How to disable email notifications for comments left on own Word document stored in OneDrive

Question

How to disable email notifications for comments left on own Word document stored in OneDrive

Sydney 240

I am a frequent user of Word and OneDrive. As of 11/15/25 around 8pm CST, I began receiving email notifications that for my own comments in Word docs that I have stored in my OneDrive. (NOTE: By Word comments I mean right-click on text in an open document > New Comment... type and publish comment, then get an email notification a couple minutes later). This happened first in a downloaded document from work for which I wasn't the author, but I tested it with several created documents that I am definitely listed as author for. These emails are primarily being sent as "Notes to Self" from my email to my email, but one notification came from SharePoint Online, which I don't use. I haven't changed any settings in Word or OneDrive that would cause this change in behavior, and I shouldn't be getting notifications on my own changes anyway. I have googled and found loosely related? historical threads but going into Settings in OneDrive (web and Windows) no longer shows any settings related to email notifications. Also, there were never any notification settings that I've ever seen or remember about getting notified over my own comments in my own document in my own OneDrive so I'm a bit confused...

The only thing I can rationalize is that OneDrive no longer recognizes me as the document owner so it's notifying me of my own changes? Going down this path I've tried: 1. rebooting, 2. unlinking and relinking OneDrive but neither has worked.

Any other ideas?

Update: I tried to locate the "central switch" at office.com per Kai-H but was redirected to Copilot and could only find Copilot-related settings. Disabling notifications per document is untenable. I don't use the @ mention at all in my comments. LT's option to disable "modern comments" in Word potentially limits functionality that I use to speed productivity, and it'd be ridiculous to have to create email rules to auto-junk Notes to Self and SharePoint notifs. Looking for better fixes. Is this a bug? Or a new "feature"?

fedUP999999999 10 Reputation points

2025-11-26T15:52:59.63+00:00
Having the same issue. Absolutely crazy, irritating. I work alone, don't use TEAMS, don't use Share Point. Just storing my files on OneDrive. Every comment comes by email.

I have turned off the setting on OneDrive that says NOTIFY ME WHEN OTHERS SHARE WITH ME OR EDIT MY SHARED ITEMS. But it is ignored

I have turned "MODERN COMMENTS" It does nothing.

Please, help.
HF345 0 Reputation points

2025-11-28T09:59:14.9433333+00:00

I agree. This is very frustrating and as always Microsoft do not provide clear guidance as to how to turn it off.
Amanda 0 Reputation points

2025-12-01T04:49:13.37+00:00

Same! There is no setting in OneDrive that relates to this issue, and I can't get into SharePoint on my personal account to touch the settings. It's like a backend OneDrive / SharePoint setting was changed, and I can't access it to reset. MAKE IT STOP!
Jonathan Gan 0 Reputation points

2025-12-02T19:07:00.63+00:00
I have the exact same problem. I never opted-in for this useless "feature".

The workarounds I see right now are:

Stop using comments, which forces me to stop using a feature I actually consider useful.

Temporarily move the file outside Onedrive while editing, which defeats the whole idea of your data always being safely backed up to the cloud.

7 answers

Your answer

fedUP999999999 10 Reputation points

2025-11-26T15:52:59.63+00:00

Having the same issue. Absolutely crazy, irritating. I work alone, don't use TEAMS, don't use Share Point. Just storing my files on OneDrive. Every comment comes by email.

I have turned off the setting on OneDrive that says NOTIFY ME WHEN OTHERS SHARE WITH ME OR EDIT MY SHARED ITEMS. But it is ignored

I have turned "MODERN COMMENTS" It does nothing.

Please, help.
HF345 0 Reputation points

2025-11-28T09:59:14.9433333+00:00

I agree. This is very frustrating and as always Microsoft do not provide clear guidance as to how to turn it off.
Amanda 0 Reputation points

2025-12-01T04:49:13.37+00:00

Same! There is no setting in OneDrive that relates to this issue, and I can't get into SharePoint on my personal account to touch the settings. It's like a backend OneDrive / SharePoint setting was changed, and I can't access it to reset. MAKE IT STOP!
Jonathan Gan 0 Reputation points

2025-12-02T19:07:00.63+00:00

I have the exact same problem. I never opted-in for this useless "feature".

