If you no longer want to communicate with someone on Ancestry, you can block their account.

Accounts you block can’t message or respond to your community postings on Ancestry. If someone has multiple Ancestry accounts, you’ll need to block each of their accounts. You can unblock any account you’ve blocked at any time.

If you block a DNA match, they won’t be able to send you messages, but they’ll remain in your list of DNA matches. To remove them from your list of DNA matches, see Hiding AncestryDNA® Matches.

What happens when you block someone

People are not notified when someone blocks their account. Anyone you block can no longer contact you through the Ancestry messaging system. If they try to contact you, they’ll see this:

Blocking or unblocking an account

From their member profile
 

1. Go to their member profile by clicking on their name or username. If clicking on their name or username doesn’t work in one spot, try another place where their name or username appears on the screen.
   • To block: On the left side, under their name/username, click the three dots and then choose Block member. Click Block member again to confirm.
   • To unblock: On the left side, under their name/username, click Unblock.

From a message

1. In the top-right corner, click the chat  icon and select See all messages or Go to message center.
2. On the left, hover over a message with the person you want to block.
3. Click the three dots and then choose Block/Unblock user.
4. If blocking, click Block again to confirm.

To hide the message from your inbox, archive it.
 

From a group conversation

1. In the top-right corner, click the chat  icon and select See all messages or Go to message center.
2. Hover over the group message with someone you want to block or unblock.
3. Click the three dots and then choose Block someone.
4. In the panel on the right, under their name/username, click Block User/Unblock user.
   Don’t see Block User/Unblock user? Click the down arrow ⌄ next to their name/username to expand the section.
5. If blocking, click Block again to confirm.

To hide the group conversation from your inbox, archive it.
 

Viewing a list of accounts you've blocked

1. In the top-right corner of Ancestry, click your Profile and select Account Settings.
2. On the left, under Settings, click Communications.
3. Scroll to Messaging preferences and click Blocked members.
4. If you’d like to allow someone to contact you again, click Unblock next to their name.