When can we expect "Conversation Clean-up" to make it to new Outlook?

Question

When can we expect "Conversation Clean-up" to make it to new Outlook?

Thibodeau, Keith 20

The New Outlook has nice features but conversation clean-up is missing. This is a deal breaker for me. I tried using the sweep feature and it does not do what I want. I had to go to the deleted folder to get back several email. If sweep is the future, I need a way that it only sweeps from a conversation. I don't want to sweep a sender, that is not helpful. I just want to sweep conversations, and I want to be able to control like I could with "conversation clean-up". For professional use, we often have long conversations through email.

When can we expect that "conversation clan-up" is added to new outlook, or when can we expect "Sweep" to have that functionality?

Mark Haller 5 Reputation points

2026-08-03T16:20:36.96+00:00

Same frustration here — Sweep is sender-focused, so it doesn't help on a long thread where the redundancy is within the conversation, not across senders.

Since there's no roadmap commitment to bring this back, I've just built a small standalone Windows app that does the same job Classic Outlook's Conversation Clean Up did, through Microsoft Graph instead of the Outlook client — so it works whichever Outlook you're on, and messages disappear from New Outlook within seconds since the move happens server-side. I was fed up of switching between New and Classic once every week or two, to run the cleanup!

It's free, open source (MIT licence), and doesn't touch anything without you reviewing it first: it scans and shows you a list, you untick anything you want to keep, and only then does anything move — to Deleted Items, never permanently deleted. No telemetry, no server, and the source is all there if you'd rather read it than trust me.

github.com/markyuk/outlook-conversation-cleanup

Only caveat: it needs to register itself with your Microsoft account like any other Graph app, so if you're on a work/school tenant with locked-down app consent, your admin may need to approve it once.

3 answers

Your answer

Mark Haller 5 Reputation points

2026-08-03T16:20:36.96+00:00

Same frustration here — Sweep is sender-focused, so it doesn't help on a long thread where the redundancy is within the conversation, not across senders.

Since there's no roadmap commitment to bring this back, I've just built a small standalone Windows app that does the same job Classic Outlook's Conversation Clean Up did, through Microsoft Graph instead of the Outlook client — so it works whichever Outlook you're on, and messages disappear from New Outlook within seconds since the move happens server-side. I was fed up of switching between New and Classic once every week or two, to run the cleanup!

It's free, open source (MIT licence), and doesn't touch anything without you reviewing it first: it scans and shows you a list, you untick anything you want to keep, and only then does anything move — to Deleted Items, never permanently deleted. No telemetry, no server, and the source is all there if you'd rather read it than trust me.

github.com/markyuk/outlook-conversation-cleanup

Only caveat: it needs to register itself with your Microsoft account like any other Graph app, so if you're on a work/school tenant with locked-down app consent, your admin may need to approve it once.

Answer 1

Hi @Thibodeau, Keith,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum.

Thank you for reaching out and sharing your experience with us.

Currently, conversation cleanup is not available in the New Outlook for Windows. That feature exists in Classic Outlook and lets you remove redundant messages within a single conversation, with options to protect unread, categorized, flagged, or digitally signed messages.

While sweep in the New Outlook is designed for fast, sender‑focused cleanups. From any message, sweep lets you keep only the latest from that sender, delete messages older than ten days, or move all messages from that sender to a folder. Sweep rules run once per day. This works in Outlook on the web and the New Outlook for Windows.

To work around this, I would recommend trying the below methods:

Option 1. Use Ignore for a single noisy thread

Choose the conversation, select Ignore. Outlook will automatically move current and future messages from that exact thread to Deleted Items. If needed, open Deleted Items and select Stop Ignoring to reverse it. This targets a conversation and avoids sweeping all mail from the sender.

User's image

Option 2. Manual conversation tidy using conversation view

Turn on conversation view, open the thread, sort by newest, select the older redundant replies within that same conversation, then Move or Delete. This mirrors Clean Up behavior on a per‑thread basis without touching other messages from the sender. Reference docs for Sweep confirm it is sender‑centric, so manual per‑thread actions remain the safest approach for complex work threads.

User's image

Option 3. If permitted, run Clean Up in Classic Outlook periodically

Classic Outlook still contains Conversation Clean Up with configurable protections. Some organizations allow using Classic alongside the New Outlook to run cleanups on folders, then return to daily work in the New Outlook.

User's image

Microsoft continues to close gaps between Classic and New Outlook, but there is no public roadmap entry that commits to adding Conversation Clean Up back into the New Outlook or extending Sweep to operate per conversation.

I hope this information is helpful. Please follow these steps and let me know if it works for you. If not, we can work together to resolve this.

Thank you for your patience and your understanding. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to share them in the comments on this post so I can continue to support you.

I look forward to your thoughts on this.

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Beckmeyer, Joel (J.) 0 Reputation points

2025-11-14T13:39:55.3133333+00:00

Unfortunately, the recommendation to use Option 3 (Classic Outlook) is not a solution for those of us that only have access to New Outlook due to not having access to a Windows machine. I am very disappointed that this gap in functionality has not been closed for as long as New Outlook has been out.
Jay Tr 14,310 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-16T23:16:00.02+00:00

Hi @Beckmeyer, Joel (J.),

Thank you for reaching out and sharing your experience.

While we understand how important this functionality is for your workflow. I recommend submitting feedback directly to Microsoft via the Feedback Portal to help prioritize this feature in future updates.

Sharing your experience through this channel is the most impactful way to advocate for a change that would benefit you and other users.

Note: As community moderators, we kindly ask for your understanding that our access to internal development details is limited. Our primary role is to guide users toward the appropriate resources and support channels. While we may not have influence product design decisions and have limited access to internal development details , we’ll continue doing our best to support you within the scope of our responsibilities.

Thank you again for your patience and for bringing this to our attention. While I can't change the product's design, please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any other questions.

Answer 2

Hornblower409 12,390

There is an existing Feature Request that you can comment on and vote for, instead of creating yet another new one as @Jay Tr suggested.

Why was Clean Up Conversation not brought over to new Outlook?
https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/idea/d92b6aad-05a1-ef11-95f6-0022484d7a88

Mark Haller 5 Reputation points

2026-08-03T15:52:29.3466667+00:00

Same frustration here — Sweep is sender-focused, so it doesn't help on a long thread where the redundancy is within the conversation, not across senders.

Since there's no roadmap commitment to bring this back, I've just built a small standalone Windows app that does the same job Classic Outlook's Conversation Clean Up did, through Microsoft Graph instead of the Outlook client — so it works whichever Outlook you're on, and messages disappear from New Outlook within seconds since the move happens server-side. I was fed up of switching between New and Classic once every week or two, to run the cleanup!

It's free, open source (MIT licence), and doesn't touch anything without you reviewing it first: it scans and shows you a list, you untick anything you want to keep, and only then does anything move — to Deleted Items, never permanently deleted. No telemetry, no server, and the source is all there if you'd rather read it than trust me.

github.com/markyuk/outlook-conversation-cleanup

Only caveat: it needs to register itself with your Microsoft account like any other Graph app, so if you're on a work/school tenant with locked-down app consent, your admin may need to approve it once.

Answer 3

Currently, there is no specific information available regarding the timeline for the addition of "Conversation Clean-up" to the new Outlook or enhancements to the "Sweep" feature to include conversation-specific functionality. The new Outlook is continually being updated with new features, but details about future updates, especially specific functionalities like conversation clean-up, have not been disclosed in the provided context.

For now, users can utilize the existing features like Sweep, but it may not fully meet your needs for managing long email conversations as you described.

References: