Gmail’s auto-complete list feature is helpful if you don’t want to type the entire email address of the regular recipients when sending an email. It saves you time and effort, not to mention the convenience of Gmail completing the address for you.
But, for some users, it does not help at all. You may not want to associate yourself with a few email addresses on your autofill list. There are times when you still have the old/outdated or invalid addresses of recipients. Your recipients might already be using a new email as their primary contact point. Having both the old and the new addresses stored in your Gmail auto-complete list memory will only result in confusion and potential mistake.
The best thing you can do is clean up and delete some of the invalid email addresses from your Gmail auto-complete or autofill list. That way, you will no longer see them when Gmail automatically fills up the recipient field of an email address from your contacts.
How to Remove Email Addresses from Gmail Auto-Complete or Autofill List
The steps to delete email addresses from Gmail auto-complete list takes only a few clicks on your Gmail account. Make sure you log in to your Google account first.
- On your browser, go to //contacts.google.com.
- On the search bar on top, type the name or email address of the contact you want to remove.
- Click the contact’s name or email address.
- On the upper right corner, click the three-dotted icon.
- Select Delete.
- Click Delete to confirm.
How to Disable Gmail Auto-Complete List or Stop Autofill Feature
If you don’t want Gmail to autofill the recipient field with email addresses from your contact list, you can turn off and disable the feature completely.
- Launch Gmail on your device.
- On the upper right corner, click the Gear icon.
- Click See all Settings.
- Scroll down the Settings page and look for Create contacts for auto-complete section.
- Now, select I’ll add contacts myself. It will disable the autofill.
- Scroll down at the bottom and click Save Changes.
Which do you prefer? Having the Gmail autofill feature enabled or disabled? Do tell us what you think in the comments section below.
Clear outdated and incorrect addresses from Outlook's memory
What to Know
- Delete one address: Open a new message. Enter a name in the To field. Then, highlight the name in the autocomplete list and select X.
- Delete all addresses in the autocomplete list: Go to the File tab and select Options > Mail > Empty Auto-Complete List.
- In Outlook Online, go to the View Switcher and select People, choose a contact, select Edit, then delete the address.
This article explains how to delete an address from Outlook's autocomplete list in Microsoft Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, and 2010. It contains separate instructions for Outlook 2007 and Outlook Online.
Remove a Name or Email Address From the Outlook Autocomplete List
Outlook remembers every address
you enter in the To, Cc, and Bcc fields of an email message. Then, when you enter the first few letters of a name or email address, Outlook automatically suggests contacts that match. If Outlook remembers mistyped and old contacts that you don't want to appear in the autocomplete list, get rid of those entries.
To delete a single contact from the autocomplete list:
Create a new email message.
In the To field, enter the name or address you want to remove. As you enter the contact information, the autocomplete list displays the available matches.
Press the Down Arrow key to highlight the entry you want to delete from the list.
Select Delete (the X to the right of the contact name). Or, press the Delete key.
Delete All the Addresses From the Outlook Autocomplete List
To clear the autocomplete list of all entries in Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, and 2010:
Go to the File tab.
Select Options.
In the Outlook Options dialog box, select the Mail category.
In the Send messages section, select Empty Auto-Complete List.
In the confirmation dialog box, select Yes.
If you want to turn off the autocomplete list and prevent Outlook from suggesting recipients, clear the Use Auto-Complete List to suggest names when typing in the To, Cc, and Bcc lines check box.
Select OK to close the Outlook Options dialog box.
Stop Outlook 2007 From Suggesting Recipients
To turn off the autocomplete list in Outlook 2007:
Select Tools > Options.
Select E-mail options.
Select Advanced E-mail Options.
Clear the Suggest names while completing To, Cc, and Bcc fields check box.
Click OK.
Remove an Address From the Autocomplete List in Outlook.com
Outlook.com draws its autocomplete suggestions from multiple sources. If you don't want to see an entry in the autocomplete list, delete the email address from the contact entry.
Go to the View Switcher and select People.
Select the contact that contains the email address that you want to delete from the autocomplete list.
To find a contact quickly, go to the Search box and enter the email address you want to remove from the autocomplete list.
Select Edit.
Delete the outdated or unwanted address.
Select Save.
The contact no longer appears in the Outlook.com autocomplete list.
FAQ
How do I block an email address in Outlook?
To block an email address in Outlook, right-click a message from the sender you want to block and select Junk > Block Sender. Future messages from this sender will end up in your Junk folder.
How do I export an address book from Outlook?
To export emails from Outlook, select File > Open & Export > Import/Export > Export to a File > Comma Separated Values. In the Select folder to export from box, choose Contacts > Next. Select Browse, name the file > OK. Confirm the save location > Finish.
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