Why does my video thumbnail not download in Outlook emails?

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Brendan O'Driscoll
  • Updated

Summary of problem

If you or the recipient of your video use Outlook for Windows or Outlook for Mac, you may find that video thumbnails from Vidyard fail to load in emails. Instead you receive this message:

"To protect your privacy, Outlook prevented automatic download of some pictures in this message".

Error that appears in an Outlook email saying that it has prevented pictures from being downloaded automatically

This message appears if your Outlook account has been configured to automatically block images from the internet (like Vidyard's video thumbnail).

Solution: allow Outlook to download images in emails

Update your email settings in Outlook to allow for images to automatically download. This will ensure the video thumbnail appears in your emails.

Select a tab to learn more:
  1. Select the error message that says "Click here to download pictures"
  2. Select Change Automatic Download SettingsOn Outlook for Windows, selecting the error message to change your automatic download settings
  3. Un-check the box that says "Don't download pictures automatically in standard HTML messages"
    Changing the setting in Outlook to allow for automatic download of pictures in emails
  1. Select Outlook > Preferences from your Mac's application menuOn Outlook for Mac, opening your email preferences
  2. Under Emails, select Reading 
  3. Under Security, adjust the setting for "Automatically download pictures from the internet"
    • In all messages
    • In messages from my contacts
    • Never
      Changing the security setting in your preferences to allow for automatic picture downloads in emails

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