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IMSS  /  Services  /  Email, Calendar & Messaging  /  Email Features  /  Clutter

Clutter

Clutter retirement postponed indefinitely by Microsoft

What is Clutter?
Clutter moves low priority email to a separate folder in your mailbox, named Clutter. Through behavior learning, Clutter is able to identify low-priority email. This email is not Junk email. This is typically email from a subscription list or mailing list that you rarely read. Clutter can identify that you rarely read this email, thus considering it low-priority and moving it to the Clutter folder.

How can I determine if I have Clutter enabled?
IMSS will send out an email to those users impacted by this change.

What will happen to my Clutter folder?
The Clutter folder will NOT go away and you may continue to access the email that has been moved to that folder. However, after January 31, no new email will be moved to Clutter.

Where will email previously moved to Clutter go?
Email that was previously moved to Clutter will start showing up in your Inbox after Clutter is retired.

Are there replacements to Clutter?
There are no true replacements for Clutter. However, there are some options that may work for you,

  • Focused Inbox
    • ​Creates two views of your Inbox:
      • Focused - important email
      • Other - low-priority email
    • Software Requirements: Outlook ProPlus (provided by Office 365), Outlook Mobile, or Outlook Web
    • Focused Inbox has its own rules for filtering email, it will NOT carry over the learned behavior for Clutter filtering
  • MPG Filter Rules - The Mail Protection Gateway also provides optional message tagging. Some messages in your Inbox may now be flagged with the following categories in the Subject of the message:
    • [BULK]
    • [MARKETING]
    • [SOCIAL NETWORK]
    • [SUSPICIOUS MESSAGE]
  • Email Filter Rules
    • ​Creates server level email rules to move or delete messages meeting certain criteria, for example:
      • Email coming from a specific sender
      • Email with certain words in the Subject line
    • Software Requirements: works across email clients

Can I turn off Clutter now?
You can turn off Clutter now or wait until it is disabled by Microsoft.

To turn off Clutter now, follow the instructions provided here by Microsoft. There are instructions for Outlook 2016 and Outlook Web.

If you have an email other than Outlook, it is recommended you follow the Outlook Web instructions.

Questions or Concerns?
For questions or concerns, please contact the Help Desk at x3500 or help@caltech.edu.