separately if you need it blocked too. Don't start a domain entry with @; ListPlus treats anything containing @ as an email, so @competitor.com would be stored as a literal (and useless) email address instead of a domain. The check needs an email column to run; lists without one aren't checked. Matching is case-insensitive.

Block List vs. the automatic do-not-contact check#

These are two separate checks. On Global Block List only flags addresses and domains you added yourself. Do-Not-Contact Email is automatic and needs no setup: it flags addresses that are clearly not a person, such as noreply@, unsubscribe@, bounce@, mailer-daemon@ or postmaster@, regardless of what's in your Block List.

What it does not do#

The Block List only affects the two checks above. It does not filter Segment Search results, does not block enrichment lookups, and does not remove anything from a file export — a blocked row can still end up in an export if you don't act on the check first. Use Select N rows on the check (see "Selecting and highlighting rows from checks"), delete or exclude those rows, and click Save before exporting or sending a campaign.

Related topics: quality-checks-overview · select-rows-by-checks · gdpr-your-responsibilities (the legal "right to object" behind this feature) · fixing-issues.

FAQ#

How do I flag an email or domain so I never contact it by mistake?#

Open Settings (the gear icon in the left rail) → Block List, or press ⌘K and search "Open Block List", paste the email or domain, one per line, and click Add. From then on the "On Global Block List" check flags every matching row in your lists. Nothing is hidden or deleted automatically.

Can I block a whole domain, not just one email?#

Yes — enter the domain alone (e.g. example.com, without @ or www.) and every email at that domain is flagged, in any list of the current workspace.

Does the Block List apply to one list or all of them?#

There is one Block List per workspace, checked against every list in that workspace, not a separate list per project. Every member of the workspace sees and can edit the same entries; if you work in several workspaces, each one has its own Block List.

Can I upload a CSV of addresses to block?#

There's no file upload for the Block List; paste the addresses or domains into the add box, one per line (or comma/semicolon-separated), and click Add in one go.

Does adding someone to the Block List stop them from appearing in Segment Search or being enriched?#

No — the Block List only drives the "On Global Block List" check on rows already in your lists. It doesn't filter Segment Search results and doesn't block enrichment lookups.

Does the Block List remove blocked rows from my export automatically?#

No — a flagged row still exports unless you act on it first. Use the check's Select N rows to select the blocked rows, then delete them and click Save before exporting.

What's the difference between the Block List and the do-not-contact check?#

The Block List only flags entries you added yourself. The separate Do-Not-Contact Email check is automatic and always on — it catches addresses like noreply@, unsubscribe@ or postmaster@ without any setup.

How do I remove an entry from the Block List?#

Open Block List, hover the entry, and click the trash icon next to it.