The workarounds I see right now are:

Stop using comments, which forces me to stop using a feature I actually consider useful.

Temporarily move the file outside Onedrive while editing, which defeats the whole idea of your data always being safely backed up to the cloud.

Answer 1

I am having this exact issue with Excel comments. The emails are the same as indicated by the other users; emails being sent directly from myself (with one email coming from sharepoint online which is odd because i am a Onedrive personal/family plan user and have no sharepoint access) . There is no option on onedrive online under notification setting that allows calibration of file-driven notifications. I understand one of the solutions provided here is to create inbox rules to redirect or delete the unwanted emails but we would all be in agreement that is not a fix. This should be raised with the appropriate product team as this i am sure is irritating for many personal users who have no access to the sharepoint controls of which i am of the suspicion is where this setting can be toggled. Please consider reviewing this issue as i am sure there will be a growing number of users coming to the forum to inquire about this.

Answer 2

Stefan Blom 324.4K MVP Volunteer Moderator

According to the Microsoft Office team, this issue has been filed as a bug and it is being investigated. (No time frame for a potential fix has been provided.)

I will post back with any updates I receive.

Joel Balmer 0 Reputation points

2025-12-02T08:45:14.1533333+00:00

Fantastic, thanks for adding this comment, just found this thread with the same issue.
RNS 50 Reputation points

2025-12-02T13:30:53.3133333+00:00

Hurrah!
Russel Brownlee 10 Reputation points

2025-12-02T17:40:07.91+00:00

I hope so - it does indeed look like a bug.
Laura Jones Dooley 75 Reputation points

2025-12-02T17:55:53.19+00:00

Let's hope this gets fixed soon!!

Answer 3

LT-4882 10

Same issue. It's absolutely maddening and very disruptive. There is no where to disable this "feature". I have made an email rule to delete messages from me (from me! I didn't send this crap) with the text "left a comment" in the subject.

Update: I am hoping this issue is resolved by unselecting "Enable modern comments" in the Word general options (found under the heading "User interface options"). I haven't gotten additional emails since changing this.

Sydney 240 Reputation points

2025-11-18T01:28:44.9933333+00:00

The problem with this fix is I use features of "Modern Comments" like CTRL-Enter to post comments, so I don't want this functionality removed just to kill the emails. Keep waiting to hear back from Kai-H to see what their next step is. I had the thought to make an email rule as well for both "notes to self" and SharePoint, but it's ridiculous that I'd have to take that step.
RNS 50 Reputation points

2025-11-18T19:32:29.3366667+00:00

Maybe that is MS's payback for all those that kicked up a fuss about the awful 'modern/'smart' comments that trebled the number of keystrokes one had to input to use them, creating way more work than the original commenting system. That would not be worth turning on to rid us of this problem, having campaigned to keep the turn off function enabled.

Are MS on a crusade to drive editors to madness? Perhaps it's part of the plan to get the world to use the infuriating Co-Pilot so we'll all be out of business.
David Rips 10 Reputation points

2025-11-20T18:38:21.7666667+00:00

I am also having this issue. I've done my research and the common recommendation is to go to M365 at office.com => Settings => Notifications, then deselect various options. When I do this, there are only 3 options, none of them regarding this issue. Also, I've tried deselecting Enable Modern Comments, and restarting Word. That has no effect. Not sure what this is all about, but it is disruptive and inefficient.
LT-4882 10 Reputation points

2025-11-21T16:54:46.4366667+00:00

Yeah, changing the Word options didn't really pan out. Message rules to delete this spam is the only thing slightly helping my sanity. This is such BS
Jack 25 Reputation points

2025-11-22T11:32:36.42+00:00

I am having the same problem which started this week. I am using OneDrive personally (not sharepoint, not a work system) and this is incredibly annoying.

