Outlook junk emails not deleting, keep reappearing

Question

Outlook junk emails not deleting, keep reappearing

Karen Floyd 0

Hello my name is Karen,

I have to constantly delete my junk emails everyday because I am being attacked by phishing emails to my junk mail folder.

Today I tried to delete all junk mails and they just keep reappearing, they are not deleting anymore. How long does it take the deleted emails folder to delete everything? I have like over 800 emails in there. And that might be causing the glitch. I'm not sure. Please help.

Thank you.

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2 answers

Answer 1

Deleted items and junk in Outlook.com are not removed immediately; they are kept for up to 30 days before being automatically and permanently deleted.

Key points for this scenario:

Junk Email folder behavior
- Mail identified as junk is moved automatically to the Junk Email folder.
- Junk email is retained for 30 days before it is automatically deleted and is not recoverable after that.
- Having hundreds of items in Junk should not by itself prevent deletion, but items can appear to “re‑appear” if new junk arrives continuously.
Deleted Items / “Deleted emails” behavior
- When items are deleted from Junk or Inbox, they typically move to Deleted Items (Trash) first.
- Items in Deleted Items are also subject to automatic cleanup after a period (up to 30 days for junk, per the junk-retention rule).
What to check when messages seem to reappear
- Confirm that the messages are not new phishing emails that look similar to the ones just deleted.
- Check the Junk Email folder again and, for any message that is not junk, select it and choose Not junk → Not junk so that Outlook.com stops treating similar messages as junk.
- If using a mobile app or another email client, ensure it is not re‑syncing or restoring items from its own cache. To avoid other apps moving messages into Junk, use a Microsoft app such as Mail for Windows 10 or Outlook for Windows.
When the inbox or folders don’t behave correctly
- Certain browser add‑ons (for example, in Firefox) can interfere with Outlook.com loading and updating folders correctly. Disable or remove problematic add‑ons and reload Outlook.com.

If the problem persists (messages truly return after deletion rather than new ones arriving), use Outlook.com’s in‑product Help to contact support so they can review the mailbox directly.

References:

Answer 2

Anonymous

Hi Karen Floyd

I understand how frustrating this can be, especially when you’re already dealing with a large amount of phishing emails.

Have you already tried the Q&A Assist suggestions? In addition, could you confirm one detail:

Are the emails exactly the same ones returning, or are they new ones arriving that just look similar?

In the meantime, please try the following in Outlook on the web:

Empty Deleted Items completely
- Go to “Deleted Items” folder > click “Empty folder”
Check for suspicious rules
- Go to Settings > Mail > Rules
- Delete anything you didn’t create
Check connected apps
- Go to https://account.microsoft.com/privacy/app-access
- Remove anything unfamiliar
Try a different browser or InPrivate window
- This helps rule out browser add-ons causing display/sync issues

If the behavior continues, it’s a good idea to also:

Change your password via https://account.microsoft.com/security
Turn on Two-step verification: How to use two-step verification with your Microsoft account - Microsoft Support

Please feel free to let me know how it goes and thank you for your understanding.

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Anonymous

2026-06-10T04:19:39.6366667+00:00

Good day Karen Floyd, I hope you're well. May I know if you've got any chance to check my reply? If you have any further updates on this issue, please feel free to reach back. Have a lovely day!
Ian Hill 0 Reputation points

2026-06-10T13:06:01.45+00:00

I am having the same issue with New Outlook for Windows. It's the same email message, same time, and it's in a shared mailbox. I delete it, it disappears from the folder and then it comes back. Each time it's one of the "you have messages in quarantine" advices from O365, and each time it has the same arrival time (ie it's the same message, not a new one).

Microsoft Outlook Version: 1.2026.521.100

Client Version: 20260608008.03

WebView2 Version: 149.0.4022.52 (Stable)

Session ID: [Moderator note: PII removed]

I have emptied the deleted items folders, there are no rules, and I have MFA set up. The approach that worked for me was to delete the email from Outlook for iOS on my iPad, which worked. Once I'd done that, I deleted the same "zombie" email in Outlook for Windows and Outlook for Windows no longer showed it.
Anonymous

2026-06-11T04:01:06.5833333+00:00

Please note that our forum is a public platform, and we will modify your question to hide your personal information in the description. Kindly ensure that you hide any personal or organizational information the next time you post an error or other details to protect personal data.

Hello Karen Floyd

Thanks for sharing your findings. Your workaround is very helpful and aligns with similar cases.

If the problem reoccurs, you might also try my suggestions. Thanks again for sharing your workaround, it can definitely help others facing the same issue
Wylodine Holland 0 Reputation points

2026-10-23T19:22:51.34+00:00

It seems to happen after a Windows Update and also unlinks additional non-msn email accounts.
Hornblower409 18,700 Reputation points

2026-10-24T19:29:41.38+00:00

@Wylodine Holland said

It seems to happen after a Windows Update and also unlinks additional non-msn email accounts.

I understand that you have the same or similar issue to the one discussed in this thread. But you will probably not get any help by adding to an old post.

I would suggest that you start a new thread using the "Ask a question" button at the top of this page to create a new Question and include the details for your specific problem and what steps you have already tried to fix it.

This provides much higher visibility to your issue than adding on to an existing post, which is only seen by people who are already following this question.

(You can put the link for this page in your new Question for reference)