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Mail on MacBook Pro is not deleting items in the trash bin

Mail on the MacBook Pro (2019 Touch Bar) is not deleted according to the schedule I have set in preference.

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Sep 9, 2020 8:44 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 14, 2020 5:13 AM

Hi there barbaraok,


We appreciate the additional information.


It sounds like all three of your email accounts are set to empty their Deleted Messages after a week. You mentioned a private server; do you any profiles or Exchange server accounts running on your Mac? Also, does your email account/server have its own settings about deleting messages? If all three accounts are from the same private server, checking those settings could help.


Also, it might help to try booting into safe mode to see if that helps, as this could rule out a few potential software issues. After testing, exit safe mode by clicking Apple menu () > Restart. Let us know: How to use safe mode on your Mac


Cheers.

5 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 14, 2020 5:13 AM in response to barbaraok

Hi there barbaraok,


We appreciate the additional information.


It sounds like all three of your email accounts are set to empty their Deleted Messages after a week. You mentioned a private server; do you any profiles or Exchange server accounts running on your Mac? Also, does your email account/server have its own settings about deleting messages? If all three accounts are from the same private server, checking those settings could help.


Also, it might help to try booting into safe mode to see if that helps, as this could rule out a few potential software issues. After testing, exit safe mode by clicking Apple menu () > Restart. Let us know: How to use safe mode on your Mac


Cheers.

Sep 10, 2020 2:56 PM in response to barbaraok

Hi barbaraok,


Thanks for posting your question. Being able to manage your email is always important. It sounds like you might have a question about preferences for deleting email on your Mac.


It sounds like you're talking about the "Erase deleted messages" drop-down under Mail > Preferences > Accounts > Mailbox Behaviors. Is that right?


Can you clarify what's happening exactly? Which option do you have currently selected, and what behaviors are you seeing instead of the expected result?


Do you use more than one account in the Mail app? If so, have you noticed if this is happening with a specific account, or with all of them?


Do you use the same account or accounts on any other devices?


The best steps will vary depending on the answers to the above, but as a starting point it might help to ensure your Mac is running the latest version of macOS Catalina. Be sure to back up first:


Back up your Mac with Time Machine


How to update the software on your Mac


Keep us posted.


Take care.

Sep 10, 2020 5:15 PM in response to ryane77

I had it set for delete messages after 1 month. I noticed that SOME, not all, were not deleted since January and most were not deleted for SEVERAL months. I changed ALL three email accounts to be the same, delete after one week. That was kn August. I had to go in and manually delete them last week. They all still show mail for the past MONTH. Which is better than before, but not much. My .Mac account is the only one that I use on iPad and iPhone, other accounts are only access through my Mac. I looked on my iPhone, I don't see anywhere to specify when to delete messages sent to trash. Is there something I'm missing, and how would that effect mail from our private server?

Mail on MacBook Pro is not deleting items in the trash bin

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