Block List and the do-not-contact check

Updated Markdown

ListPlus doesn't send email on your behalf — but it has two ways to flag contacts that must never end up in a list or go out through a pipeline: a Block list you maintain yourself, and an automatic check for clearly unreachable addresses. The list check surfaces as a check 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, in Settings, holds emails and domains that don't belong in your workspace's lists or pipelines — people who objected, competitors and the like. It's workspace-wide, not personal: every member of the workspace adds to and is covered by the same list. Two things enforce it: pipelines never pass a blocked contact on to an external tool (your CRM, Slack, a webhook, a sequencer …), and the quality check in a list flags every matching row so you can exclude it before exporting. Neither filters search results, blocks enrichment, nor removes anything automatically on import — see "What it does not do" below.

Where the Block list lives and how it works#

Open Settings (the gear icon at the bottom of the left rail, or "Settings" in your avatar menu) → Block list, under "Workspace", or via ⌘K → "Open block list". There's one Block list per workspace: every member sees the same entries and can add or remove them, and it's enforced across every list and pipeline 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 or blocked, and how domain entries match#

A domain entry covers every email at that domain and all its subdomains — add competitor.com once and anna@competitor.com as well as anna@eu.competitor.com are covered. 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. Matching is case-insensitive. The two enforcement points differ slightly in reach:

  • Pipelines (sending to an external target such as a CRM, Slack or a webhook) check the contact's email, company domain and website against the Block list, subdomains included, and skip the entry instead of sending it. Pipelines that only work inside ListPlus, such as Enrich, are not affected.
  • The "On the block list" check in a list's Analyze panel flags a row by the same rule: its email, company domain or website matches the Block list, subdomains included. It runs when the list has an email, a company-domain or a website column.

A reference list can act as a block list too#

Besides the Block list in Settings, any list in the workspace that's set up as a reference list with the role Block (Set up → Reference list, on that list) is enforced the exact same way, automatically: pipelines skip a matching contact when sending to an external target, and the "On the block list" check flags it. You don't need to copy its entries into the Block list by hand. Like the Block list, it blocks by email address and domain (a LinkedIn URL alone doesn't block), and a change to it can take up to about a minute to take effect. See "Reference lists (customers, competitors, partners, block)" for how to set one up — it's a good fit when you want to manage and enrich the blocked companies or contacts as a normal list, with more than just an email or a domain.

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

These are two separate things. The Block list (and the pipeline check built on it) only covers addresses and domains you added yourself. Do-Not-Contact Email is a separate, automatic list check that needs no setup: it flags addresses that are clearly not a person, such as noreply@, unsubscribe@, bounce@, notifications@, alerts@, mailer-daemon@ or postmaster@, regardless of what's on your Block list.

What it does not do#

The Block list does not filter Segment Search results, does not block enrichment lookups, and does not remove or skip anything automatically when you import a file, save a research hit, or hand off from the Inbox — a blocked contact can still land in a list that way. It also does not remove a flagged row from a file export by itself: use Select N rows on the "On the block list" check (see "Selecting and highlighting rows from checks"), and delete or exclude those rows before exporting (deleting is saved automatically). Only sending through a pipeline to an external target is blocked automatically.

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

FAQ#

How do I flag an email or domain so it never ends up in a list or pipeline?#

Open Settings (the gear icon in the left rail, or "Settings" in your avatar menu) → Block list, or press ⌘K and search "Open block list", then paste the email or domain, one per line, and click Add. From then on, pipelines skip that contact when sending to an external tool, and the "On the block list" check flags every matching row already in your lists. Nothing is hidden, removed or skipped from an import automatically.

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

Yes — enter the domain alone (e.g. example.com, without @ or www.). Every email, company domain and website at that domain and its subdomains is then covered: pipelines don't send it on, and the list check flags it.

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

There is one Block list per workspace, enforced across every list and pipeline 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.

No — the Block list only drives the pipeline send check and the "On the block list" list check. It doesn't filter Segment Search results and doesn't block enrichment lookups.

Does a pipeline really skip blocked contacts automatically?#

Yes, for pipelines that send to something outside ListPlus — your CRM, Slack, a webhook, a sequencer. A matching entry is skipped instead of sent, checked by email, company domain and website (domains include their subdomains). Pipeline steps that stay inside ListPlus, such as Enrich, aren't affected.

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 before exporting — the deletion is saved automatically.

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

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

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

Open Settings → Block list, hover the entry, and click the trash icon next to it.

Can I use a whole list as a block list instead of pasting entries?#

Yes — set that list's role to "Block" under Set up → Reference list in that list. It's then enforced exactly like the Block list (pipelines skip it, the list check flags it), without adding its entries to the Block list by hand. See "Reference lists (customers, competitors, partners, block)" for how to set one up.