Microsoft hotmail custom alerts
A blast from the past! Microsoft Hotmail was one of the first free web-based email services, launched in 1996. Custom alerts were a feature that allowed users to receive notifications when specific events occurred in their Hotmail account. Here's a brief overview of how it worked:
What were custom alerts?
Custom alerts were a feature that allowed Hotmail users to set up notifications for specific events, such as:
- New email arrivals from a specific sender or with a specific subject line
- New messages in a specific folder (e.g., Inbox, Junk Email, or a custom folder)
- Changes to a specific email message (e.g., when a message was replied to or forwarded)
- New contacts added to their Hotmail address book
How to set up custom alerts in Hotmail
To set up custom alerts in Hotmail, users could follow these steps:
- Log in to their Hotmail account.
- Click on the "Options" button at the top of the page.
- Select "Customize" from the drop-down menu.
- Click on "Alerts" from the left-hand menu.
- Choose the type of alert they wanted to set up (e.g., "New email from a specific sender").
- Enter the specific criteria for the alert (e.g., the sender's email address or a specific subject line).
- Choose the notification method (e.g., email, pop-up, or sound).
- Click "Save" to save the custom alert.
What happened to custom alerts in Hotmail?
In 2012, Microsoft announced that it would be discontinuing the custom alerts feature in Hotmail, as part of a broader effort to simplify the email service. The feature was eventually phased out, and users were no longer able to set up custom alerts in their Hotmail accounts.
What's the equivalent feature in modern email services?
While Hotmail's custom alerts feature is no longer available, many modern email services offer similar features, such as:
- Gmail's "Filters" feature, which allows users to set up custom filters for incoming emails.
- Outlook.com's "Rules" feature, which allows users to set up custom rules for incoming emails.
- Yahoo Mail's "Filters" feature, which allows users to set up custom filters for incoming emails.
These features allow users to set up custom notifications and actions for specific emails, similar to the custom alerts feature in Hotmail.