Email: Find the Full Headers of an Email Message

Overview

Email headers are the metadata of an email that shows where the message is from and information on the mail servers through which it was sent.
Headers are needed to verify where an email originated and whether or not the email is legitimate.

Outlook for Windows (Classic Outlook)

  1. Double-click on the message to open it in a separate window.
  2. Choose File in the top left corner.
  3. Select Properties.
  4. The headers will appear in the Internet headers.

Outlook for Mac

  1. Right-click (or ctrl+click) the message and choose View Source.
  2. The headers will open in TextEdit.

Outlook on the Web and New Outlook

  1. Access Microsoft 365 in a web browser or open New Outlook.
  2. Right-click the message in the mailbox, or from the message, select the ellipses(...) at the top right of the message.
  3. In the dropdown menu, choose View > View Message Details.
  4. A window called Message Details will open and display the headers.

Gmail

  1. Access Gmail in a web browser.
  2. Open the message and select the down arrow in the top right corner of the message.
  3. Choose Show Original from the dropdown menu.
  4. A tab called Original Message will open and display the headers.

Apple Mail

  1. Select the message for which you want to see the full header information.
  2. Select View on the menu, and then choose Message and All Headers, OR press Command-Shift-H on the keyboard.
  3. The full headers will appear in the message.
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