Email reactions

Question

I accidentally "reacted" to an email from an important client, which made me look like a simpleton. I don't even know how I did it! How do I disable this ridiculous feature so I can't inadvertently react to emails?

Answer 1

Hi Julie,

Currently, on the end-user side, you can only disable reactions for messages you send,

• In either New Outlook or Webmail, create your email message  
• Select 'Options' from the top menu bar  
• One of those Options is 'Disallow reactions'
• 
• Select that checkbox, and continue to create your email message, then send it

That setting is only in place for that single email. It must be selected for each message you do not want any reactions on. If you don't select that checkbox again on your next message, you could get reactions on that email.

Additionally, since this feature is not available in Classic Outlook, you can consider switch to that version too.

However, your organization's IT admin with an Exchange Administrator role can set up a mail flow rule that automatically appends the x-ms-reactions: disallow header to incoming/outgoing mail. This disables the reaction interface across supported Outlook clients company-wide. You can request them to enable this policy for you.

For more information, they can consult Disallow reactions in Outlook | Microsoft Learn

I hope this provides enough clarity and helps you stay inform with your current situation.

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.  

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