Another handy feature is that Outlook.com – just like Gmail and Yahoo Mail – offers both POP3 and IMAP protocols for the retrieval of emails. This means, for example, that inboxes can be synchronized, even on mobile devices. Apps for all common mobile devices are available.
All of this is free on Outlook.com. Subscribers of Microsoft Office 365 get additional premium features. Among them, advertisements are no longer visible in the user interface. Also, on the topic of advertisements – according to Microsoft’s privacy policy, these advertisements that do appear are not personalized based on the content of mails. Instead, the software uses data like your location, or your internet surfing habits based on cookies. Additionally, Microsoft Office users can increase storage to 50 GB and setting up a personal email address is easy as 1-2-3.
Instead, the software uses data like your location, or your internet surfing habits based on cookies. In relation to the privacy policy, the Microsoft website states: “Some of Microsoft’s services are supported by advertising. To show ads you’re more likely to be interested in, we use data like your location, Bing web searches, Microsoft or advertiser web pages you view, demographics, and things you’ve favorited. We don’t use what you say in email, chat, video calls or voice mail, or your documents, photos or other personal files to target ads to you.”
Something that is still unknown, however, is the server location. Similar to the previous two free email providers outlined above, Microsoft maintains its server worldwide. This means that the exact location of the files is as unclear as with Google and Yahoo.
Advantages | Disadvantages |
15 GB email storage space | Server location unknown |
5 GB cloud storage space with OneDrive | |
Clear and accessible design | |
MS Office interface – perfect integration into the Microsoft universe | |
Apps for Android and iOS | |