On the options suggested:

Option A: Remove SharePoint/OneDrive “Alert me” subscriptions

There is no option for this in OneDrive settings:

Option B: Use Outlook rules to suppress all comment/activity emails

This is what I am now trying to do but it is tricky to calibrate. The e-mails are coming from and to my account and I often send messages to myself to help me organise things - so I don't want to block all messages from myself. Blocking messages with 'comment' etc. in the title is what I am now doing but it runs the risk that I miss messages I want.

It would be much better to just have the option to turn these messages off.

Option C: Use the current “Notifications” surface (if available in your tenant)

Not relevant, I am a personal user.

Option D: Eliminate policy‑driven mails (if your org uses DLP or compliance tips)

Not relevant, I am a personal user.

I do hope that someone can tell us how to just stop word/onedrive sending these pointless messages.

Answer 4

I've been on live chat with MS Support via Word itself.
They don't seem to understand the issue (I was first told to hit 'unsubscribe' on the emails...which doesn't exist') and after some back and forth, they confirmed that it is not possible to switch this off.
The options are to set up a block (unacceptable to me), or just put up with it.
Within Word though, there is an option in 'help' to leave feedback. I suggest as many of us as possible do this, and hopefully it will get noticed and they will provide options around these notifications.

Answer 5

Kai-H 6,425 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi, Sydney

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum.

Sorry for this unwanted experience regarding you receiving email notifications for your own comments. Here are some workarounds you can try to resolve this issue:

Turn off Microsoft 365 comment notifications at the account level

Web > office.com > Sign in > top right gear > Settings > Notifications > turn off items related to comments, replies, and file activity
This central switch controls cross‑app email notifications for SharePoint, OneDrive, and Office on the web. If your tenant recently moved toggles out of OneDrive settings, they show here. This approach is consistent with Microsoft guidance that end users manage their own notification preferences, since tenant‑wide overrides are not exposed.

Unfollow the specific Word comment thread

In Word on the web or desktop with the modern comments pane open > for a comment that is generating mail > select the Bell or Following control > Unfollow.

Unfollowing stops thread‑level mails, including those triggered by your own replies.

Check for SharePoint “Alert me” subscriptions on the library or file

Sometimes “alert” rules exist on a library or item and will mail on updates, including comments.

SharePoint library > … > Alert me > Manage my alerts > remove any alerts for that library or file.

Review OneDrive/SharePoint comment and @mention behaviors

@mentions always generate notifications to the mentioned user. Make sure you are not @mentioning yourself inadvertently and consider avoiding @mentions when you do not need a mail copy. DLP or compliance policies can also send informational emails when content changes, which looks like a “policy tip” or “notification.” If your org uses DLP, your admin can tune those end‑user notifications.

Hope this helps. Feel free to get back if you need further assistance.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment."

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Kingli 25 Reputation points

2025-11-17T12:51:29.88+00:00

I have exactly the same problem, which started on the same day (11/15/25). Every time I comment on my own files saved on OneDrive, I receive a note-to-self email about the comments I am adding myself. These emails are very frustrating because they are being sent for every single comment made. It seems that some update was done to OneDrive around 11/15/25, which brought on this problem that was not there before. I have tried everything, including the suggestion made in the answer to this question, and nothing can turn off these emails. Most are coming from my own OneDrive-associated email but a few have come from SharePoint; which as in Sydney's case, I don't have and I've never used. NB: there are no @ mentions and I am the only one working on the files. When I go to notification settings, there is no option for turning off these note-to-self emails. The only workaround I have now is working in a folder outside OneDrive and then saving it in OneDrive after I'm done working on it (the problem with this is you lose the autosave function and must remember to ctrl+s, otherwise you could lose all changes). Is there a way of getting back to the pre-11/15/25 situation when you could work on a document without getting these emails constantly? Like Sydney, I have also tried rebooting and unlinking/relinking the device.
Sydney 240 Reputation points

2025-11-17T15:12:36.5166667+00:00

I appreciate you getting back to me; office.com redirects me to MS 365 Copilot, and after investigating two Settings locations there, one in the upper-right corner as you described and one in the bottom left corner, I don't see the option "turn off items related to comments, replies, and file activity" that you're describing as both Settings deal with Copilot only.

