Does SecureMailMerge work with personal Outlook accounts?
SecureMailMerge requires a Microsoft 365 Business subscription and does not work with free personal email accounts.
Contents
No, SecureMailMerge requires a Microsoft 365 Business (or Education) subscription. It does not work with personal email accounts such as Outlook.com or Hotmail.
Why a business subscription is required
SecureMailMerge is built using Microsoft’s modern add-in architecture, which is only available for Microsoft 365 Business and Education accounts. This is a limitation set by Microsoft, not by us.
The modern add-in platform provides important security features and integration capabilities that aren’t available on consumer accounts.
How to check your account type
If you’re unsure whether you have a business account:
- Try to sign in at portal.office.com
- If you can access the Microsoft 365 admin center or see business apps, you have a business account
- If you’re prompted for a “work or school account” when installing the add-in, your current account may be a personal one
Unsupported account types
The following account types are not supported:
- Outlook.com and Hotmail (free email accounts)
- Microsoft 365 Personal
- Microsoft 365 Family
- Microsoft 365 Home
These are all consumer products that don’t support business add-ins. Even though you may pay for Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, or Home, these subscriptions use the consumer platform which doesn’t include the add-in capabilities required by SecureMailMerge.
The most affordable business option is Microsoft 365 Business Basic, which includes hosted email and full support for add-ins like SecureMailMerge.
I’m being asked for a “work or school account”
If you see this message when trying to use SecureMailMerge, it means you’re signed in with a personal Microsoft account. You’ll need to use a Microsoft 365 Business account to use the add-in.