Manage Junk Email Settings

Questions

  • How do I stop a specific sender's emails from going to junk?
  • How do I add someone to my safe senders list in Outlook?
  • How do I block an email address in Outlook?
  • How do I always send emails from a certain domain to junk?
  • How do I manage my blocked and safe senders list in Outlook?
  • How do I prevent marketing emails from landing in my inbox?

Environment

This article applies to all current Bowdoin students, faculty, and staff who want to manage which messages are delivered to their inbox versus their Junk folder.

  • Managed in: Outlook Online at outlook.office.com
  • Applies to: All Outlook clients — changes made in Outlook Online sync to Outlook for Windows, Outlook for Mac, and Outlook for iOS/Android
  • Not covered: Releasing quarantined messages (blocked before reaching your mailbox at all) — see How to deliver or release email blocked by the Microsoft 365 spam filter in the Related Articles section for that

Resolution

Both the safe senders and blocked senders lists are managed in the same place in Outlook Online settings.

Open the junk email settings

  1. Sign in to Outlook Online at outlook.office.com using your Bowdoin email address.
  2. Click the gear icon in the upper-right corner to open Settings.
  3. In the search box at the top of the Settings panel, type Blocked senders and domains and click the matching result.

Outlook Online junk email settings screen showing Safe Senders and Domains and Blocked Senders and Domains lists, each with options to add, edit, or delete entries.

Always deliver emails from a specific sender to your inbox

  1. Under Safe Senders and Domains, click + Add.
  2. Enter the email address or domain you want to always allow — for example, newsletter@example.com for a single address, or example.com for all email from that organization.
  3. Press Enter, then click Save in the lower right.

Always send emails from a specific sender to junk

  1. Under Blocked Senders and Domains, click + Add.
  2. Enter the email address or domain you want to block.
  3. Press Enter, then click Save in the lower right.

Edit or remove an existing entry

To modify an entry you have already added, find it in either list and click the pencil icon to edit it or the trash icon to remove it. Click Save when done.

Tip — block an entire domain: To block all email from an organization, add the domain (for example, spamcompany.com) rather than individual addresses. This is especially useful for stopping bulk mail from sources that use many different sending addresses.
Note: Adding a sender to your safe senders list helps with messages that are being routed to your Junk folder. It does not affect messages that are being quarantined before reaching your mailbox — those require a separate process. See How to deliver or release email blocked by the Microsoft 365 spam filter in the Related Articles section.

Additional Help

If you need further assistance, you have several options:

  • Bowdoin Bot: Chat with Bowdoin Bot directly from any KB page for instant answers.
  • Phone: Call the Bowdoin College Service Desk at (207) 725-3030.
  • In person: Visit the Tech Hub in Smith Union during business hours.
  • Submit a ticket: Request assistance through the Service Catalog.
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Related Articles (4)

Junk Mail Folder
Explains what the Junk Mail folder is in Microsoft Outlook, how messages end up there, and how to check and manage it in Outlook Online and Outlook for Windows.
Microsoft 365 (M365) Email Protection
Explains the two layers of Microsoft 365 email protection at Bowdoin — Exchange Online Protection (EOP) and Microsoft Defender for Office 365. Covers how spam, phishing, malware, and suspicious links are filtered, what users will see when protection is active, and what to do if a legitimate message is blocked.
Release Quarantined Email
How to review and release email messages that have been blocked by the Microsoft 365 spam filter and placed in quarantine, either from the quarantine notification email or directly from the Microsoft quarantine portal.
Understanding Spam, Phishing, and Junk Email
Explains the types of unwanted email Bowdoin users may receive - phishing, bulk, and spam - how to identify them, and what to do if you receive or fall victim to one.

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Request a global allowance (allow-list) for an email address or email domain
Staff and faculty can request that an email address be allowed through to avoid being caught in a quarantine folder. All requests must be approved by the Chief Information Security Officer and a request does not ensure an allowance.