Folder-based retention policies apply lifecycle rules to entire email folders. This is the most common and straightforward way to manage email retention, perfect for organizing emails by category and applying consistent cleanup rules.
Understanding Folder Policies
Folder policies automatically manage emails based on their location:
Target any folder in your email account
Apply uniform rules to all emails in that folder
Process emails by age since received or since moved to folder
Move to trash first, then permanent deletion later
Creating Folder Policies
Step 1: Access Policy Management
Navigate to Retention → Folder Policies
Click "Create Folder Policy"
Select your email account
Screenshot: Folder policy creation form
Step 2: Choose Target Folder
Select Folder
Choose from dropdown of available folders
Folders are loaded from your IMAP account
Can target any folder except Inbox
Screenshot: Folder selection interface
Common folder targets:
Processed: Emails moved by rules
Junk/Spam: Unwanted emails
Vendor: Commercial emails
Archive: Old emails you've archived
Training Folders: _whitelist, _blacklist, etc.
Step 3: Configure Retention Settings
Retention Period
How long to keep emails in the folder
Options: Days, weeks, months, or years
Calculated from email received date
Trash Retention
How long to keep in trash before permanent deletion
Recommended: 7-30 days
Safety net for accidental deletion
Example Configuration:
Folder: Junk
Retention Period: 7 days
Trash Retention: 7 days
Total Lifecycle: 14 days
Step 4: Policy Options
Advanced Settings:
Skip Recent: Don't process emails newer than X days
Size Threshold: Only process emails larger than X MB
Preserve Flagged: Keep emails marked as important
Include Subfolders: Apply to folder hierarchy
Screenshot: Advanced retention options
Step 5: Activate Policy
Test First (recommended)
Click "Preview" to see what would be affected
Review the list of emails to be processed
Verify the count matches expectations
Enable Policy
Check "Active" to enable
Save the policy
Will execute on next scheduler run
Common Folder Policy Examples
1. Junk Folder Cleanup
Purpose: Quickly remove spam and unwanted emails
Folder: Junk
Retention: 7 days
Trash Retention: 7 days
Skip Recent: 1 day (let spam filters work)
Screenshot: Junk folder policy example
Benefits:
Keeps junk folder small
Prevents false positives from being lost immediately
Maintains email client performance
2. Processed Emails Management
Purpose: Clean up emails that have been processed by rules
Folder: Processed
Retention: 30 days
Trash Retention: 14 days
Preserve Flagged: Yes
Benefits:
Maintains organized processed folder
Keeps important flagged emails
Provides reasonable recovery window
3. Vendor/Marketing Emails
Purpose: Manage newsletters and promotional emails
Folder: Vendor
Retention: 60 days
Trash Retention: 30 days
Size Threshold: 10 MB (large attachments)
Benefits:
Allows time to read newsletters
Removes large promotional attachments quickly
Balances access with storage management
4. Training Folder Cleanup
Purpose: Clean up training folders after processing
Folder: _whitelist, _blacklist, _vendor
Retention: 14 days
Trash Retention: 7 days
Skip Recent: 1 day
Benefits:
Keeps training folders clean
Ensures training emails are processed first
Maintains folder efficiency
5. Archive Folder Management
Purpose: Long-term storage with eventual cleanup
Folder: Archive
Retention: 2 years
Trash Retention: 90 days
Preserve Flagged: Yes
Include Subfolders: Yes
Benefits:
Long-term access to important emails
Eventually cleans up old archives
Preserves specifically flagged items
Advanced Folder Policy Features
Conditional Retention
Set different retention based on email characteristics:
By Size:
Small emails (< 1MB): 60 days
Large emails (> 10MB): 30 days
Helps manage storage efficiently
By Sender:
Whitelist senders: Longer retention
Blacklist senders: Immediate deletion
Unknown senders: Standard retention
By Age:
Recent emails: Full retention
Old emails: Accelerated deletion
Gradual cleanup approach
Folder Hierarchies
Handle complex folder structures:
Include Subfolders:
Apply policy to folder and all subfolders
Useful for project or client folder trees
Maintains consistency across structure
Exclude Patterns:
Skip folders matching patterns
Example: Skip any folder named "Keep"
Provides granular control
Scheduling Options
Control when policies execute:
Execution Frequency:
Daily: Most common
Weekly: For less critical folders
Monthly: For long-term archives
Execution Time:
Off-hours: Avoid peak usage
Staggered: Don't process all folders simultaneously
Coordinated: Process related folders together
Monitoring Folder Policies
Policy Status Dashboard
Track policy performance:
Screenshot: Policy status dashboard
Last Execution: When policy last ran
Emails Processed: Count of emails moved to trash
Storage Recovered: Space freed up
Next Execution: When policy will run next
Execution Logs
Review detailed policy activity:
2024-07-01 02:00:15 - Folder Policy "Junk Cleanup" started
2024-07-01 02:00:16 - Found 127 emails older than 7 days
2024-07-01 02:00:18 - Moved 127 emails to trash
2024-07-01 02:00:19 - Policy completed successfully
Performance Metrics
Monitor policy efficiency:
Execution Time: How long policy takes to run
Email Rate: Emails processed per minute
Error Rate: Percentage of failed operations
Storage Impact: MB freed per execution
Troubleshooting Folder Policies
Common Issues
Policy Not Executing
Check:
[ ] Policy is marked as "Active"
[ ] Scheduler is running
[ ] Account credentials are valid
[ ] Folder still exists
Emails Not Being Processed
Verify:
[ ] Email age calculation is correct
[ ] Folder name matches exactly
[ ] Email hasn't been flagged (if preserve flagged is on)
[ ] Size threshold isn't excluding emails
Performance Problems
Optimize:
Reduce batch size for large folders
Increase execution interval
Process during off-peak hours
Consider folder splitting
Error Recovery
If Policy Fails:
Check error logs for specific issue
Test IMAP connection manually
Verify folder permissions
Try manual execution to isolate problem
If Too Many Emails Deleted:
Check trash folder immediately
Use recovery tools if still available
Restore from backup if necessary
Adjust policy settings to prevent recurrence
Best Practices
Policy Design
Start Conservative
Use longer retention periods initially
Monitor for a few weeks before reducing
Gradually optimize based on actual usage
Layer Policies
Different policies for different email types
Shorter retention for obvious cleanup (junk)
Longer retention for potentially important emails
Test Thoroughly
Always preview before enabling
Test with a few emails first
Monitor initial executions closely
Maintenance
Regular Reviews
Monthly: Check policy effectiveness
Quarterly: Adjust retention periods
Annually: Review overall strategy
Monitor Performance
Watch execution times
Check storage impact
Verify no important emails deleted
Update as Needed
Adjust for changing email patterns
Modify for new folder structures
Update for new requirements
Integration with Other Features
With Processing Rules
Folder policies work alongside processing rules:
Rules organize emails into folders
Policies clean up folders automatically
Combined approach maintains organization and cleanliness
With Manual Archiving
Coordinate with manual processes:
Manual archive to specific folders
Policies clean up archives automatically
Balanced manual control with automation
With Backup Systems
Ensure safety with backups:
Backup before major policy changes
Test recovery procedures
Maintain backup retention longer than email retention
Next Steps
Once you have folder policies working:
Rule-Based Policies - Add retention to specific email processing rules