Security Policy Errors

How to Disable Quarantine Notifications for Specific Microsoft 365 Users

Adam Davis Oct 10, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user wants to know if Microsoft 365 quarantine notification emails can be disabled for selected individuals rather than turning them off globally for the entire organization.

How to Disable Quarantine Notifications for Specific Microsoft 365 Users

Product: Microsoft 365
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Managing email security settings and reducing notification noise for specific end users within a Microsoft 365 tenant.
Observed behavior: Quarantine notifications natively support only global enable or disable settings, making it difficult to configure per-user notification preferences directly through default quarantine policies.

Before you start

Ensure you have Exchange Administrator or Global Administrator privileges in your Microsoft 365 tenant to access the Microsoft Defender portal and manage Exchange mail flow rules.

Solution 1Recommended

Use an Exchange Mail Flow Rule to Block Specific Notifications

Since quarantine policies apply globally, creating a mail flow (transport) rule is the most effective way to intercept and delete quarantine notifications before they reach specific users.

Microsoft 365 does not offer a native per-user toggle for quarantine notifications in the Defender portal. By using Exchange admin center mail flow rules, you can identify quarantine alert emails sent to specific users and drop them silently.

Access the Exchange Admin Center

Log in to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center, expand the left navigation menu, and select 'Exchange' to open the Exchange Admin Center (EAC).

Create a new Mail Flow Rule

Navigate to 'Mail flow' > 'Rules'. Click on 'Add a rule' and select 'Create a new rule'. Name the rule appropriately, for example, 'Block Quarantine Alerts for Specific Users'.

Set the rule conditions

Under 'Apply this rule if', configure the condition to trigger when the sender is the Microsoft quarantine service email address (typically quarantine@messaging.microsoft.com) AND the recipient is the specific user or group of users you want to exclude.

Set the rule action

Under 'Do the following', select 'Block the message' and then choose 'Delete the message without notifying anyone'.

Save and enable the rule

Click 'Next' to review the rule settings, ensure the rule mode is set to 'Enforce', and then click 'Finish' to save and activate the transport rule.

Use an Exchange Mail Flow Rule to Block Specific Notifications

Rule Propagation Time: It may take up to 30 minutes for new Exchange mail flow rules to take effect across your Microsoft 365 tenant.

Solution 2

Review Global Quarantine Policies in Microsoft Defender

Verify your current global quarantine policy settings to understand which users receive notifications and what permissions they have.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can end-users release malware or high-confidence phishing emails from quarantine themselves?

No. By default, regardless of the quarantine policy applied, users cannot release messages categorized as malware or high-confidence phishing. They may only request an administrator to release these messages for them.

Are there native per-user quarantine notification settings in Microsoft Defender?

Quarantine notifications currently only support global enable or disable settings. To achieve per-user configuration, you must set up specific mail flow (transport) rules in the Exchange Admin Center.

Where can I find my active quarantine policies in Microsoft 365?

You can find your quarantine policies by logging into the Microsoft Defender portal, then navigating to Email & collaboration > Policies & Rules > Threat policies > Quarantine policy.

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