Where to find your spam folder and what's in it

Outlook automatically sorts suspected spam into a folder called Junk Email, which sits in your folder list on the left side of the screen. This folder holds messages Outlook's filters think are unwanted — usually marketing emails, phishing attempts, or messages from senders you've never contacted. The folder empties automatically after 30 days, so messages disappear permanently if you don't act.

To open it, look at your folder list on the left. You'll see Inbox, Drafts, Sent Items, and other standard folders. Scroll down until you find Junk Email. Click it once. The messages inside appear in your main reading area, and you can see the sender, subject line, and date for each one.

If you don't see a Junk Email folder at all, Outlook may have hidden it. Right-click on your email account name at the top of the folder list and select Show Folders. Then look for Junk Email in the expanded list.

Key Takeaways

  • Your Junk Email folder is in the left sidebar and holds messages Outlook thinks are spam, which delete permanently after 30 days.
  • Legitimate messages sometimes land in Junk Email by mistake, especially newsletters and password reset emails from services you use.
  • You can move a message back to your Inbox by right-clicking it and selecting Not Junk, which also trains Outlook to trust that sender in the future.
  • Marking a sender as safe prevents their future messages from going to Junk Email, but does not recover messages already deleted.
  • If you need a message that's been deleted from Junk Email, check your Recoverable Items folder within 30 days of deletion.

Moving a message back to your inbox

When you find a legitimate message in Junk Email — a password reset from your bank, a receipt from an online purchase, or a newsletter you actually signed up for — you can move it back to your Inbox in one click. Right-click the message and select Not Junk. Outlook moves it to your Inbox when ready and remembers that this sender is safe.

If you want to move multiple messages at once, hold down Ctrl on your keyboard and click each message you want to keep. They'll highlight in blue. Then right-click any of the highlighted messages and select Not Junk. All of them move together.

After you mark a sender as not junk, their future emails should arrive in your Inbox instead of Junk Email. This doesn't happen when ready — it may take a few messages before Outlook fully trusts the sender — but the pattern usually sets in within a week.

Adding a sender to your safe senders list

If a particular sender keeps landing in Junk Email even after you've marked them as not junk, you can add them to your Safe Senders List. This tells Outlook to never filter their messages, no matter what they contain. Right-click a message from that sender and select Junk, then Block Sender — wait, that's the opposite. Instead, select Junk, then Never Block Sender. This adds them to your safe list.

You can also manage your safe senders list directly. Go to the Home tab at the top of Outlook, find the Junk button (usually in the Delete group), click the small arrow next to it, and select Junk Email Options. A window opens with tabs at the top. Click the Safe Senders tab. You'll see a list of senders Outlook already trusts. Click Add to type in an email address or domain you want to whitelist.

Adding a domain (like @yourbank.com) instead of a single email address protects you from future messages from that organization, even if they come from a different department or employee.

Spotting the difference between spam and phishing

Not all messages in your Junk Email folder are harmless marketing. Some are phishing emails — messages designed to trick you into giving away passwords, credit card numbers, or personal information. Outlook catches many of these, but not all. Learning to spot them yourself keeps you safer.

Real phishing emails often ask you to "verify your account," "confirm your identity," or "update your payment method" by clicking a link or opening an attachment. Legitimate companies almost never ask you to do this by email. If your bank, PayPal, Amazon, or any service you use sends you an urgent message asking for information, go directly to their website by typing the address yourself — don't click the link in the email. Log in and check your account. If nothing is wrong, the email was fake.

Check the sender's email address carefully. A phishing email might say it's from "Amazon Support" but the actual address could be something like support@amaz0n-help.com (with a zero instead of the letter O). Hover your mouse over the sender's name to see the real address. If it doesn't match the company's official domain, it's fake.

Never open attachments from senders you don't recognize, and be suspicious of attachments from people you do know if the message seems out of character — like a friend suddenly sending you a file with no explanation. These often contain viruses or malware.

Recovering deleted messages from junk email

If you accidentally deleted a message from your Junk Email folder and need it back, you have a window of time to recover it. Outlook keeps deleted items in a hidden folder called Recoverable Items for 30 days. After that, they're gone permanently.

To access Recoverable Items, right-click your Junk Email folder and select Recover Deleted Items. A window opens showing messages deleted from that folder. Look for the message you need by sender, subject, or date. Click it once to select it, then click Restore. The message returns to your Junk Email folder. You can then move it to your Inbox if it's legitimate.

If you don't see a Recover Deleted Items option when you right-click, your version of Outlook may store recovery differently. Instead, look for a folder called Deleted Items in your main folder list. Open it and look for your message there. If you find it, right-click and select Move, then choose Junk Email or Inbox.

Adjusting your junk email filter sensitivity

Outlook's spam filter has different sensitivity levels. By default, it's set to Standard, which catches most spam without blocking too many legitimate messages. If you're getting too much spam, you can raise the sensitivity. If legitimate messages keep disappearing into Junk Email, you can lower it.

Go to the Home tab, click the Junk button, and select Junk Email Options. The window that opens has four tabs. On the first tab, Options, you'll see radio buttons for filter levels: No Automatic Filtering, Low, Standard, and High. Standard is the middle ground. High catches more spam but risks filtering out real messages. Low lets more spam through but is safer if you're missing important emails.

Choose the level that matches your situation, then click OK. The change takes effect when ready for new incoming messages. Messages already in your Junk Email folder don't move.

Why legitimate messages end up in spam

Outlook's filter looks at several things when deciding if a message is spam: the sender's reputation, whether the message contains common spam phrases, whether links in the message go to known phishing sites, and whether the sender is in your contacts or safe senders list. Sometimes legitimate messages trigger these filters by accident.

Newsletters often land in Junk Email because they're sent to many people at once and contain promotional language. Password reset emails sometimes get filtered because they contain links. Receipts from online stores might be flagged if they come from an unfamiliar sender address. None of these are actually spam, but the filter can't always tell the difference.

This is why checking your Junk Email folder once a week is a good habit. You catch legitimate messages before they're deleted, and you can train Outlook to recognize them in the future by marking them as not junk.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do messages stay in my Junk Email folder before they're deleted?

Messages stay in Junk Email for 30 days, then Outlook deletes them automatically. After deletion, you have another 30 days to recover them from Recoverable Items. After that, they're gone permanently. If you think you might need something, move it to your Inbox or another folder right away.

Can I set up a rule so messages from a specific sender never go to junk?

Yes. Go to Home, click Junk, select Junk Email Options, and click the Safe Senders tab. Click Add and type the email address or domain. You can also right-click a message from that sender and select Junk, then Never Block Sender. Both methods do the same thing.

What should I do if I get a phishing email that looks like it's from my bank?

Don't click any links or read any attachments. Go directly to your bank's website by typing the address yourself, log in, and check your account. If nothing is wrong, report the email to your bank by calling the number on the back of your card or visiting their website. Then delete the email.

Why do some emails from people I know end up in junk?

Sometimes a contact's email account gets hacked and starts sending spam, or their message contains a link or attachment that triggers the filter. If you trust the sender, mark the message as not junk and add them to your safe senders list. If the messages keep coming and look suspicious, ask them directly whether they sent it.

Can I permanently delete my junk email folder?

No. Junk Email is a system folder that Outlook needs to function. You can't delete it, but you can empty it manually by right-clicking the folder and selecting Empty Folder. Messages deleted this way go to Recoverable Items for 30 days before permanent deletion.