How to Block Customers on Shopify
Shopify has no block-customer button. Here's how to block a customer at checkout in one click, which details to block, and how to make sure you never block the wrong person.
Short answer
Shopify has no block-customer button. Ongoing Defender adds one: search for a customer and block their account, email and phone at checkout in one click, on any paid plan and any payment provider. You can also block straight from the customer's page in Shopify admin.
Which details to block
The more details you block, the harder it is to come back. Defender matches each one however it's typed, so small changes don't get through.
| Detail | How Defender matches it |
|---|---|
| Customer account | Blocks their account, email and phone in one click |
| Email address | Exact match, ignoring capital letters and spaces |
| Email domain | Every address at that domain and its subdomains |
| Phone number | Across formats, so +61 412 345 678 matches 0412 345 678 |
| Name | On shipping or billing, ignoring case, accents and punctuation |
| Street address | With the postal code, so 12 Main Street matches 12 Main St |
| Customer tag | Anyone with a tag you choose, like chargeback |
How to do it with Ongoing Defender
- 1Install Ongoing Defender and turn on Checkout rules.
- 2Search for the customer by name, email or phone and block them in one click.
- 3Or, in Shopify admin, open the customer and choose More actions > Block at checkout. From the customer list you can block up to 250 at once.
- 4Add any other details they use, like a second email, phone number or shipping address.
- 5Write the message blocked buyers see.
- 6Test a checkout with their details to confirm it's blocked.
Blocked buyers see no payment or shipping options, including Shop Pay, Apple Pay and Google Pay. Your message never says which rule matched, so they learn nothing about what to change.
Make sure you never block the wrong person
- Add your best customers' emails to the always-allow list. They're never blocked, whatever else matches.
- Add always-allow tags, like wholesale or VIP, so whole groups are always safe.
- Test a checkout with a real customer's details before a broad rule, like a blocked domain, goes live.
Block customers automatically with Shopify Flow
Defender blocks anyone with a customer tag you choose. Set up a Shopify Flow workflow that tags a customer after a chargeback or a refund request, and they're blocked at checkout automatically, with no manual work.
Why Ongoing Defender instead of Shopify's built-in tools
| What you need | Shopify on its own | With Ongoing Defender |
|---|---|---|
| Block a customer before they order | Fraud Control, for Shopify Payments stores only | Any payment provider, on any paid plan |
| Block from the customer's page | Not built in | More actions > Block at checkout |
| Stop the same person checking out as a guest | Disabling an account only stops them logging in | Email, phone and address blocks catch guests too |
| Hide every payment method, including Shop Pay | Needs an app | Automatic for blocked buyers |
| Check a rule before it goes live | Not built in | Test a checkout with any details |
Tips for best results
- Block the email, phone and address together. People change emails far more often than phones or addresses.
- If a group uses its own domain, block the domain instead of each address.
- Gmail lets people make endless variations of one address, so add the phone and address too.
- Look over your blocked list now and then, and unblock anyone who's earned a second chance.
Related guides