"Remove copy from server after retrieving a message" along with "When moved from Inbox" has a bug

Book_comp wrote:

This question pertains to Apple Mail on my MacBook Pro with macOS Ventura 13.4.1. My Xfinity email is hooked up to Apple Mail as a POP account. When I activate "Remove copy from server after retrieving a message"

Regardless of any other settings, that will remove the message from the server completely once it is downloaded to your mail client. That's how POP3 works. The setting for "When moved from Inbox" is no longer relevant as it's already been removed from the server.

For years I have used POP in Mac mail and it has acted properly. That is, when you *move* a message from the inbox, it then deletes the message from the server. But the mere act of downloading the mail now deletes the message from the server.

If you check the "Remove copy from server after retrieving a message:" you get a dropdown menu with choices like "When moved from inbox" or "After one week." These choices functioned perfectly well up until High Sierra.

Under Ventura, checking the "Remove copy from server after retrieving message:" no matter what action or time frame you select has a BUG. If you check that box it functions as if you've clicked "Remove now."

Like others have said POP email is designed to keep a copy on server and once a user removes that email is gone server! Your confusing POP email and IMAP email! IMAP keeps a copy unless the user deletes the email!