I created a Microsoft 365 Exchange rule to permanently delete messages addressed to specific people when they contain one of several distinctive spam phrases. The rule is configured to delete the messages without sending an approval request, but I'm still receiving approval notifications for nearly every matching message. Some messages were also blocked by the user, yet approval requests still appear. Could another rule or processing stage be triggering the approvals, and do approvals happen before sender blocking?
1 Answer
The rule as described shouldn’t generate approval requests, so another rule or an older version of this rule is probably being applied. Check the complete rule list, priority order, and any mailbox or mail-flow rules that can request approval. Also verify that the rule was fully saved and enabled after changing the action. If the behavior continues, deleting this rule and recreating it may clear a stale configuration. Be cautious about maintaining a long list of spam phrases, since it can become difficult to manage and may eventually match legitimate mail.
That was my suspicion too, but I have only about eight rules and none of the others request approval. This rule originally did, though, and I later changed it to permanently delete messages without notification. The interface shows the new setting, but the old approval behavior seems to persist, so I may remove the rule and rebuild it from scratch.