How do I turn off safe link.

Question

safe link will not open attachments from my health provider.

Answer 1

Hi Carol Sherrets 

I hope you are doing well ! I just want to check if you have had a chance to test the steps earlier? Please let me know if they helped resolve the issue or if you are still experiencing any difficulties. I am here to assist you further.

Best Regards

Answer 2

Dear Carol Sherrets 

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A forum. Safe Links behavior depends on whether you are using an Outlook.com mailbox with Microsoft 365 Personal/Family, a third‑party mailbox (for example Gmail) added to Outlook, or a work/school mailbox where Safe Links is controlled by an administrator. When you try to open the provider’s attachment/link, what exact warning text appears: is it a Safe Links rewritten URL (contains “safelinks.protection.outlook.com”), a “Links are disabled” message, or “Outlook blocked access to the following potentially unsafe attachments”?  

Meanwhile, please follow these steps:  

• Turn off Safe Links (only available for Outlook.com mailboxes with Microsoft 365 Family/Personal). Safe Links can be turned off by signing in to Outlook on the web and using the Premium security setting. This change affects only future messages and does not rewrite links already received. Sign in to outlook.live.com with the same Microsoft account. Go to Settings > Premium > Security. Under Advanced Security, turn off the Safe Links toggle.  
• If you do not see Settings > Premium > Security. These advanced security features apply to Microsoft 365 Family/Personal subscribers with Outlook.com mailboxes (@outlook.com, @hotmail.com, @live.com, @msn.com) and do not apply to third‑party accounts (for example Gmail) added to Outlook. In that case, you cannot disable Safe Links using the Premium toggle.
• If the issue is “links/attachments blocked because the sender is not trusted” in new Outlook for Windows. A setting in new Outlook that can disable links if “Block attachments, pictures, and links from anyone not in my Safe senders and domains list” is enabled. In new Outlook, go to Settings > Mail > Junk email. Under Security options, clear “Block attachments, pictures, and links from anyone not in my Safe senders and domains list”, then Save.  
• Add your health provider to Safe Senders. If you’re using new Outlook, add Safe senders via Settings > Mail > Junk email > Safe senders and domains.  
• If the attachment itself is blocked by Outlook security. If you see Outlook blocked access to the following potentially unsafe attachments, have the sender share the file via a file share/FTP, compress the file into a .zip, or rename the file extension and resend.  

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Answer 3

Safe Links is a security feature managed by the email/service provider, not something that can be fully turned off by a home user from the client side. It scans links and, depending on policy, can also scan links that point to downloadable files and block access if they are considered suspicious.

For attachments and links from a health provider that are not opening, try these steps that are under local control:

1. In Outlook for Windows (classic)
   1. Check if links are disabled in the message:
      • If the InfoBar at the top of the message says links are disabled, select the button there to enable external content.
   2. Check message format:
      • If the message is in plain text, links may not behave as expected. Ask the sender to resend in HTML if possible.
2. In new Outlook
   1. Go to Settings > Mail > Junk email.
   2. Under Security options, make sure Block attachments, pictures, and links from anyone not in my Safe senders and domains list is unchecked.
   3. Select Save.
3. In Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)
   • Office has its own “suspicious website” protection in the Trust Center. In Office 2013/2010 only, it can be turned off:
     1. Open Word or Excel.
     2. Select File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings.
     3. Select Privacy Options.
     4. Clear Check Microsoft Office documents that are from or link to suspicious Web sites.
     5. Select OK.
   • This setting cannot be modified in Office versions newer than 2013.
4. If Outlook shows “Outlook blocked access to the following potentially unsafe attachments”
   • This is a separate attachment-blocking mechanism. It can be overridden via a registry change (AllowAttachByRef), but this is a security-reducing workaround and should only be done if fully understood and accepted, as it re-enables certain linked attachment types.
5. If Safe Links itself is blocking the health-provider URLs
   • Safe Links policies (including whether users can “click through” to blocked URLs or whether links to downloadable files are scanned) are controlled in Microsoft Defender for Office 365 by the tenant administrator. A home user cannot disable Safe Links globally.
   • If the health provider’s messages are being blocked or their links are being flagged, contact the email service administrator (for consumer Microsoft accounts, this is handled by Microsoft) or the health provider’s IT support to confirm the links/attachments are correctly formed and not hosting content that would be flagged as malicious.

If the problem persists, provide the exact warning text shown when trying to open the attachment or link so that the specific protection layer (Outlook attachment blocking, Office suspicious link protection, or Safe Links policy) can be identified and addressed.

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References:

• Safe Links in Microsoft Defender for Office 365
• Links are disabled in Outlook for Windows email messages
• Enable or disable security alerts about links and files from suspicious websites
• You cannot open linked file attachments in Outlook: "Outlook blocked access to the following potentially unsafe attachments"