Yahoo Email - How To Stop It Saving Email Addresses

[countrykid]

I have just deleted hundreds of unwanted email addresses from my Yahoo account. These get automatically saved every time someone new emails me, regardless of whether I want it saved. Can anyone tell me how to opt out of this auto feature, so that I can just add addresses to my Contacts when I want to. Thanks

[Buenchico]

A bit of guesswork from me (because I wouldn't touch the dreaded Yahoo! Mail with an infinite number of bargepoles):

This tells you how to get Yahoo! Mail to automatically add addresses from outgoing mail to your contacts list:
http://email.about.com/od/yahoomailtip1/qt/Have_Yahoo_Mail_Add_New_Contacts_Automatically.htm
While I recognise that it's (twice over) not what you want to do (since your question relates to incoming mail and to trying to stop the automatic saving of addresses) it suggests to me that (instead of 'Writing email') there's likely to be an option for 'Receiving email' (or, perhaps, 'Reading email') where you'll find a checkbox to untick. So going to the gear icon, and then to Settings, might well be the place to start.

Hoping that helps.

[Sycamore3House]

Are you referring to your ipad in connection with saving these contacts. If you are there is probably something in settings, mail/contacts/Calender to stop them saving.

[HansUrbancka]

You have been put on track by Buenchico. I can only confirm his info.

Upper right corner of email box is a gear wheel.
hover cursor over it for drop down menu and select settings
box opens select writing emails
deselect "Automatically add new recipients to Contacts "
SAVE before closing

Source of above :-

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100304065752AAFn4Cj

Hans.

[HansUrbancka]

Incidentally, I do have a Ymail account which I Do Not use. However, I thought I would put it to the test. Result is as follows :-

Unticking the box.."Automatically add new recipients to Contacts".. has the effect of stopping both outgoing and incoming addresses being added to the Contact list. If then you should wish to add an address of an e/mail posted to you, it will be necessary to right click the the item whilst listed in the in-box and then click "Add sender to contacts"

Things are never straightforward with Yahoo.

Hans.

[kDude]

I have the exact same problem, but I think there is some confusion here.
For me, these unwanted addresses are not from the contacts list, BUT,
as soon as you click the "To:" line and start to type in an address, hundreds
of addresses from spam and everything else previously sent to me pop up
in a box as choices in alphabetical order, along with contact list addresses.
(Previous versions of Yah Mail only showed addresses from the Contact List
when using the "To:" line.) You can X out these extra unwanted address
choices one at a time, but after 50 or so, I get tired and stop. This only occurs when I begin to type an address in the "To:" line. If I go to my Contacts List, these hundreds of unwanted addresses do not appear. I have found NO solution in the Settings Controls for this continuing problem and I hate it. PS. I pay for my Yahoo Email Acct and had it for years, but it's awful now and I may change it.....Hope someone has an answer for this.

[countrykid]

My thanks to Buenchico and Hans, your advice worked a treat. You both seem to have a dislike for yahoo especially Buenchico. What is it that makes you dislike it so much? I knew nothing of the various email providors when I needed to get an email address a good few years ago, which was before I had a PC. It was my local library who helped me set up with Yahoo. I now have so many accounts where my email address is linked to that I presume switching to a different providor would be very labour intensive, or is it much simpler than I am envisaging. Happy to consider other email companies but Yahoo seems to be ok for what I do, Thanks again guys