remove or turn off outlook.com contact folder from outlook 2016

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astro46

Senior Member
Outlook version
Outlook 2016 64 bit
Email Account
IMAP
Outlook 2016, installed locally.

Several times i have found the Outlook.com contact folder populated by all (or sometimes most, no idea how the choice is made) of the contacts held in my local contacts folder. This means that all these contacts are now uploaded to outlook.com site. I have no use for this, not do I want the company (MS) in possession of the contacts. Most recently I discovered that it happened again after my phone, after syncing with Companionlink, had many contacts deleted. Companionlink, for some reason, picked the outlook.com folder as default, rather than the local Outlook contacts folder. (Eventually, after much trial and error, I discovered that I needed to change the contact data folder in Companionlink). I suspect that MS uses updates to copy contacts to outlook.com folder and make it the default.

Occasionally, when adding a new contact it winds up in the outlook.com folder rather than the local folder.

If I could eliminate/deactivate/disassociate, the outlook.com contacts folder from local Outlook these issues wouldn't happen.

note: I do use outlook.com for syncing calendar items between computer and and my windows phone. I don't use Outlook tasks.

thanks for any insight given in dealing with this problem.
 
I suspect that MS uses updates to copy contacts to outlook.com folder and make it the default.
MS won't copy contacts from a pst to another contacts folder. It will set the outlook.com data file as default, so new contacts may go into it if you create the contact from the Inbox (right click on a sender, add to Outlook contacts). If you create it manually when you have the correct contacts folder open, it will go into that folder. (Creating contacts on the phone may also go to the wrong folder.)

You can't remove the Outlook.com contacts folder (or calendar, notes or other folders) from the account - if you use the outlook.com account, you will get all of the default folders.

If you are using companionlink to sync contacts to the phone, can't you use it to sync the calendar too? (and stop using outlook.com)

Oh, and as an FYI, if you receive mail from your contacts, Microsoft already has their name and address... not that MS cares - they don't access them. The bigger worry is that a spammer will compromise your account and send mail to contacts. Using a strong password and protecting it (and enabling 2 factor auth) is the best insurance against that.
 
I wouldn't contradict your statement about MS not copying contacts from a pst to another contacts folder, however that doesn't leave much to explain how they get there.
Some 400 contacts were in the outlook.com folder. I don't create contacts from phone, or from emails. All are created manually, and it doesn't take long to realize that they are in the wrong folder, on the few occasions when Outlook was creating in the wrong contacts folder because categories are missing from the outlook.com folder. If MS didn't copy them during a Outlook update, then it is a real mystery how they got there. More than once.

I have looked at using outlook.com for holding contacts but find it clumsier, and not as well designed as local outlook for handling contacts, eg: categories, where I could have to recreate all as 'groups' and not be able to see what 'group' a contact is in when viewing the contact. There were other reasons that I don't remember.

I don't use outlook.com for email. If MS has names and email addresses from email they must be harvesting them out of Outlook. There is a lot more info in the contacts folder than names and email addresses.

I looked at using Companionlink for calendar but don't like its calendar format as much as the windows phone format (not that the windows phone calendar doesn't have issues). and I like that outlook calendar, which I modify much more frequently than contacts, syncs immediately across devices.

I guess this will remain a mystery.
 
I have looked at using outlook.com for holding contacts but find it clumsier, and not as well designed as local outlook for handling contacts, eg: categories, where I could have to recreate all as 'groups' and not be able to see what 'group' a contact is in when viewing the contact. There were other reasons that I don't remember.
This sounds like the old outlook.com - contacts were awful. The new outlook.com run on Exchange server and groups work the same as they do in pst files.

I wouldn't contradict your statement about MS not copying contacts from a pst to another contacts folder, however that doesn't leave much to explain how they get there.
since you don't use it for email, its not the office 365 / outlook.com feature that recently used addresses will come up in search. The contact card won't have a link to the full contact file. The other possible cause is something happened on the phone to push them over.


I looked at using Companionlink for calendar but don't like its calendar format
It uses Deja on the phone?
 
This sounds like the old outlook.com - contacts were awful. The new outlook.com run on Exchange server and groups work the same as they do in pst files.

Indeed. from long ago, when first came out. My short experiments with it last week indicated that categories still didn't transfer, and affiliated groups weren't indicated on individual contacts. perhaps I missed something.

Again, I don't remember what other issues may have been. and I would have start thinking about what info I include with contacts, if they will reside in cloud. to protect from the seeming increasing amount of threat from hackers.

since you don't use it for email, its not the office 365 / outlook.com feature that recently used addresses will come up in search. The contact card won't have a link to the full contact file. The other possible cause is something happened on the phone to push them over.


to be clear, the copy to outlook.com contact folder happened on the computer. most but not all contacts. what the filter was I couldn't figure out, but it was most of the contacts that were copied over.. then when I synced to phone, companionlink, which saw outlook.com as default folder, proceeded to delete contacts on phone that were not in the computer folder. once I figured out what happened, deleted all contacts in the outlook.com folder, and changed the folder to sync from in companionlink, the deleted contacts were restored to the phone.

It uses Deja on the phone?

yes, dejaoffice.

btw: I just did an Outlook update on another computer, likely the same update as on the first computer last week. no contacts copied to .com folder. so, no idea what caused it. but it has happened, not frequently, but more than once.

If I ever figure it out, I'll let you know.

Thanks
 
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