How to delete Groups in Outlook I do not own?

Question

How to delete Groups in Outlook I do not own?

chuck w 5

I have contacted Microsoft 3 times to find out how to delete "Groups" in Outlook that I don't own. My email has been included in 11 groups by others I do not know. I was told all 3 times I contacted Microsoft they are working on the problem but have not been able to resolve it. This has been going on for YEARS. Is there a work-around to delete these Groups in Outlook or at least to delete my email from these Groups? It doesn't seem to me that this should be that difficult to accomplish. I've been a Microsoft Windows guy for 50 years but ready to make the switch.

0 comments

3 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

Hornblower409 8,630

Not a Solution. But one way you can provide feedback to Microsoft on this issue.

You can Vote for and Comment on this Feature Request.
(You must "Sign In" at the top right of the Feedback page before you can vote).

Add an option to block being added to Outlook Groups without consent
https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/idea/a17de24f-8ce6-f011-92b9-7c1e5244b89c

0 comments

Answer 2

Kal-D 7,365 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi chuck w,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A.

Unfortunately, you can’t delete an Outlook Group that you don’t own. However, if you’re a member, you should normally be able to leave the group.

If New Outlook for Windows is missing the Leave Group button (which happens), please try these in order:

Outlook on the web > Groups > select group > Group Settings > Leave Group
Microsoft “My Groups” portal (often works when Outlook’s UI is glitching/hidden). Open the group there and choose Leave group. Microsoft documents managing and leaving groups through the My Groups portal here: Update your Groups info in the portal
If the "Leave Group" button is greyed out in the portal, you might be listed as a Guest in that group's organization (e.g., from a former workplace or collaboration).

You may need to leave that organization's tenant first. You can usually do this by visiting your Microsoft Account portal, going to "Organizations" or "Tenants," and choosing to leave the one hosting the group.
After leaving the organization, return to your groups and try to leave or remove the group again.

If neither works, you still may be able to unfollow/mute the group so messages stop going to your inbox (even if you can’t leave it yet).

Please let me know if this proves useful to you, or if you would like further assistance.

I'm looking forward to your reply.

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Kal-D 7,365 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-24T22:14:23.73+00:00

Hi chuck w,

I am writing to see how things are going with this issue.

If there’s anything else I can assist you with or if you need further clarification, please don’t hesitate to let me know, I’m here to help.

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Robin Hanna 0 Reputation points

2026-03-16T21:16:41.13+00:00

I have the same problem. I just noticed that I belong to about 50 groups. I have never been asked to nor I have I ever agreed to join any groups. I have tried leaving all of the groups, but selecting the leave group option does not work. I would like to understand how to leave the groups in a way that actually works. I would also like to understand how I could possibly be added to a group without my knowledge or consent. This seems like a huge security issue in need of resolution.
Kal-D 7,365 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-16T22:07:16.91+00:00
Hi Robin Hanna,

Quick steps that usually work

Leave the group from Outlook on the web (most reliable): Go to https://outlook.office.com, open the group, select Settings (gear), then choose Leave group.

Check your role in the group: If you’re listed as an Owner, you won’t be able to leave until another owner is assigned. Add a new owner first, then try Leave group again.

If “Leave” doesn’t stick: Sign out of New Outlook, then sign back in and try again. If that still doesn’t help, you can remove and re‑add the account in New Outlook: Settings > Accounts > Manage accounts > Remove, then add the account back.

Note: Removing the account resets local sync/offline data in the app, but does not delete anything from the server.

Why you were added In Outlook, group owners, and in many work or school environments, organization admins can add members directly without a join prompt. Because of that, being added to a group isn’t necessarily a sign that your account was compromised.

Quick security check

As a precaution, it’s still a good idea to review your Microsoft account Recent activity and make sure two‑step verification is enabled.

If you can let me know whether this address is Outlook.com / Hotmail (personal) or a work or school account, I can point you to the exact screen where group membership is managed for that account type.

Please let me know if this proves useful to you, or if you would like further assistance.

