How do I request a read receipt in Outlook?

In desktop Outlook or Microsoft 365, open a new email, go to the Options tab and tick “Request a Read Receipt” before sending. The recipient is then asked to confirm — and can decline. Free Outlook.com has no such option, so you need a tracker instead.

Why is there no read receipt option in Outlook.com?

The free Outlook.com web app simply does not include read receipts. Only desktop Outlook and Microsoft 365 offer the request feature, and even then it only works reliably inside Microsoft/Exchange. For free Outlook.com, a tracker like Vidi is the way to know when an email is opened.

How do I get a read receipt that the recipient can’t decline?

Use a read-receipt tracker. Vidi records the open silently with a tracking pixel, so there is no prompt for the recipient to decline. You see a grey tick when the email sends and two green ticks the moment it is opened.

Does an Outlook read receipt work if the recipient uses Gmail?

Usually not. Native Outlook read-receipt requests are typically ignored outside the Microsoft/Exchange ecosystem, so emailing a Gmail or Yahoo user often returns nothing. A tracker works regardless of what email service the recipient uses.

Outlook.com

How to request a read receipt in Outlook

Desktop Outlook lets you request a read receipt — but the recipient can decline, and free Outlook.com has no option at all. Here’s how the native feature works, why it so often returns nothing, and how to get a read receipt that doesn’t depend on the recipient saying yes.

The native Outlook method (desktop / Microsoft 365)

Start a new email in the Outlook desktop app or Microsoft 365.
Open the Options tab in the ribbon.
In the Tracking group, tick Request a Read Receipt (you can also tick Delivery Receipt).
Write and send your email as normal.

If the recipient agrees, you’ll get a confirmation email when they open the message. The operative word is if — they’re prompted, and they can decline.

Why this so often fails

The recipient can decline. Outlook shows a prompt asking whether to send the receipt, and most people say no.
It breaks outside Microsoft. Send to a Gmail, Yahoo or other non-Microsoft recipient and the request is usually ignored entirely.
Free Outlook.com can’t do it. The web version has no read-receipt option at all — see does Outlook.com have read receipts.

The better way: a read receipt that can’t be declined

A read-receipt tracker records the open with an invisible pixel instead of asking the recipient for permission — so there’s no prompt to decline and nothing that breaks across email services. Vidi works on free Outlook.com (where native receipts don’t exist) and shows the status as WhatsApp-style ticks:

One grey tick — sent.
Two green ticks — opened by a real person.

How to set it up

Install the Vidi extension from the Chrome Web Store.
Sign in and pick a plan (30-day money-back guarantee).
Compose and send from Outlook.com as normal.
Watch the grey tick turn to two green ticks when your email is read.

Vidi turns the tick green only on a genuine human open, labelling automated pre-fetches honestly — see Apple Mail Privacy Protection and open tracking. For the full Outlook overview, see read receipts for Outlook.com, or get started with Vidi.

Get an Outlook read receipt that can’t be declined

Vidi turns every important email into a clear grey-tick / green-tick answer — across Gmail, Yahoo Mail and Outlook.

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