How long is mail held in gmail

Gmail, like most email services, has a default retention period for emails in the "All Mail" label, which is the default label for all emails in your Gmail account. This retention period is typically 30 days, but it can vary depending on your account settings and the type of email.

Here are some general guidelines on how long Gmail holds emails:

1. 30-day retention period: Most emails in your "All Mail" label are automatically deleted after 30 days if they are not marked as important or if you don't interact with them in any way (e.g., reply, forward, or star them).
2. Important emails: Emails marked as important (using the "Mark as important" feature) are retained indefinitely, unless you manually delete them.
3. Starred emails: Emails starred (using the "Star" feature) are also retained indefinitely, unless you manually delete them.
4. Sent emails: Emails you send from your Gmail account are retained indefinitely, unless you manually delete them.
5. Trash: Emails you delete are moved to the "Trash" label, where they are retained for 30 days before being permanently deleted.
6. Spam: Emails marked as spam are retained for 30 days before being permanently deleted.

Keep in mind that these retention periods can be adjusted by changing your account settings. For example, you can change the retention period for emails in the "All Mail" label by going to Settings > Labels > All Mail > Retention period.

It's also worth noting that Gmail may hold onto emails for longer periods if they are part of a conversation or if they are being used as part of a search query.