How do I keep important messages from going to my Clutter folder in Outlook?
This feature has been replaced by the newer “Focused Inbox” feature. The Clutter folder is no longer supported by Microsoft, but they have not yet disabled it for people who are already using Clutter. It is expected to be disabled some time in 2021. Some have found that the feature no longer learns their preferences like it used to, and that messages from senders they have moved to their Inbox are still going to the Clutter folder.
We recommend switching to the “Focused Inbox” in Outlook. This is a more subtle approach to separating important messages from others. It’s also more visible and relies on a tabbed approach instead of a separate folder. Many people forget to check their Clutter folder, which has led to some important messages being missed.
Keep important messages from going to the Clutter folder
In Outlook, click on the Clutter folder to see the messages that have been moved there.
You can drag important messages from your Clutter folder to your Inbox.
Moving an email in or out of the Clutter folder will tell the Clutter system what is or isn’t clutter. If you move an email from Clutter to your Inbox, future messages from that sender should go to your Inbox.
Starting in late 2020, some have reported that this is no longer working as well as it did in the past. Since Microsoft will soon be disabling Clutter for all users, we recommend disabling it yourself if you experience issues with important messages going to Clutter.
How to Disable the Clutter Feature
If you would like to disable Clutter completely, follow the instructions on this Microsoft page.