Retirement of "When Sending a Message" Group Policy in Classic Outlook for Windows

Introduction We’re retiring the When Sending a Message Group Policy in Classic Outlook for Windows to improve administrative flexibility and respond to customer feedback. This legacy policy grouped several mail-sending behaviors under one setting. Moving forward, these behaviors will be managed through individual policies, allowing for more granular control and easier configuration. When this will happen: New individual Group Policies will be introduced starting October 14, 2025. The legacy When Sending a Message policy will be removed on January 13, 2026. How this affects your organization:Who is affected: Admins managing Classic Outlook for Windows using Group Policy. What will happen:New individual Group Policies will be added to the Office admin templates (ADMX/ADML). These policies will coexist with the legacy policy until January 2026. After January 13, 2026, the legacy When Sending a Message policy will be removed. Admins will need to configure the new policies individually. No changes will occur automatically; migration is required. What you can do to prepare:Review your current use of the When Sending a Message Group Policy. Plan to migrate to the new individual policies before January 13, 2026. Download the updated Administrative Template files (ADMX/ADML) from the Microsoft Download Center. Update internal documentation and helpdesk guidance to reflect the new policy structure. Learn more: Outlook for “When Sending a Message” Policy Compliance considerations: No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.