Limit to Number of Emails that can be Blocked

[KimMaric]

I receive a lot of unwanted or spam emails and have been advised the best way to deal with these is to firstly block them and then move them to the 'Junk' folder. However,  when I am on my laptop and I select some of these unwanted emails to try to block them, I get the following message:

'You exceeded the maximum number of items on your Blocklist. Please delete some addresses first.'

Previously I was able to select a number of emails at one time and block them all before moving them to 'Junk', but can no longer do that. On my iPad I can only block and move to 'Junk' one email at a time, which is very time consuming when there are usually several every day. There does not appear to be any limit to the number of emails on my iPad.

Therefore, I would like to know:

- why is there a blocklist?

- why is there a limit on the number of emails I can block, when using my laptop?

- if I delete some of the addresses on the blocklist, does this mean they are no longer blocked?

- how do I actually delete some of the addresses?

As usual it is virtually impossible to actually get an direct answer from TalkTalk.

[Mandisa-TT]

Thank you so much @Billx 

[Billx]

Hi. @Mandisa-TT 

You refer to 'automatic spam filters'. These are TalkTalk originated spam filters.

A user can also originate their own spam filters at

TalkTalk webmail --> Cog --> All Settings --> Mail --> Rules

This is separate from,

TalkTalk webmail --> Cog --> All Settings --> Mail --> Access Lists --> Blocklist

At, TalkTalk webmail --> Cog --> All Settings --> Mail --> Rules,

a user can try to create a more effective rule.

[Mandisa-TT]

Why there is a blocklist
The blocklist is designed to let you manually block specific email addresses or domains you don’t want to receive messages from. It works alongside the automatic spam filters to give you more control.

Why there is a limit
There is a maximum number of entries the blocklist can hold. Once that limit is reached, Webmail will show the message you’re seeing:
“You exceeded the maximum number of items on your Blocklist. Please delete some addresses first.”
This limit is part of the system’s design — it helps make sure the mailbox runs efficiently and prevents lists becoming so large that they slow down filtering.
Your iPad may appear different because some email apps handle filtering locally on the device, rather than directly inside TalkTalk’s Webmail settings. That’s why it can seem like there’s no limit there.

​​​​​​​If you delete addresses, are they still blocked?
If you remove an address or domain from your blocklist, it will no longer be blocked.
However, if those emails are genuinely spammy, the automatic spam filters will often pick them up anyway.

How to delete addresses from the blocklist
You can remove entries directly in TalkTalk Webmail:
1. Log in to TalkTalk Webmail on your laptop.
2. Select the Settings (usually the cog icon).
3. Go to Mail → Filter Rules, or Mail → Blocklist (depending on version).
4. You’ll see the list of blocked addresses.
5. Select the ones you no longer need and click Delete or Remove.
6. Save your changes.
 

Once you clear some space, you’ll be able to add new unwanted senders again.

[Mandisa-TT]

Hi @KimMaric ,

Thanks for getting in touch — I completely understand how frustrating it is to deal with a steady stream of unwanted emails, especially when the tools meant to help start showing limits. I’m happy to explain what’s going on and what you can do from here.