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How To Mass Delete Emails in Outlook the Right Way in

Step-by-Step Guide to Securely Bulk Delete Emails in Outlook for Web (OWA)

By Alex

Want to quickly and safely mass delete emails from multiple senders in Outlook? You've come to the right place! Your top 10 senders alone can use up to 60% of your inbox storage space 😮. We like to call them "Top Offenders" and they are your prime candidates for deletion. Time to clean up!

GoodByEmail

Clean up your email, privacy-first

GoodByEmail sets itself apart in prioritizing your privacy by allowing only manual inbox rescans, unlike other email solutions that automate email deletion and require access to your emails, posing significant privacy risks. Read why email privacy matters on our Manifesto.

You control the deletion process using your email client, guided by GoodByEmail's insights about your Top Offenders, without compromising your data. This ensures your email content remains private and secure, a stark contrast to the industry norm.

Here's how you can identify your Top Offenders with the GoodByEmail app and mass delete their emails efficiently using Outlook's bulk delete features to reclaim your inbox space.

Step 1: Discover Your Top Offenders in GoodByEmail

GoodByEmail helps you identify your Top Offenders, i.e. the contacts that are using up most of your storage space. It securely analyzes an offline version of your entire mailbox, detecting all the email senders who are clogging your inbox the most.

Most users report that their top 10 offenders alone consume on average between 40% to 60% of their mailbox space. So they are the main candidates for bulk deletion.

Start by scanning your inbox with the GoodByEmail app (guide) and decide who are the Top Offenders you wish to mass delete, then move on to the next step.

Step 2: Turn Off Conversation View

Start by disabling the "Conversation view" in Outlook for Web to avoid deleting entire threads that contain emails from other senders.

Click on the Settings gear icon in the upper right corner.
Select View all Outlook settings at the bottom of the settings pane.
Under the Mail tab, choose Layout.
Switch from "Show email grouped by conversation" to Show email as individual messages in the message organization section.
Click Save to apply the changes.

Step 3: Search for Emails from Specific Senders

Click on the Inbox folder to activate it.

Use the Outlook search bar to isolate emails from the specific senders you wish to perform the bulk delete action. Type your search query following this syntax:

(from:[email protected] OR from:[email protected] OR from:[email protected])

Replace the example emails with the actual email addresses you've found using the GoodByEmail app in Step 1. We recommend using a maximum of 10 emails addresses per search.

It's possible to combine filters in the query string. For example, to filter all emails from multiple senders that have attachments and were received between Nov 11th, 2018 and Dec 1st, 2018, you can use this query:

received:2018-11-30..2018-12-01 AND hasattachment:yes AND (from:[email protected] OR from:[email protected])

Another interesting search parameter could be the size of emails. For example, to filter only emails larger than 5MB, use size:>5242880. Note that Outlook expects this parameter in bytes (i.e. 5 MB = 5,242,880 bytes).

Step 4: Bulk Delete the Emails

After your search, check the box at the top to select all emails displayed on the page (or use the "Ctrl + A" keyboard shortcut in Windows or "Cmd + A" in MacOS). With the emails selected, click the "Delete all" button to delete everything.

Note: if you have executed this search from the Inbox folder, you should see a message informing that the emails will be moved to the Deleted Items folder. This means you can still undo the delete action if needed.

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Step 5: Empty the Deleted Items Folder

Navigate to the Deleted Items folder and empty it to permanently remove the emails and free up space.

Step 6: Re-enable Conversation View

If you prefer the conversation view for daily use, turn it back on by revisiting the settings.

By following these steps, you can effectively mass delete emails from Top Offenders in your Outlook account. This bulk delete strategy not only declutters your inbox, but also optimizes your email management and storage utilization. Keep your inbox efficient and tidy with these strategic cleaning tips!

FAQs: Your Burning Questions Answered

How can I prevent emails from top offenders from clogging my inbox?

Regularly review and unsubscribe from unwanted newsletters and promotions using the GoodByEmail app. GoodByEmail is the only truly private email cleaner in the market. Your emails never leave your device.

Is it possible to undo a mass delete operation in Outlook?

