Stop changing the display of email addresses to names on outlook. This is supporting CYBERSECURITY Criminals.

Reported
Anonymous
2023-12-01T19:38:31+00:00

When I type an e-mail address to someone, Outlook changes it to the name in my contacts instead of leaving it alone as the actual e-mail address.

For example, I received an email from an unknown contact (a scammer) whose email address is **removed for privacy reasons**@gmail.com and outlook displays my CEO's name instead of the scammer's email address. How and why is my CEO's name displayed from an email address that has random letters??

The way Outlook is currently displaying names instead of email addresses makes people extremely vulnerable to scams, phishing, malware, and other cybersecurity threats.

Furthermore, I am not the first person to raise this issue. Please see this same issue raised at this link: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook_com/forum/all/show-the-actual-e-mail-address-instead-of-the-name/09baa36a-b494-456c-901f-475032c72b8d?page=1  Microsoft needs to address this issue and stop giving responses on forums that are unrelated to issue at hand. Instead please ESCALATE this issue to appropriate party responsible for making decisions and TAKE ACTION immediately.

Outlook | Web | Outlook.com | Settings

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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  1. Anonymous
    2025-03-25T21:56:36+00:00

    The silence from Microsoft is deafening on this one.

    No-one is asking for the DisplayName feature to be entirely disabled. Just the option for a user to turn it off for their own UI display.

    It could still be there in the background, for any sorting/searching/data processing Microsoft so wishes.

    Just not in the user's face in the UI.

    Why is this so hard an ask?

    When so, so many users here have asked the same question?

    Especially when a change just at the UI display level probably only needs a handful of lines of code.

    Does no one at Microsoft believe in helping make the world a better place anymore?

    Do their staff only want to take home their pay and not rock the boat by listening to the feedback of users?

    Are they too scared to act to help the very people they claim to be there to make life better for?

    That's such a sad reflection on a once-great company, and once good and competent software devs.

    So very sad. But perhaps, in this 'brave new world', unsurprising.

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  2. Anonymous
    2025-03-25T18:27:42+00:00

    It is absolutely ridiculous that this has not been addressed. What can possibly be the reasoning to not have the ability to turn this terrible feature off?

    I just want to see the email address of incoming emails, is that really too much to ask? Makes no sense at all.

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  3. Anonymous
    2025-03-24T18:21:31+00:00

    Major security risk. Microsoft is really helping criminals break into computer systems and steal millions of dollars from innocent victims. FIX IT, Microsoft!

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  4. Anonymous
    2025-03-24T14:26:47+00:00

    The original link stopped working. I'd hate to imagine why Microsoft would cause a feedback link to stop working but I think I found the related feedback link anew:

    https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/idea/11d4f30f-eec4-ee11-92bd-6045bd7b0481

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  5. Anonymous
    2025-03-24T14:04:46+00:00

    Thank you, Stephen. I'm sure this ADD ON is helpful, but it is still an Add-on. One which I cannot use on corporate equipment. It is too bad that Add-ons must be used to just get basic functions on applications these days.

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