Duplicate Messages in My Junk Folder

Question

Duplicate Messages in My Junk Folder

Ron Weaks 20

I've had the same (free) Hotmail/Outlook account for many years and want to keep it. Most of the time, only "authorized" senders can get to my inbox. RECENTLY however, my Junk Folder has been filling with duplicate messages. I tried various solutions found on YouTube but my home (Outlook/Hotmail) screen does not look like theirs. There is no "Import or export" button. I am not very technical. Is there a solution?

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2 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

Yes. For Outlook.com on the web, the most likely fixes are:

In Junk Email, change the message list view:
- Select Sort and choose Date.
- Go to Settings > View all Outlook settings > Mail > Layout.
- Under Date headers, select Don’t show date headers in message list.
This can fix cases where one message looks duplicated because of the current layout.
Check whether the duplicates are only a display issue:
- Open one of the duplicate-looking messages.
- Select … > View > View message details.
- Compare it with the other copy.
- If the Message-ID is the same, it is a display issue rather than two separate emails.
Check for rules that may be acting on messages more than once:
- Go to Settings > Mail > Rules.
- Look for rules that move or copy messages to Junk.
- Disable or remove overlapping rules.
Review junk mail settings:
- Go to Settings > Mail > Junk email.
- Make sure important senders are not in Blocked senders.
- Add trusted senders to Safe senders and domains.
If a message is legitimate, mark it correctly:
- In Outlook.com, mark it as Not junk or add the sender to Safe Senders.
- This also helps improve filtering.
If the problem continues, use Outlook.com support from Help in the menu bar and enter the issue. If self-help does not solve it, use the Still need help? option.

The missing Import or export button is not part of the supported steps for this issue.

Answer 2

Hendrix-V 18,510 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi Ron Weaks,

If the duplicate messages are only appearing in your Junk folder, it may be worth checking whether they are actually separate emails or simply being displayed more than once in the current view. In some cases, changes to the folder layout or view settings can make messages appear duplicated.

As I have checked and validated, the steps given by AI answer pointed us at the right direction, so you can start by comparing the Message-ID values from two of the duplicate messages.

If the Message-ID is the same, the emails are likely not true duplicates and the issue may be related to how the folder is being displayed.

You can also try viewing the Junk folder from a different browser or an InPrivate/Incognito window to see whether the duplicates appear there as well. This can help determine whether the behavior is related to a browser session rather than the mailbox itself.

If you find that the Message-IDs are different, please let me know and share whether you're accessing Outlook.com in a browser or through an email app, and I'll be happy to help investigate further. Feel free to ask me by clicking "Add Comment" or "Add Answer" if you cannot add comment so your response will be visible. Thanks for your effort.

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.

Ron Weaks 20 Reputation points

2026-09-07T14:50:58.64+00:00

Unfortunately (for me) none of the AI solutions worked, possibly because my account is labeled "Hotmail." I can get to settings and mail but there is no "view all Outlook settings or Layout. I open two of the same message and they definitely ARE exact duplicates. In "View," there is no "View message details. for any of the messages. I'm not sure what the "message ID" is but there is a long string of letters and numbers in the message header and they are both different. I'm not sure if that means the senders sent the same message twice. This only began happening in mid-August. I checked "rules" but there are no rules.
Hendrix-V 18,510 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-09T01:52:00.4866667+00:00
Hi Ron Weaks,

Since you're using a Hotmail/Outlook.com account and the options available in your settings don't match the steps previously suggested, I'd recommend checking whether the duplicates appear across different access methods:

Sign in to your account using a different web browser (Edge, Chrome, Firefox, etc.).

Check the Junk Email folder there.

If you also access the account through a mail app or phone, compare the Junk folder contents.

If the duplicates only appear in one location, that can help identify whether the behavior is related to how the mailbox is being displayed rather than the messages themselves.

You may also want to note whether every junk message is duplicated or only messages from certain senders. If the duplicates consistently come from the same senders, it could indicate those messages are being transmitted more than once before they reach the Junk folder.