Unfollowing the specific thread is also not feasible, as I generate many Word docs every day for work. I need a systems-level off button for all messaging related to comments.

I can confirm I haven't been using any @ mention features because it is understood that my clients will see my comments when they download a copy of the attached document.
Mandy 25 Reputation points

2025-11-17T22:49:14.1066667+00:00

I have exactly the same situation. I am also concerned that the emails sent to me from myself (rather than SharePoint) appear in my sent items, as though I have personally created those emails. I find it very concerning that Microsoft can send emails, without my knowledge or agreement, purporting to be from me. I would like to know how to restrict this as an option.

Furthermore, the comments I have been notified about relate to a document saved in OneDrive connected to my outlook.com account. When I tried clicking on the link in one of the emails to see where it took me, it opened my browser and tried to open a OneDrive folder connected to my hotmail.com account, presumably because that's the account I had last signed into on that browser. I don't see how this could work when sharing links to other people, who are likely to have their own OneDrive accounts. Please undertake an urgent review and fix for this.
Kai-H 6,425 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-18T06:45:35.29+00:00
Hi, Sydney

Thanks for getting back.

Here are some ways you can follow to stop the emails at a systems level without having to unfollow every individual thread:

Option A: Remove SharePoint/OneDrive “Alert me” subscriptions

Library or per‑file alerts often survive backend changes and will mail on any update, including comments.

SharePoint library that holds the doc > Alert me > Manage my alerts > remove any alerts for the library or the specific file

Users frequently discover that these alerts, not comment settings, are the source of unexpected email bursts after service changes.

Option B: Use Outlook rules to suppress all comment/activity emails

This is the most “systems‑level” lever you control today. Create a single server‑side rule that quarantines these messages automatically.

Outlook (web or desktop) > Rules > Create rule Conditions:

From contains: SharePoint Online, no‑******@sharepointonline.com, Microsoft SharePoint, or Microsoft OneDrive

Subject or Body contains: comment, reply, mentioned you, Notes to self, updated your shared file

Action: Move to a dedicated folder (e.g., Document Activity), or Delete or Mark as read

You can tune the keywords by opening a few of the mails and copying consistent phrases. This keeps your inbox clean while preserving the messages in case auditing is needed.

Option C: Use the current “Notifications” surface (if available in your tenant)

Some tenants have moved file/comment toggles under the Microsoft 365 account shell rather than OneDrive.

office.com > Settings (gear) > Notifications Turn off email categories for file activity, comments, and replies if they appear in your tenant

Availability differs by tenant and role, but the design intent is that end users manage these, not admins.

Option D: Eliminate policy‑driven mails (if your org uses DLP or compliance tips)

If your organization has Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies targeting SharePoint/OneDrive, those can generate end‑user notification emails on content changes. Ask your admin to review the DLP policy’s user notifications and policy tips settings for SharePoint/OneDrive and disable or narrow them.

Hope this works out. Don't hesitate to get back if you need more help.
Sydney 240 Reputation points

2025-11-18T17:46:46.1233333+00:00

It seems like you aren't fully reading my responses. I do not use SharePoint per my original post and after double-checking, I don't believe I have access to it--I'm using my Microsoft 365 family account, not an organization-managed account--so I can't change any notification settings through SharePoint per Option A. The documents are not in a SharePoint library, they're in OneDrive. I've also indicated that office.com redirects to Copilot and I don't see the file/comment toggles in either settings location like what you're describing per Option C. Also, because I'm using a personal MS account, there wouldn't be DLP policies to my knowledge per Option B. I hate to be a skeptic, but are you using AI to generate potential fixes, or do you actually see these options on your end? And again, having to create an email rule is a ridiculous workaround for this issue.
Laura Jones Dooley 75 Reputation points

