How to Create an Outlook.com App Password

Outlook.com (including Hotmail and Live.com) requires an App Password instead of your regular password when connecting third-party apps like Post Guard AI via IMAP. Follow these steps to generate one.

Prerequisite: Two-step verification must be enabled.
App Passwords are only available when your Microsoft account has two-step verification turned on. If you haven't enabled it yet, see Part A below first.

Part A Enable Two-Step Verification

Skip this section if you already have two-step verification enabled.

Open your Microsoft Account security page

Go to account.microsoft.com/security and sign in with your Outlook.com / Hotmail / Live account.

Microsoft Account → Security page

Click "Advanced security options"

On the Security page, scroll down and click Advanced security options (or Get started under "Additional security").

Security → Advanced security options

Turn on two-step verification

Under Additional security, find Two-step verification and click Turn on.

Additional security → Two-step verification → Turn on

Follow the setup wizard

Microsoft will walk you through setting up a verification method. You can choose:

Microsoft Authenticator app (recommended)
Phone number (SMS code)
Alternative email address

Complete the prompts and verify your identity.

Choose verification method → Verify your identity

Two-step verification is now enabled

You should see a confirmation that two-step verification is turned on. The App passwords option will now be available on the Advanced security page.

✓ Two-step verification is ON

Part B Create an App Password

Go to the Advanced security page

Visit account.microsoft.com/security, then click Advanced security options.

Security → Advanced security options

Find "App passwords" and click "Create a new app password"

Scroll down to the App passwords section and click Create a new app password.

If you don't see the App passwords section, make sure two-step verification is turned on (Part A above).

App passwords → "Create a new app password"

Copy the generated App Password

Microsoft will immediately generate and display a 16-character app password. It is shown in groups of 4 characters separated by spaces.

abcd efgh ijkl mnop

Copy this password now! Microsoft will only show it once. If you close this page without copying it, you'll need to delete it and create a new one.

Use the App Password in Post Guard AI

Go back to the Mailbox Manager and create or edit a mailbox with these settings:

IMAP Username	`yourname@outlook.com`
IMAP Password	`abcdefghijklmnop` (the 16-character App Password, without spaces)
IMAP Address	`outlook.office365.com`
IMAP Port	`993`
Use SSL	Enabled

Other Microsoft email domains — the same IMAP server works for @hotmail.com, @live.com, and @msn.com accounts. Just use your full email address as the IMAP Username.

Test your connection

Back in the Mailbox Manager, click Test Connection in the mailbox modal to verify everything is working. You should see a green success message.

IMAP Settings Quick Reference

Email Domain	IMAP Server	Port
`@outlook.com`	`outlook.office365.com`	`993`
`@hotmail.com`	`outlook.office365.com`	`993`
`@live.com`	`outlook.office365.com`	`993`
`@msn.com`	`outlook.office365.com`	`993`

? Troubleshooting

Make sure Two-step verification is turned on (see Part A).
If your account is managed by a school or organization (Microsoft 365 / Azure AD), your administrator may have disabled App Passwords. Contact your IT admin.
Try visiting the direct link: account.microsoft.com/security → Advanced security options.
Microsoft is gradually removing App Passwords for some accounts in favor of OAuth. If you can't create one, contact support.

Make sure you're using the App Password (16 characters, no spaces), not your regular Microsoft password.
Double-check that the IMAP username is your full email address (e.g., yourname@outlook.com).
Verify the IMAP server is outlook.office365.com (not imap-mail.outlook.com, which is deprecated).
If you copied the App Password with spaces, remove them.
Make sure port 993 and SSL enabled are set.

Go to account.microsoft.com/security → Advanced security options → scroll to App passwords. Click Remove existing app passwords or delete individual ones. Post Guard AI will no longer be able to access your mailbox until you create a new App Password.

Work/school Microsoft 365 accounts may not support App Passwords. The ability depends on your organization's administrator settings:

Your admin must enable Multi-factor authentication (MFA) and allow App Passwords in the Azure AD portal.
If App Passwords are not available, your admin may need to enable IMAP access for your mailbox via the Exchange admin center.
Some organizations block IMAP entirely for security. Contact your IT admin for guidance.

Microsoft has migrated all Outlook.com accounts to the Office 365 infrastructure. Use outlook.office365.com — it works for all Microsoft consumer email accounts (Outlook.com, Hotmail, Live, MSN).

The older imap-mail.outlook.com server is deprecated and may stop working at any time.

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