Warning: Why You Should Avoid Microsoft’s New Outlook for Email
TL;DR: Avoid the “New Outlook” or “Outlook (New)” application for email. Use Thunderbird, Widomaker Webmail, “Classic Outlook”, or another traditional email client, instead.
Microsoft’s “New Outlook” application is rolling out, and while it brings a fresh look, it introduces a significant change for users with non-Microsoft email accounts, particularly those using IMAP. If you value your privacy and data security, you need to be aware of how it handles your information.
Your Email Data is Moving to Microsoft’s Cloud
Unlike “Classic Outlook,” which connected directly to your email provider and stored your messages and passwords locally on your computer, the “New Outlook” or “Outlook (New)” operates differently. When you add a third-party IMAP email account (like one from Widomaker) to the “New Outlook,” it doesn’t just connect you directly. Instead, your email account’s password and a copy of your messages are sent to and stored on Microsoft’s servers.
This means Microsoft acts as an intermediary, fetching your emails from your provider and then serving them to your “New Outlook” application. Effectively, your sensitive email data, including your login credentials, now resides in two places: with your original email provider and with Microsoft.
Why This Matters: Privacy and Security Concerns
This fundamental shift raises several critical concerns:
- Data Duplication: Your emails are duplicated on Microsoft’s servers, creating another potential point of access and increasing the surface area for data exposure.
- Privacy Implications: Microsoft gains access to your email content, which can include highly personal or confidential information. While Microsoft has privacy policies, this level of access to non-Microsoft accounts is a significant change that many users may not anticipate or consent to explicitly.
- Security Risks: Storing your IMAP password on Microsoft’s servers, even if encrypted, introduces an additional layer of trust and potential vulnerability.
- Compliance: For businesses, this practice can have serious implications for data sovereignty and compliance with regulations like GDPR, as it involves transferring data to a third-party cloud without clear, informed consent.
Our Recommendation: Stick with Alternatives
We strongly advise our users to avoid using Microsoft’s “New Outlook”, or “Outlook (New)”, application for any non-Microsoft email accounts. For a more secure and private email experience, continue using Mozilla Thunderbird, or Widomaker’s webmail interface, or another dedicated traditional email client that connects directly to our servers and stores your data locally.
Footnotes & Additional Details
For more in-depth information and technical analyses regarding the “New Outlook” and its data handling practices, please refer to the following resources:
