Downloading pictures automatically for specific contacts or newsletters
Pictures in messages from some senders and newsletters are not downloaded unless I click a bar above the message. Pictures in messages from others download as soon as the message is opened.
Have I created some kind of list that allows this to occur?
If so, how can I edit the list?
By default, Outlook blocks online images within emails from automatically being downloaded from the Internet.
The main reason for this is to prevent spammers from verifying that your email address exists. They do this by inserting unique pictures in their spam message which would otherwise be retrieved automatically when you open the message. This is also known as a “Web bug”
However, images will still automatically download for messages to and from addresses that you have specified in the Safe Senders and Safe Recipients Lists of the Junk E-mail filter.
This privacy feature can also be disabled to either allow or block all online pictures from being downloaded, regardless of the address being used. Of course, any blocked pictures can still be downloaded via the Infobar.
Note: If pictures don’t download after clicking the Infobar see Internet images are not being downloaded in emails.
Editing the Safe Sender and Safe Recipients lists
To edit these lists, use the Safe Senders and Safe Recipients lists in the Junk E-mail Options dialog.
You can open this dialog in one of the following ways;
- Home-> button: Junk-> Junk E-mail Options…
- Right click on a message-> Junk-> Junk E-mail Options…
Block Internet pictures, even from Safe Senders and Safe Recipients
If you don’t like this behavior and you want to always block pictures from being automatically downloaded from the Internet, then you can disable the option;
”Permit downloads in e-mail messages from sender and to recipients defined in the Safe Senders and Safe Recipients Lists used by the Junk E-mail filter.”
- File-> Options-> Trust Center-> button: Trust Center Settings…-> section: Automatic Download
Note: You might indeed want to disable this option when a spammer is abusing the address of a contact you have defined in your Safe Senders list. This way, no tracking image is downloaded then and your address won’t be exposed.
Block Internet content in messages even when the sender or recipient address is safe.
