A blocked email is one from a blacklisted sender that AliasFleet stops before forwarding, so it never reaches the destination inbox. The stats card and the per-sender count on the Blacklist page differ because they measure different things: the stats card trend uses monthly event data from the email engine, while the per-sender count is a lifetime counter updated separately.
What does "blocked" mean?#
When a sender address or pattern sits on the account blacklist, mail from that sender to any alias is rejected at the engine level before forwarding begins. The message never travels to the destination address. The blocked count records each rejected attempt, so it counts attempts by blocked senders rather than mail received.
A blocked email differs from a bounced email. A bounce is a delivery failure for mail already sent onward, for example mail to a deactivated alias or a full inbox. A block takes place before forwarding, so the message never begins that route. For bounce reasons, see Bounces.
The Blocked stats card appears on the Aliases page and on the Blacklist page. Per-sender counts appear in the entry list on the Blacklist page.
Why does nothing blocked appear in the inbox?#
Blocked mail appears in no folder: not the inbox, not the spam folder, and nowhere else. The engine stops each message before forwarding, so no copy exists to display. A rising blocked count shows the blacklist in operation, with blocked senders still attempting delivery and each attempt stopped.
What does the Blocked stats card show?#
The stats card summarises blocked mail across the whole account in two parts. The first part is a lifetime total, combining blocked mail from every blacklist entry. The second part is a monthly trend, comparing blocked events in the current calendar month with blocked events in the previous calendar month.
The trend appears as a percentage, for example ↑ 100% vs last month. The worked example from the existing documentation is as follows: if a sender gets blocked twice in May and zero times in April, the card shows ↑ 100%. For the full method behind trend percentages, see How Monthly Trends Work.
What does the Blacklist page show?#
The Blacklist page lists one entry per blocked sender. Each entry carries two figures for that sender alone: a lifetime blocked count and the date of that sender's most recent blocked attempt. Because the list is organised per sender, no entry includes blocked mail from another sender.
Read as a table, the page gives a sender address or pattern beside a blocked count column and a last blocked date column. A high count beside a recent date points to a sender still attempting contact. An old date points to a sender that has not attempted contact recently, which does not mean the entry has stopped working.
Why do the two blocked numbers differ?#
The two figures are kept separately and measure different things. The stats card trend draws on monthly event data from the email engine. The per-sender count on the Blacklist page is a lifetime counter updated separately. Small differences between the figures are normal, and a difference alone does not mean either figure is wrong.
How do I check blocked counts?#
- Open the Aliases page and read the Blocked stats card for the account lifetime total and the monthly trend.
- Open the Blacklist page and locate the sender entry to read that sender's lifetime blocked count and last blocked date.
- Compare trends, not totals. Judge whether blocked attempts are rising or falling from the stats card trend month to month, and identify the responsible sender from the per-sender count.
- Act on the entry if needed. To change how a sender is handled, follow Using Sender Rules. To choose between blocking a sender and deactivating an alias, see Blacklist vs Deactivating.
What does the "Last blocked" date mean?#
Each blacklist entry records the most recent time that sender tried to email the account and was blocked. A date in January, for example, means the sender has not tried since January; it does not mean the entry is inactive. A recent date beside a rising count means the sender is actively trying to reach the account through its aliases.
Troubleshooting#
- The blocked count is higher than expected. The count records attempts, not deliveries. A high count means blocked senders tried often, not that mail slipped through. Check the per-sender counts on the Blacklist page to find which sender accounts for the total.
- The two blocked numbers do not match. This is normal. The stats card trend uses monthly event data from the email engine, and the per-sender count is a lifetime counter updated separately. Compare trends over time rather than expecting the two figures to agree.
- Expected mail is being blocked. The sender address or domain is on the blacklist. Remove or edit the rule by following Using Sender Rules, then ask the sender to resend.
- A blocked sender keeps trying. A recent Last blocked date with a rising count means the sender is still active. The block is working as long as nothing from that sender reaches the inbox. Keep the entry, or deactivate the affected alias if the alias itself is no longer wanted, as described in Blacklist vs Deactivating.
- No blocked count appears for a sender. No entry on the Blacklist page means no blocking rule is listed for that sender. For alias-level statistics instead, see Understanding Your Alias Statistics.