2025-11-18T17:49:28.2733333+00:00

Sydney, you are describing my situation perfectly as well! I am a personal user with no organization-linked account and no SharePoint account. When I go to OneDrive, there are no notification settings to turn on or off in Settings.
Amanda Clark 25 Reputation points

2025-11-18T17:55:57.5033333+00:00

Same here! I personal account with no access SharePoint. I have tried everything! Even reset OneDrive. I tried using the Inspect tool to remove my identifying factors from Word while commenting and it still sends me emails! For context yesterday alone I commented over 200x in a document for a client. These emails are maddening.
Kai-H 6,425 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-19T06:17:17.2133333+00:00
Hi again, Sydney

The behavior you’re seeing (emails for your own comments) started because Microsoft unified comment notifications across OneDrive and Word. For personal accounts, this is hard‑coded and cannot be disabled via any UI or registry setting.

For personal accounts, the only supported controls are:

Unfollow threads manually (which you already said is impractical).

Inbox rules to filter or delete these notifications (the workaround most users resort to). There is no documented API or hidden setting for a “system‑level off button” in consumer OneDrive.

Practical next steps

Use an Outlook rule to move or delete these emails (I agree it’s not elegant, but it’s the only guaranteed method right now).

Submit feedback directly to Microsoft:

Word > Help > Feedback > “I don’t want email notifications for my own comments.”

OneDrive web > Settings > Feedback.

These channels feed into the product team backlog.
Sydney 240 Reputation points

2025-11-19T16:13:09.6366667+00:00

I still don't understand how that unification has triggered email notifications of my own comments on my own documents--I could understand seeing notifs for new comments from other users or responses to my comments, but these are notifs for every single comment I leave. I know I'm leaving comments, I'm writing and publishing them. Is there really no way to more quickly and urgently escalate this issue than to submit feedback? This seems like a bug/unintended consequence of what may have been a well-intentioned feature.
Stephan Stockinger 15 Reputation points

2025-11-20T10:11:19.9866667+00:00

I am having the same issue. Unfortunately, turning off anything at the Office account level no longer seems to be possible, as every conceivable office.com web address automatically redirects me to the Copilot assistance page, which offers no settings at all. When I ask Copilot how to get to the original office.com page, it provides me with several options, but all of them automatically redirect back to the Copilot page. I cannot reach office.com at all.
Needless to say, this is a ridiculous and unacceptable state of affairs. I am effectively locked out of access to my Office account settings.
Nicky 35 Reputation points

2025-11-20T18:39:41.66+00:00

Dear Microsoft. Just fix it. It is driving all of us crazy, and it's totally fixable. Just. Fix. It. Thank you.
Tk Cloud 55 Reputation points

2025-11-20T19:36:33.2733333+00:00

I am having the exact same issue when commenting on cells in Excel. This has only started happening in the last few days and after an tedious round of querying to copilot (who i keep getting redirected to when being told to go office.com). I am in agreement with the other users that creating outlook rules to redirect notification emails is not addressing the root problem, it is a bandaid. I understand that there are always backend updates to fix other issues that the user may not have visibility of but changes like these should always be reviewed with how the end user gets impacted. This has clearly become an inconvenience to several other users and likely only a select few have decided to voice their concern. There needs to be a solution as suggested earlier to opt out of these notifications regardless of which interface is generating them
Jane Smith 30 Reputation points

2025-11-21T05:38:39.1833333+00:00

This is nuts! I have the same problem. I don't even have Sharepoint but I'm getting notified by Sharepoint. I'm an editor, so I'm getting several email notifications every minute. The option 'turn off items related to comments, replies, and file activity' does not appear in my notifications menu on Onedrive. This is why I dread updates! Please fix it - I really can't see why this isn't an opt-in feature only.
DIR 10 Reputation points

2025-11-24T08:47:39.7566667+00:00

How about instead of handing out useless and time-consuming "solutions", Microsoft solves the very issue it has created and pushed on users who, apparently, are expected to pay for a broken service and look for "workarounds" that are nothing but crappy ways to unapologetically make the users responsible for the company error?
Jack 25 Reputation points

2025-11-24T08:59:46.29+00:00

It's good that "These channels feed into the product team backlog."

