Can sender delete an email?

Is it possible for the sender of an email (non-FBI/CIA) to delete the received email from someone’s inbox after a period of time?

No

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If you use Gmail, you can undo send within a few seconds, if you’ve enabled that. Otherwise, no, not that I know of. Definitely not once delivered, unless you were all using some proprietary email service/client that allowed that as a feature.

It seems to me that I have worked for some clients who had emails that “expired” after a certain period of time, thus basically deleting them?

I worked somewhere that used an email system that did this.

But it was because all the email was completely internal and never left our network.

It was also not guaranteed. It would still be retained in archived mail and on the people with mobile devices. Basically if you send it, it’s sent. Nothing you can do.

Here’s the poop…

I took a screenshot of an insecure system and cc’d myself at home a few hours before I lost my job. I know I had the e-mail here at home, but now I can’t find it. This is an extremely important e-mail.

Am starting to wonder if it went poof over the last 2-3 months… :worried:

It depends upon what email client you are using.

As much as I abhor Outlook, it does have an “unsend” feature. ASSUMING THE RECIPIENT HASN’T ALREADY OPENED THE EMAIL, you can open your SENT folder, open the email you wish to delete, and in the top there is an option for “ACTIONS” that has “Recall this message”. Click that, and you are given options, including receiving a notice of success/failure.

HTH,

:slight_smile:

No.

I cc’d myself at home from work. Now I can’t find the e-mail at home. I have other e-mails from before and after the date of concern. I can’t imagine I moved or deleted it. Seems like it disappeared. Was wondering if my former employer could have deleted it from their end…

Are you using an IMAP setup? As some IMAP setups will delete emails after X age. IMAP is where the emails are not stored locally on your computer but actually remain on the email server. Your email client is like a dumb terminal and simply queries the email server for the list of emails.

Turns out that I took a video of the offending item instead of a screenshot.

So I don’t think there was an e-mail to myself, but I do have a video which is probably better.

So I guess my OP doesn’t apply.

Thanks.

Sounds like you’re trying to be the next Snowdon. :stuck_out_tongue:

Actually I had something happen at work that could be a landmark case. Shopping for an interested attorney now.

Glad I took a video capture of the whole incident. And glad the e-mails I did cc to home weren’t deleted as I originally thought.

(I do believe that there are systems in place where e-mails expire after a certain period - including images. I am certain I have seen that happen with former clients at least internally. I would think if you cc’d your Gmail, the copy would be safe unless someone hacked into your Gmail account. But who knows?!)

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