Category: Outlook

Similar to other major webmail services, Outlook.com uses Ajax programming techniques and supports later versions of Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, and Google Chrome. Some of its features include keyboard controls giving the ability to navigate around the page without using the mouse, the ability to search the user’s messages including structured query syntax such as “from:ebay”, message filters, folder-based organization of messages, auto-completion of contact addresses when composing, contact grouping, importing and exporting of contacts as CSV files, rich text formatting, rich text signatures, spam filtering and virus scanning, support for multiple addresses, and different language versions.

Outlook.com has promised to respect users’ privacy, specifically targeting Gmail’s privacy practices.[59] Outlook.com does not scan emails or attachments for advertising information and personal conversations are ad-free entirely.[60][61] In March 2014, when former Microsoft employee Alex Kibkalo was arrested for his involvement in 2012 leaking of Microsoft’s trade secrets, Microsoft came under criticism for having accessed the email inbox of his French accomplice.[62][63] Critics claim these actions violate privacy laws[64][65] as well as Microsoft’s own promises with regards to users’ personal information,[66] while others have pointed out that such access is permitted under Microsoft’s privacy policies in order to “protect the rights or property of Microsoft”,[67][68] that it was necessary in order to prevent a crime intended to have inflicted billions of dollars of damage, and that such action on Microsoft’s part is unprecedented in 18 years.[69] In response to the criticism, Microsoft has announced that it would no longer access private account information themselves in such cases, but would instead hand the investigation over to law enforcement agencies.[70][71]