Outlook Mail adds option to disable colorful contact icons and images for Insiders

In a response to negative feedback on the addition of colorful contact icons in the Outlook app for Windows 10 PC and Mobile, Microsoft is adding an option to turn them off. As spotted by one Reddit user who is on the Insider Slow ring, the new setting, listed as "Show sender pictures in message list," simply toggles contact pictures on and off.

Outlook Options

To recap, a previous update made it so that a colorful, circular icon would appear with either the initials or contact picture next to each email in your inbox. While the change had the effect of brightening the app up a bit, there was no option at the time to move back to Outlook's previous, icon-less look. It's a minor change, but one that should come as a welcome addition to many who were turned off by the app's recent changes.

It looks like this new setting is at least available to those on the Slow ring right now, but it's unclear if it's rolling out on a wider basis. That said, it shouldn't be too long before everyone will see the option pop up in Outlook's settings.

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Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl