Do you hate when Outlook sends some important emails to the junk folder without your knowledge? If so, you are just a few steps away from ending your struggle. Outlook allows users to whitelist specific email addresses by adding them to the Safe Senders list.

Once you've added them, emails from those contacts or email domains will not go to your junk folder. In this article, we will show you how to whitelist email addresses or email domains on Outlook desktop and Outlook web clients.

How to Whitelist Email Addresses in Outlook Desktop Client

Here are the steps for whitelisting email addresses in the Outlook desktop client so that they land directly in your inbox:

  1. Navigate to the Home tab in Outlook.
  2. Click the More commands dropdown, represented by three horizontal dots, on the ribbon's right.
  3. Go to Junk > Junk E-mail Options...
    Opening Junk Email Options Window From More Commands Dropdown Menu in Outlook
  4. Navigate to the Safe Senders tab in the Junk E-mail Options window.
  5. Click the Add button, enter the email address or domain you want to whitelist, and click OK.
    Entering the Email or Domain to Whitelist by Navigating to Safe Senders Tab in the Junk Email Options Window in Outlook
  6. Follow the same steps to add another email by clicking on the Add button.
  7. When all email addresses have been successfully added, click Apply to save the changes and click OK to confirm.
    Whitelisting All Added Emails by Clicking on Add Button in the Junk Email Options Window in Outlook

You can also add bulk email addresses to Outlook's Safe Senders list if you want to whitelist addresses in bulk. Here are the steps you need to follow:

  1. Make a list of all the email addresses you want to whitelist in a text file.
  2. Go to Junk > Junk E-mail Options...
    Opening Junk Email Options Window From More Commands Dropdown Menu in Outlook
  3. Navigate to the Safe Senders tab in the Junk E-mail Options window.
  4. Click Import from File button.
  5. From your computer, select the file where you collected the email address.
    Importing a File by Clicking on the Import from File Button in Junk Email Options Window in Outlook
  6. Click OK after hitting Apply.
    Clicking on Apply and Ok Button after Adding the Emails to Whitelist from the Imported File in Outlook

If you want to import a text file into Outlook, it should have a .TXT extension; otherwise, Outlook may not be able to read it.

How to Whitelist Email Addresses in Outlook Web Client

Follow the below steps to whitelist email addresses in the Outlook web client:

  1. Visit the Outlook website and click Sign in in the top-right corner.
  2. To sign in, enter your login credentials.
  3. In the top-right corner of the screen, click the gear icon and select View all Outlook settings.
    Opening Outlook Settings by Clicking on the Gear Icon in the Top-right Corner in Outlook Web Client
  4. Click the Junk email tab in the Settings window.
  5. Under Safe senders and domains, click Add.
  6. Enter the email address or domain you want to whitelist, and press Enter. After that, click Save.
    Entering the Email or Domain to Whitelist Under Safe Senders and Domains in Outlook Web Client
  7. Repeat the process to whitelist another email.

In the Outlook web client, we cannot whitelist email addresses in bulk, as we can in the Outlook desktop client. So, you will need to add all emails one by one following the same process described above. Find out the other differences between Outlook desktop client and Outlook web client.

Whitelisting Email Domains Can Be Risky

Outlook allows users to whitelist entire email domains, rather than whitelisting all of the email addresses associated with the same email domain one by one. If you whitelist one email domain (such as @microsoft.com), all email addresses associated with that email domain will also be whitelisted.

While it makes it easy to whitelist all email addresses with the same email domain, such as the ones of your academy fellows and teachers, it can sometimes be risky to do so. For instance, hackers may find a way to create an email account with the same email domain as your academy, the one you've whitelisted.

Once they do that, they may send you phishing emails, but since you have whitelisted the email domain, Outlook will not mark it spam. Therefore, the scam email may reach your inbox directly. It increases the chances of becoming a victim of phishing email scams. Find out the top signs of a phishing scam.

Never Miss an Important Email Again

Hopefully, you now understand how whitelisting email addresses in Outlook works and why you should avoid whitelisting entire email domains.

By adding the email addresses to the Safe Senders list, you will never miss an important email again. If someday you receive an important email in Outlook with blank content, you can fix it quickly.