The spam filter in Outlook is not perfect, and new forms of junk mail show up every day. When you identify an email as junk, you help Microsoft Exchange Online Protection improve. The Outlook spam filter is fine-tuned for continuing effectiveness when you report any spam it misses. These instructions apply to Outlook 2019, Outlook 2016, Outlook 2013, Outlook 2010, and Outlook for Microsoft 365.

What to Know

  • Make sure you’ve first enabled the Spam Reporting Tool for Outlook before you try to report messages as junk.
  • To report spam, select a message, go to the Home tab, select the Junk drop-down arrow, and choose Report as Junk.
  • If you accidentally mark a message as junk in Outlook, you can still recover the message.

Check That You’ve Enabled the Spam Reporting Tool

Confirm the Junk E-mail Reporting Tool for Microsoft Office Outlook is installed or install it:

  • Go to the File tab.
  • Select Options.
  • In the Outlook Options dialog box, select Add-ins.
  • In the Inactive Applications list, select Microsoft Junk E-mail Reporting Add-in.
  • If the Microsoft Junk Email Reporting Add-in is not listed, download it from Microsoft.
  • Select the Manage drop-down arrow, choose Com Add-ins, and then select Go.
  • Select the Microsoft Junk E-mail Reporting Add-in check box.
  • Select OK to enable the add-in and restore the Report Junk options. Restart Outlook if prompted to do so.

Report Spam in Outlook

After you have the add-in enabled, report junk mail that arrives in your inbox with a few clicks.

Go to the File tab.

Select Options.

In the Outlook Options dialog box, select Add-ins.

In the Inactive Applications list, select Microsoft Junk E-mail Reporting Add-in.

If the Microsoft Junk Email Reporting Add-in is not listed, download it from Microsoft.

Select the Manage drop-down arrow, choose Com Add-ins, and then select Go.

Select the Microsoft Junk E-mail Reporting Add-in check box.

Select OK to enable the add-in and restore the Report Junk options. Restart Outlook if prompted to do so.

If you need to recover mail from the Outlook Junk Mail folder, you can do so. When you do, you are showing Microsoft what good email looks like.

  • Select the message you want to report.
  • Go to the Home tab and, in the Delete group, select the Junk drop-down arrow. If the message is open in a separate window, go to the Message tab and select the Junk drop-down arrow.
  • Select Report as Junk.
  • Select Yes if prompted. If you do not want to be prompted for confirmation in the future, select Do not show this message again.

Select the message you want to report.

Go to the Home tab and, in the Delete group, select the Junk drop-down arrow. If the message is open in a separate window, go to the Message tab and select the Junk drop-down arrow.

Select Report as Junk.

Select Yes if prompted. If you do not want to be prompted for confirmation in the future, select Do not show this message again.

Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day