Microsoft has created enormous annoyance for a large number of paying customers and all of the so called 'workarounds' have practical implications that make the customers use of Microsoft products less satisfactory.

Is there anything that can be done to get the product team prioritise work on an actual fix to this problem (which I'm sure is annoying me more than anything else in its backlog?

Perhaps they could simply reverse the change on around 15 November and un-unify comment notifications across OneDrive and Word and put that change to the back of their backlog queue to be completed only they can unify them in a way that doesn't create enormous annoyance!
Eric McIntyre 5 Reputation points

2025-11-24T15:46:06.48+00:00

I'm having the exact same issue. This is ridiculous that there is no way to disable these notifications besides unfollowing the individual threads manually or creating inbox rules to delete these notification emails. This feels like spam and makes using microsoft products an absolute pain
Jane Smith 30 Reputation points

2025-11-24T20:37:12.8666667+00:00

How do you unfollow the individual threads?
Paul Robbins 30 Reputation points

2025-11-26T08:18:05.7866667+00:00

Whats bizarre, is that each of these emails has a 'notification settings' link at the bottom, but when you click on it you aren't taken to notification settings. When I manually go there, there is no option to switch this particular notification off.

This is maddening, and as has been mentioned none of the suggested solutions work. I am using my personal accounts. I'm a freelance writer and daily I am creating documents with multiple comments, replying to my own comments, and replying to comments left by others after docs have been shared with clients. I'm now getting massively spammed. I don't even want to do a 'sweep' of emails from that email address, because its my email address and sometimes I DO send emails to myself.
The idea that I should just set up an email filter is simply not acceptable. Microsoft have added a new functionality, that clearly is not fit for purpose, and neither notified us (ironically!) nor given us the option to turn it off?
Rosalind Duhs 20 Reputation points

2025-11-26T18:19:10.89+00:00

Like others here I've tried the workarounds suggested. It is not acceptable to burden your users with a sudden change which fills our inboxes with our own comments on texts. A lot of my work involves supporting people with their texts. I'm very annoyed about the way this system fails to stop sending alerts even when I've changed the settings.

Please provide good customer service to Sydney and the other people who are finding this sudden inexplicable notifications system a distraction. Also it generates unnecessary data which is bad for the planet as it consumes energy. Please let us know how you are going to compensate us for this unwanted development.
Stefan Blom 324.4K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2025-11-26T18:36:58.6166667+00:00

Rosalind Duhs, report this to Microsoft using the feedback portal at https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/forum/fb6d67e3-301c-ec11-b6e7-0022481f8472 .
Russel Brownlee 10 Reputation points

2025-12-02T17:37:58.5933333+00:00

I am also having this problem from 23 November 2025. I reached out to onedrive support and got this response: "We are sorry to inform you, but this has been recent design change. If you want that feature back (ability to turn off email notifications), you can post in feedback forum. If you have a minute to spare, then please share your feedback using our feedback portal link: https://aka.ms/feedbackOD

I clicked that link and left feedback. It would be great if some of you could comment on my feedback and upvote it so they take notice. My feedback is here: https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/idea/434694af-dace-f011-ad8f-7c1e529694f5
Russel Brownlee 10 Reputation points

2025-12-02T17:45:57.62+00:00

This is the same instructions found elsewhere online but in reality the settings no longer exist. Or your solutions are very technical. We should not need a network admin to simply choose not to be emailed each time we make a change in our own document.

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How to disable email notifications for comments left on own Word document stored in OneDrive

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