How to Disable Auto-Forwarding Email in Office 365 Outlook

Outlook’s auto-forward feature comes in handy at times, but it can also pose a serious threat to an organization’s critical data. If a hacker manages to gain access to a user account, they can quietly steal data by auto-forwarding emails to another account. An IT admin can disable email auto-forwarding by creating a rule in Exchange from Office 365 admin settings. Here are steps to disable the auto-forwarding feature in Outlook.

Step 1:  Go to Office 365 Admin Center

Go to admin.microsoft.com or office.com and enter your admin login credentials. Once logged in, go straight to the admin settings.

Step 2: Go to Exchange

Locate the Exchange tab under admin centers and click on it. This will take you to the Exchange admin page center where you can apply org-wide Outlook settings.

Step 3: Click on Mail Flow

Locate the Mail Flow tab in the menu on the left. Click on the Rules, then click on the + button. In the dropdown, click on the Create a New Rule option.

Step 4:  Name Your Rule

Give your rule a name so you can easily identify it from the rest of the rules.

Step 5: Select Sender Location

Now, open the drop-down to apply the rule. Select The Sender is a Located option. Then, external-internal. Select Inside the Organization option before clicking OK.

Step 6: Select a Condition

Since we are trying to block auto-forwarding all-together, you need to select the “Reject the Message with the Explanation” option.

Step 7: Specify a Reason for Rejection

A simple message as seen in the image will help users notify that auto-forwarding has been disabled.

Step 8: Save Changes

Don’t forget to click on the Enforce radio button before saving changes.

Step 9: Rule Has Been Created

The rule has been created and the auto-forwarding is blocked.

We hope you found this article on Office 365/Exchange/Outlook helpful.

How to Create and Enforce Common Signature in Office 365