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Deleting Mail from Servers

I use Apple Mail as my "email client" exclusively. Email from Gmail, Yahoo and the local internet provider are forwarded from their servers to the Apple email client. 2 are IMAP accounts and the local internet provider is a POP account.


How do I make settings so that when email is deleted in Apple Mail, the servers also delete those emails?


Thank you.

JM

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 10.13

Posted on Sep 15, 2020 6:56 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 15, 2020 9:20 AM

Email from Gmail, Yahoo and the local internet provider are forwarded from their servers to the Apple email client.


I'm not sure if you meant that literally or not. To forward an email message means it is sent to another email address. Its subsequent disposition is a function of that server.


IMAP automatically synchronizes mail accounts among the devices using that email service, so if you delete an email message in Mail, it will be marked as deleted on the server. Upon connecting with that server, email clients using that account will also delete that message.


POP does not do that. If you are forwarding messages to your local ISP's POP account, and you delete that message on your Mac, it will not be deleted anywhere else. That's the reason for my initial request for clarification.

4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 15, 2020 9:20 AM in response to JayMiller3

Email from Gmail, Yahoo and the local internet provider are forwarded from their servers to the Apple email client.


I'm not sure if you meant that literally or not. To forward an email message means it is sent to another email address. Its subsequent disposition is a function of that server.


IMAP automatically synchronizes mail accounts among the devices using that email service, so if you delete an email message in Mail, it will be marked as deleted on the server. Upon connecting with that server, email clients using that account will also delete that message.


POP does not do that. If you are forwarding messages to your local ISP's POP account, and you delete that message on your Mac, it will not be deleted anywhere else. That's the reason for my initial request for clarification.

Sep 19, 2020 8:38 AM in response to JayMiller3

Thank you, John.


I misspoke by using the word "forward" in reference to emails going from the email provider's server to Apple Mail inbox. Your surmise is correct. I apparently did not mean the word to be literal.


So, I conclude that with an IMAP account (eg., Gmail, Yahoo) deleting an email in Apple Mail that came from that server,. will also delete the email on the server. And, to the contrary, deleting an email in Apple Mail that came from a POP server (eg., internet service provider) will not delete the email on the server.


I hope this is correct.


Thank you, much.


Jay

Deleting Mail from Servers

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