When someone tries to text you while blocked, their messages typically don't reach you, and they usually won't get an explicit "blocked" notification, though subtle clues might appear like no delivery status (on iPhones, texts may switch from blue iMessage to green SMS) or a potential delay, but the messages are effectively stopped at your end. For the blocked person, texts may seem to go through but just never get a "Delivered" confirmation or read receipt, while calls often go to voicemail after a few rings.
When someone you've blocked tries to text you, you will not receive text messages from them. The system does not send any notification to the blocked person. However, many iPhone users may be able to deduce that you've blocked them. This is because of the iMessage text “status” feature on iPhones.
When you text someone who blocked you, the message generally sends from your end but is blocked from reaching the recipient; you typically won't get an error message, but you won't see a "Delivered" notification (on iPhones, it might stay blue but lack delivery confirmation, while on Android, it might show "Not Delivered" or just hang, but you can't know for sure without them telling you or trying other methods like calls to voicemail or different apps).
If the blocked sender uses a different phone number, they can text you normally. Blocked contacts cannot send you iMessages; their messages won't appear in your conversation list and you won't get notifications. The sender sees messages as sent on their end but won't get delivery/read receipts.
Generally, you won't see texts from a blocked number because they're silenced, but on Android, they often go to a "Spam & Blocked" folder in your Messages app; on iPhone, texts are usually lost, but you might find missed calls in a "Blocked Messages" or "Blocked Calls" section of your voicemail, as blocked calls often go to a separate voicemail box.
There's no way to see texts from blocked contacts. However, you can try contacting your mobile network carrier to see if you can access your message logs through them. Verizon, for instance, lets you download mobile, text and data usage details for the last 90 days. Call logs are also not visible for blocked numbers.
Your text messages don't deliver
On secure messaging platforms like WhatsApp, for example, a message that's successfully delivered will typically have two blue checkmarks next to it. However, you'll only see one gray checkmark if your message can't be delivered because the recipient has blocked you.
Signs someone has blocked your number
If you text someone who blocked you, you won't see an alert that you've been blocked, but they won't get your text. If you usually see "Delivered" when you text them but don't see it now, or their message bubbles are suddenly green instead of blue, you may be blocked.
Use caller ID blocking to hide your number
The simplest and most common way to call someone who's blocked you is by hiding your caller ID. When you do this, your call appears as “Private,” “Unknown,” or “No Caller ID” on the recipient's screen.
If the person you're calling has blocked anonymous calls, *67 won't work either. While *67 hides your number from the person you're calling, phone companies can still trace the call.
Practical signs someone may have muted you
Messages remain “sent” or “delivered” but never get quick replies: If your messages consistently show delivered but the person doesn't reply for long stretches while they remain active elsewhere, muting could be the reason.
No, you can't see someone's profile picture when blocked.
Additionally, you can't send any new messages to the recipient, or call them. Any attempts to contact the user will fail.
When a number is blocked, any incoming messages from that number are not delivered to your device, meaning they do not appear in your messages app at all. Once you unblock the number, you will only receive new messages sent after unblocking.
It depends on your end goal. If you are doing this to get them back then just ignore. If you just want to move on then block. If your goal is to hurt them, I would advise not to.
If you're blocked, their phone doesn't ring if you call them, or accept texts from them. If they unblock you, they can. Blocking has nothing to do with seeing your texts, other than one you send to them.
Messages sent to you while you blocked the contact or chat will not be resent.
The blocked party won't get a notification that they've been blocked, but if they call your landline, they may hear a busy signal or a message that their call couldn't go through or that the number is busy. The response they hear will depend on the carrier.
Signs you may have been blocked
If you have an iPhone and text another iPhone but don't see a “Delivered” notification, someone may have blocked you. (Android phones don't automatically show these messages.) The same goes for if you consistently see a green text bubble instead of a blue one on your iPhone.
To know if someone blocked you, watch for calls going straight to voicemail after one ring, texts showing "Not Delivered" (or no read receipts/checkmarks on apps like WhatsApp), and potential changes on social media; the most definitive test is calling from another number, where it rings normally for you but goes to voicemail on your original number, indicating a block.
If you're not blocked, the phone should ring anywhere from three to twelve times before going to voicemail. A blocked number may ring only once and then go to voicemail. (NOTE: It's also possible that the person is on another call, has their phone turned off, has a low battery, or has it set to airplane mode.)
Check the Bubble Color
Another way to know if someone blocked you on iMessage is to check the bubble color. If you see green bubbles, this means that your text messages are being sent through SMS, and they might have blocked you on iMessage.
Muting helps you ignore someone without preventing them from doing anything. Blocking someone prevents them from messaging you, commenting on your observations, identifying your observations, and otherwise interacting with you on iNaturalist.