Does gmail delete sent mail
By default, Gmail does not automatically delete sent emails. However, there are some scenarios where sent emails might be deleted or removed from your Gmail account:
- Trash and Spam folders: If you move a sent email to the Trash or Spam folder, it will be deleted permanently after a certain period of time (usually 30 days). You can recover emails from the Trash folder within that time frame, but emails in the Spam folder are usually deleted permanently.
- Gmail's automated cleaning: Gmail has a feature called "Gmail's automated cleaning" that periodically removes emails from your account to free up storage space. This process is usually triggered when your account reaches a certain storage limit. Sent emails might be removed during this process, but it's not a guaranteed deletion.
- Account inactivity: If your Gmail account remains inactive for an extended period (usually 6 months), Google might delete your sent emails as part of their account maintenance process.
- Account closure: If you close your Gmail account, all emails, including sent emails, will be deleted permanently.
- Email client settings: If you're using an email client like Microsoft Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird to access your Gmail account, you might have configured the client to delete sent emails after a certain period. Check your email client settings to see if this is the case.
To avoid accidental deletion of sent emails, you can:
- Regularly back up your Gmail account using Google Takeout or a third-party backup service.
- Use a third-party email client that allows you to access your Gmail account without deleting sent emails.
- Set up filters or labels to organize your sent emails and keep them organized.
- Consider using a separate email account for sent emails, if you're concerned about deleting them.
Remember that Gmail's default behavior is to keep sent emails in your account, but there are scenarios where they might be deleted.