Formal feedback: Give Outlook web users control over automatic draft saving

Rolly Frizzell 0 Reputation points
2026-10-28T01:38:32.4633333+00:00

Dear Microsoft Outlook Team,

I am writing to express my frustration with the lack of an option to disable automatic draft saving in Outlook 365 on the web, which I use through Google Chrome.

My Drafts folder now contains nearly 400 messages. Automatically saving every unfinished or abandoned message creates unnecessary clutter and makes it harder to find the drafts I actually want to keep.

I understand that autosave can protect users from losing work. However, users should have the choice to turn it off. A useful default should not be a compulsory setting.

Please give Outlook web users these options:

• Enable or disable automatic draft saving. • Ask whether to save or discard a message when closing it. • Save a draft manually when required.

I also experience a separate problem: email drafts open in their own pop-out windows unexpectedly close while I am working on them intermittently. This interrupts my workflow and leaves me searching through an already overcrowded Drafts folder.

Please investigate the unexpected window closures and provide a clear response about whether control over automatic draft saving is planned. If this setting already exists, please provide the exact instructions for Outlook on the web.

Being able to decide whether an unfinished email is saved is a basic level of control I expect from an email service.

Kind regards, RF

Outlook | Web | Outlook.com | Settings
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  1. AI answer

    2026-10-28T01:39:23.7733333+00:00

    Outlook on the web currently has no setting to disable automatic draft saving or prompt when closing a message; unwanted messages must be discarded, and the requested controls should be submitted as a feature request. ^1^

    Managing the existing drafts

    • While composing, select Discard at the bottom of the message pane when the message should not be retained. Microsoft documents this as the supported way to remove an unwanted draft. ^2^
    • For the existing backlog, open Drafts, select the messages that are no longer needed, and delete them in batches. Review the selection first because this may include drafts intentionally retained.
    • There is no documented web setting for manual-save-only operation or for displaying a save/discard prompt when the compose window closes.
    • The published Automatic Draft Minimize roadmap item concerns minimizing a draft instead of closing it completely; it is not a switch for disabling draft autosave. ^3^

    No published Microsoft material supplied here confirms that an autosave-off option is planned.

    Report the unexpected pop-out closures separately

    Unexpectedly closing pop-out compose windows are not documented as normal draft behavior. Because the issue is intermittent in Chrome:

    1. Update Chrome to its latest version. Current Google Chrome is supported for Outlook on the web. ^4^
    2. Temporarily disable AdBlock, uBlock, and other extensions that modify pages or pop-ups for the Outlook site, then reproduce the issue. Microsoft notes that ad blockers and pop-up blockers can cause Outlook web-loading problems. ^4^
    3. Test the same workflow in a current Microsoft Edge private window. If it works there, the Chrome profile, cached site data, or an extension is the likely scope of the problem—not necessarily the cause.
    4. If it also happens in Edge with extensions disabled, report it through Outlook’s support channel:
      • Select Help on the Outlook menu bar.
      • Enter a description of the issue.
      • If self-help does not resolve it, scroll to Still need help? and select Yes. ^5^
      • Include the approximate time of a closure, browser version, operating system, whether the draft contained attachments, and whether the recovered draft retained all content.

    Submit the feature request

    While signed in to Outlook.com or Outlook on the web:

    1. Select Help.
    2. Select Feedback at the bottom of the Help pane.
    3. Submit the autosave controls and pop-out-window defect as separate reports, so one can be evaluated as a feature request and the other investigated as a reliability issue. Microsoft states that feedback sent from Office for the web is read by its developers. ^6^

    For the feature request, explicitly ask for:

    • An Enable automatic draft saving toggle.
    • A Save or discard when closing prompt.
    • A Save draft command for manual saving.
    • Bulk draft-management tools.

    References

    1. Outlook Online/365/web Auto-Save Email Draft - How to disable
    2. Create, reply to, or forward email messages in Outlook on the web | Microsoft Support
    3. Microsoft 365 Roadmap - Outlook: Automatic Draft Minimize
    4. Supported browsers for Outlook on the web and Outlook.com | Microsoft Support
    5. How to get support for Outlook.com | Microsoft Support
    6. [Web](https://support.microsoft.com/office/how-do-i-give-feedback-on-microsoft-365)
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