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Can I blacklist a domain but whitelist a single email address on that domain?

I want to block all mail from a domain (e.g. example.com) but allow mail from one user on that domain (e.g. joe@example.com).  Is this possible?

Yes, it can be done but don't use the Blocked Sender feature (More on this below).

Here's what you do:

1) Setup a Custom Filter Rule to quarantine messages that contain the target domain on the From line of the message (go to Settings -> Custom Filters).  Or, if you want to be more thorough, you can quarantine messages when the target domain appears anywhere in the message header.  Doing so could result in some lost mail but if the domain is unique then it's unlikely to cause a problem.

2) Add the target email address to your Approved Senders list (go to Settings -> Approved Senders).  The Approved Senders (or whitelisting) feature overrides all other filtering rules and allows all emails through (with the exception of malicious emails).

Can't I just use the Blocked Sender feature instead?

No--that typically won't work.  When you block an email address or domain using the Blocked Sender feature, our servers will attempt to bounce all mail from that sender.  However, in some cases mail from blocked senders will be quarantined instead if they're sending from a different "envelope" address than what's shown on the "From" line. 


Last updated February 20, 2014