In many eDiscovery matters, clients may need to export their email folders for review or production. Learn how you can export emails from Outlook Online (Outlook Web Application) and Apple Mail. 


Outlook Online (Outlook.com / Office 365 Webmail)

You can export your email folders from Outlook online by using a third-party application/tool. 


Exporting email folders using third-party applications

Before using third-party tools or clients to access and export messages, IMAP or POP must be enabled in Outlook Online, as shown below:


Steps to Enable IMAP or POP

  1. Log into the Outlook account via webmail

  2. Click on Settings (gear icon) in the upper-right corner

  3. Select Mail from the bottom of the settings menu

  4. Navigate to Forwarding and IMAP

  5. Under POP and IMAP, enable one of the following:

    • Toggle Let devices and apps use POP to ON, or

    • Toggle Let devices and apps use IMAP to ON

  6. Click Save

This allows compatible email export apps (like GoldFynch, using an add-on service) to connect to the Mailbox and download folders for export.  


Note: This process does not export the email itself, but instead enables access for tools that can download and export content.  Learn more about GoldFynch's Add-On services here.


Apple Mail (on macOS)

If the client has already added their email account to Apple Mail and can access the Mailbox locally, they can export mail folders directly.

Steps to Export Mail Folders:

  1. Open Apple Mail.

  2. In the Mail sidebar, select the mailbox (folder) they wish to export.

  3. From the Menu Bar, choose Mailbox > Export Mailbox.

  4. Choose a destination to save the exported mailbox and click Choose.

The mailbox will be saved as an .mbox file, which is compatible with many eDiscovery platforms. Here’s the official Apple support guide on exporting mailboxes


Important Note on Credentials

If the user:

  • Doesn't know the account password, or

  • Is concerned about losing access to the account by attempting a login or export

Do not proceed. We do not want to risk account lockouts or trigger any security alerts. The client is welcome to attempt the export themselves using the steps above; however, we will not perform the extraction on their behalf under these circumstances.