Where is the junk folder in Outlook?
Outlook calls its spam folder Junk Email. It sits in the folder list in every version, but it can be collapsed out of sight.
In every version of Outlook, the Junk Email folder is in the folder list on the left, under your account. If you cannot see it, expand your account name or click the three-line menu to show folders. In the Outlook phone app, tap your account icon or the menu at the top left, then Junk Email. Outlook deletes junk automatically after up to 30 days.
Outlook.com and Outlook on the web
- Go to outlook.com and sign in.
- In the folder pane on the left, click Junk Email.
- No folder pane? Click the three-line menu at the top left to show it.
New Outlook and classic Outlook for Windows (and Mac)
- Look at the folder list on the left.
- Expand your email account if its folders are hidden (click the arrow next to the account name).
- Click Junk Email.
The Outlook app on iPhone and Android
- Open the Outlook app.
- Tap your account picture or the menu at the top left.
- Tap Junk Email (you may need to tap the account first).
Mark an email as "Not junk"
- Outlook.com / web: open Junk Email, select the message and click It's not junk (or Report › Not junk). The sender is added to Safe senders.
- Classic Outlook: select the message, then Home › Report › Not Junk.
- Outlook app: open the message, tap the three dots and move it to the inbox.
To mark something as junk, use Report › Report junk on a computer, or in the app tap the three dots, then Report Junk, and choose Junk, Phishing or Block Sender.
Stop real emails going to Junk
- Add the sender to your contacts or Safe senders list (Settings › Mail › Junk email on the web; Home › Block › Junk Email Options in classic Outlook).
- Mark each wrongly filtered message as Not junk so the filter learns.
How long Outlook keeps junk
Microsoft's help pages say junk messages are removed automatically, between 10 and 30 days after they arrive, and they cannot be recovered after that. Check the folder if you are waiting for something.
Steps checked against the official help pages in October 2026. Menus move from time to time; if yours looks different, tell us.
Questions people ask
- Does Outlook have a spam folder?
- Yes. It is called Junk Email.
- Why do Outlook emails go to junk when the sender is in my contacts?
- Senders in your contacts are usually trusted, but messages that look like phishing can still be filtered. Mark them Not junk and add the sender to Safe senders.
- Can I turn off the junk filter in Outlook?
- Classic Outlook lets you set the filter to "No automatic filtering" in Junk Email Options. Outlook.com always filters obvious spam, but you can control safe and blocked senders.
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