There's no getting around it: the vast majority of email hitting your inbox probably consists of promotions and newsletters from businesses around the web. With spam slipping through as well, it can sometimes be hard to tell what's worth clicking on and what should head straight to the trash heap. With Outlook.com, however, Microsoft is hoping to clear things up with a few new features headed to its web-based mail portal.
Announced alongside the October 2018 Update, Microsoft revealed that Outlook.com will soon allow brands to obtain a verified icon, much like the "verified" check you see all over Twitter, to ensure you're dealing with a legitimate business. Those same businesses will also be able to share things like contact information, package deliveries, reservations, and store locations through a new profile card.
In a bid to smooth things out for users, another new feature hitting Outlook.com soon will surface details of promotions right in your message list, so you won't have to click through to the email to see the deal it contains. And for those of us with far too many newsletters coming in, you'll be able to head to a new subscription portal to see what newsletters you're enrolled in and unsubscribe with one click.
They're small additions in the grand scheme of things, but, when taken together, each should make dealing with the daily deluge of promotional emails much easier. Microsoft is testing the features with businesses now as part of a beta program, but they should be rolled out across Outlook.com in the coming months after all of the kinks have been worked out.