I'm looking forward to your reply.
Robin Hanna 0 Reputation points

2026-03-17T00:21:43.88+00:00

Thanks very much for getting back to me. I do appreciate it. Yesterday, I tried to remove myself from all of the groups, but I don't seem to have removed myself successfully from any groups. I had to first select stop following and then I could select leave group. I could not in all cases change from following to stop following - the selection of stop following was there, but I couldn't successfully select it, so I then had no opportunity to select leave group. When I looked today, I could see that in many cases, I was successful in selecting stop following, but in no case could I see that I was no longer a member of the group. I want to get rid of every single group. I don't want them in a group list. I don't want Microsoft to allow me to be added to a group without my permission. My account is a premium msn.com account that I often access through Outlook. Any help would be much appreciated.
Robin Hanna 0 Reputation points

2026-03-17T00:46:14.65+00:00

I went to Outlook again to try to leave the groups. If I selected a group and then selected members and the members list came up, I could then click on settings and leave the group successfully. If the member list would not appear (which was the case in 5 of the groups), then I could still select leave the group, but it would not actually delete me from that group, so I still have 5 groups in my group lists that I do not want. If you have any suggestions for how to leave a group when the member list does not appear, it would be appreciated. And I would also like to know how Microsoft plans to protect us from being added to groups without our permission. Thanks for your help.
Kal-D 7,365 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-17T20:37:17.0166667+00:00
Hi Robin Hanna,

In New Outlook with a personal msn.com account, when certain groups don’t display the Members pane, it often means the group page isn’t fully loading. When that happens, the Leave group action may look like it works but doesn’t actually stick.

If you’re able to try a few more things, these are listed from quickest to most effective:

Open Outlook on the web in an InPrivate/Incognito browser window, sign in, open each of the 5 groups, then select Settings > Leave group.

If that works in Incognito, clear site data/cache for outlook.live.com, outlook.com, then try again in a normal browser window.

Temporarily disable any browser extensions (especially ad, script, or privacy blockers), as these can sometimes prevent the Members pane from loading properly.

If those same 5 groups still won’t let you leave even on the web, the next best step would be Help > Report a problem / Contact support. When you do, it helps to include:

The names of the 5 groups

That the Members pane does not load

That leaving the group does not persist

Regarding being added without permission: for Outlook groups, owners can add members directly, and there usually isn’t a setting that requires member approval first. If you’re being re‑added after leaving, the group owner would need to stop adding your address.

If you’re able to try the Incognito test, feel free to let us know how it goes. I'll be happy to continue helping from there.

Please let me know if this proves useful to you or you would like assistance in navigating Microsoft's Support channel.

I'm looking forward to your reply.
Robin Hanna 0 Reputation points

2026-03-17T23:38:24.2566667+00:00

Thanks so much for getting back to me. I really appreciate it. From incognito mode, the member list in one of the 5 groups appeared and I was able to successfully leave that group. The member lists in the other 4 groups did not appear. I will try again tomorrow to see if I have any better luck with the other 4 groups. If not, I will try going to help and reporting a problem, but I am not optimistic that I will actually reach anyone that can help. Regardless, I will report in here about what transpires.
Robin Hanna 0 Reputation points

2026-03-18T20:10:54.05+00:00

This morning, I looked at my groups and there were only two left. From Outlook live, (not incognito mode), I selected each one, no member list appeared, but I selected leave once again. Nothing immediately happened, so I waited a few hours and looked again - and they are all gone!!!! No more groups I don't want to belong to and hopefully I know enough now to delete them if any more appear. Thanks so much for your help.
Kal-D 7,365 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-18T22:56:40.08+00:00

Hi Robin Hanna,

I'm glad to hear that your situation is resolved.

It sounds like the changes just needed a bit of time to fully sync, which can definitely be confusing when nothing happens right away. You did exactly the right thing by checking back later.

If any new groups show up again or something doesn’t behave as expected, feel free to come back and let me know. Happy to help further if needed, and thanks for taking the time to share the update.

Best regards.

Answer 3

Unfortunately, if you do not own the groups in Outlook, you cannot delete them. Only the group owner has the ability to delete a group. However, you can remove your email address from these groups by contacting the group owner and requesting to be removed. If you do not know who the owner is, you may need to reach out to your organization's IT department for assistance in managing your group memberships.

If you are looking for a workaround, you can also consider blocking emails from these groups or adjusting your notification settings to minimize the impact of these groups on your inbox.

References:

Common management tasks for Microsoft 365 Groups

Share via

How to delete Groups in Outlook I do not own?

3 answers

Your answer