September 5, 2008
Hey, Who Emptied the Trash?
Most of us have at one time or another deleted an email message into the trash, and then gone back and fished it out later because we discovered we needed it after all. So it's important to understand how long messages will stay in the trash before they're permanently deleted. The answer varies depending on what email client you are using and how it is set up to manage your trash folder.
When you use MobileMe webmail with any supported browser, messages will stay in the trash for 30 days from the day you throw them away before they're permanently deleted. On the other hand, when you're accessing your mail via your desktop mail application or your iPhone or iPod touch, your Account settings on the device take precedence if you have them set to remove messages sooner than 30 days. The default setting on the iPhone and iPod Touch, for instance, is one week. To avoid being surprised it's a good idea to make sure you're using the same setting on all your devices. This Support document contains information about where those settings live and how to set them.