Yes, Outlook allows you to undo deletions up to 30 days after the action. The delete action actually moves emails 'Deleted Items' folder, so you can restore emails from there if needed. But once the Deleted folder is emptied, the emails are gone forever, so be careful.

How do I permanently delete emails to free up storage space?

After deleting emails, go to the 'Deleted Items' folder and empty it. Emails in this folder still use your storage space until they are permanently deleted. It may take a couple days for Outlook to update the storage quota usage stats.

What are the risks of bulk deleting emails?

While bulk deleting can quickly clean your inbox, it carries the risk of accidentally deleting important emails. Always review the selected emails before performing a mass delete to ensure no critical communications are lost.
Also, ensure "Show email grouped by conversation" is disabled before mass deleting, to prevent accidentally deleting emails that are not part of your intended filtered search.

Is it safe to use third-party email management tools?

When using third-party email management tools, it's crucial to choose reputable ones that prioritize your privacy and security. GoodByEmail, for example, ensures your email content remains private by not requiring access to your passwords, logins, or OAuth tokens. Always review the privacy policies and security measures of any third-party tools you consider.

What should I do if I accidentally delete an important email?

If you accidentally delete an important email, immediately check your trash or deleted items folder. Most email providers allow you to restore emails from these folders within a certain timeframe.

How can I keep my inbox organized after a mass delete?

To maintain an organized inbox, regularly clean out unnecessary emails with GoodByEmail.

Emails from your Top 10 Offenders alone can take up to 60% of your inbox storage space 😮. Consider mass deleting emails from these.
Unsubscribe from unwanted mailing lists / newsletters.
Set aside time each week or month to review and manage your emails to prevent clutter from building up again.

Can I automate the process of scanning my inbox for new clutter?

To maintain your privacy, GoodByEmail does not automatically scan your inbox. You can manually re-scan your inbox at any time with a valid license.
The manual steps are intentional and designed to keep your data truly yours. Any service promising to regularly scan your inbox will require your login credentials or OAuth tokens of some sort.
Those are permissions to read your email content. With those in place, your data is fetched by their backend, passing through their servers, introducing privacy risks.

What measures does GoodByEmail take to ensure my privacy?

GoodByEmail prioritizes your privacy by not requiring access to your passwords, logins, or OAuth tokens. It securely analyzes an offline version of your mailbox, ensuring that your email content remains private and is not accessed or stored by third parties.

Clean up your email inbox with way less effort. Check out GoodByEmail and discover why your inbox is out of storage. With GoodByEmail's help you can mass delete emails from unwanted top offenders and unsubscribe from undesired mailing lists with a single click. It's the only truly secure option on the market, your emails never leave your device.

Quick plug: Clean up your email, privacy-first 💪

Isn’t it frustrating to constantly receive that "Your storage is 95% full" message?

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GoodByEmail uses a unique privacy-first approach by design: It simply cannot connect directly to your email provider. It does not require you to share any logins, credentials, oauth tokens, nor any sort of invasive permissions whatsoever. All the processing happens on your computer and no emails are ever uploaded to GoodByEmail's servers. Plus, you can even use it offline for maximum privacy!

Could you really trust other cleaning solutions available in the market, knowing they have direct access to your emails? Some services monetize by selling your data. Even if they claim it's secure, it raises concerns about the accessibility and potential misuse of your personal information.

GoodByEmail works with every email provider, you name it: Google, Microsoft, Fastmail, AOL, Yahoo Mail, iCloud, Office 365, Outlook, Zoho, Bluehost Mail, Namecheap Mail, Alibaba Mail, Alimail, Alyun, Gmail, Mail.com, Comcast Xfinity, Live, Hotmail, Yandex Mail, G Suite, MSN, Godaddy Mail, GoogleMail, and so many more.

You only need to make a one-time secure export of your inbox in mbox or .pst format, and GoodByEmail will find out who are the senders eating up your inbox storage space, without anyone else getting a look at your emails. Plus, you can also easily unsubscribe from those pesky subscription emails. It’s easy to do! Need help? This guide has a step-by-step.