10 Hacks Every Microsoft Outlook User Should Know

Outlook is among the best Gmail alternatives for most people. Microsoft's email service is free and has a bunch of features that Gmail does not. At the same time, there are some shared features you'll likely want to use if you're coming from Gmail—they're just not enabled by default. I've been using Outlook's email service for over a decade, and these are the best hacks I've discovered while sorting through my inbox.

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Disable image downloads to prevent email tracking by shady companies

Companies and organizations often use pixel tracking to see if you've opened their emails. Every one of these emails includes a hidden tracking pixel, which sends read receipts to the sender when opened. Outlook's default settings protect you from the worst of it, but you should take a few additional steps to safeguard your account. Go to Outlook.com and log in to your account. Click the gear icon in the top-right corner to open settings. Now, go to Mail > Junk email. Under "Security options," select Block attachments, pictures, and links from anyone not in my Safe senders and domains list.

Note that this might not be for everyone, as it requires you to manually vet people who send emails to you. From a security standpoint, however, it's your best tool against email tracking, phishing, and scam attempts. You can also go to Outlook settings > Mail > Layout, and choose Don't show sender images to add an extra layer of privacy protection. On a similar note, you can go to the Message handling tab in the same settings page, and uncheck For shopping-related messages show a sender logo and relevant links in the message header.

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Use "Safe senders" to stop Outlook from sending good emails to spam

Outlook's "Safe senders" list lets you add people to a trusted contacts list. Emails from these people won't be sent to spam, and won't be subject to restrictions such as blocked links or attachments—perfect for anyone who uses the hack above. You can use this feature to ensure that important emails, such as account statements from your bank, or paystubs from your employer, are never sent to spam. To get started, go to Outlook settings > Mail > Junk email > Add safe sender. You can also select the Safe mailing lists tab to add mailing lists to the Safe senders list. This is great for newsletters from your favorite publications, or safety-related emails from your companies.

Run an automated inbox sweep to delete emails every 24 hours

Credit: Pranay Parab

One of Outlook's best features is Sweep. It automatically checks your inbox for emails from certain senders, and follows your instructions to manage the clutter. For example, my bank sends me an email for every transaction on my credit card. At one point, I was looking at 150+ unread emails that I had no use for. So, I used Sweep to keep transaction emails from the past 10 days, and archive the rest. To set it up, select any email in your inbox, then choose the Home tab at the top of the page in Outlook's desktop or web apps. Select Sweep, and you'll see a pop-up asking what to do with emails from that sender. There are four options here:

- Move all messages from the Inbox folder

- Move all messages from the Inbox folder and any future messages

- Always keep the latest message and move the rest from the Inbox folder

- Always move messages older than 10 days from the Inbox folder

You also have a drop-down menu to select where you want to move these messages. I usually select one of the last two options above, and move the rest of the messages to the Archive folder, or Deleted Items. I've used this feature for a couple years now, and it works flawlessly in the background. If you ever want to change or delete Sweep rules, go to Outlook settings > Mail > Sweep.

Configure gestures to delete emails in one swipe

Outlook's mobile apps support gestures to quickly triage emails without opening each manually. You can swipe left or right to archive, delete, or report emails. However, you can customize these gestures to suit your needs. Go to Outlook settings in the mobile apps, and navigate to Email > Swipe Options. On this page, select what happens when you swipe right or left. Some useful options include delete, archive, flag/unflag, mark read/unread, snooze, and read and archive.

In Outlook's desktop and web apps, go to Outlook settings > Mail > Customize actions. This will let you configure swipe gestures (for laptops with a touchscreen), and quick actions, which are the buttons that appear on each email in your inbox. I used this to replace the Pin button with Archive as I never pin emails in my inbox. You can select a maximum of four actions for each email.

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