To the use a mail service like Outlook, regardless of how it is used, It is inevitable to have a surplus of messages, conversations, and items that take up unnecessary space in our inbox.
For these cases, and in order to keep our mail as clear as possible, Outlook allows you to move certain items to a recycle bin, which doubles as a junk folder, where they are stored to be able to retrieve them if necessary.
Next, You will learn step by step everything you need to know about using the Outlook recycle bin on any of your devices. From how to send and retrieve items from and to it, to how to manage the duration of the items stored here.
What is the Outlook Recycle Bin?
The Recycle BinIn its most general concept, it is a folder that is part of the email storage, where the elements that are eliminated from the other folders go.
In the particular case of Outlook, this folder is labeled as “Deleted elements”, and it works by hosting, for a limited period, emails that have been deleted from other locations. Items stored in this location can be reviewed and modified in a similar way to any other inbox folder, so that we may restore them at any time before the removal deadline.
Learn how to access the Outlook recycle bin and recover deleted emails
If for any reason you have accidentally sent an important email to the recycle bin, you will have the possibility of recovering them quickly from the accesses of the Outlook interface. Both from the mobile application and from the web portal, Outlook gives us access to the recycle bin to manage the items located there.
Once inside the location, restoring emails is a very simple procedure:
From the phone
While the mobile application of Outlook has the most basic elements of the mail service, gives us quick access to the deleted items folder from the tool sidebar.
To enter this folder, you just have to follow this procedure:
- Start the application of Outlook.
- Press on the icon located in the upper left corner.
- Choose the icon of the paper bin, described as “Deleted elements”.
- Hold down the item you want to restore to select it.
- Press the three dots icon, located in the upper left corner.
- Select the option “Restore conversation”.
One time completed this process, items stored in this location will be restored to the locations they were previously in, prior to deletion.
From the computer
In the Outlook web app, Access to the deleted items folder can be easily found in the tool sidebar. Thanks to the layout of the Outlook website interface, the procedure is even more straightforward than in the mobile app.
Go for it:
- Login to your Outlook account.
- click about him trash can icon to enter “Deleted elements”.
- Search the email you want to recover and select it marking the circle that you will see to the left of each element.
- click on the button “Restore”, which you will see in the top bar.
Since this process is quite fast, the most recommended option is to carry out this action through the browser when possible, in order to guarantee the efficiency of the process.
How long do emails stay in the trash before being deleted?
Similar to many other mail services, the location of “Deleted elements” Outlook has a timer function that, after a fixed period, will delete the oldest items that are there. The purpose of this tool is to prevent folder saturation, as well as the storage capacity of the mail.
This is done by means of an automatic deletion process in chronological order., which is responsible for deleting the oldest emails as a priority. In the particular case of Outlook, the waiting period before items in the folder are removed is 30 days. At any time before this deadline, they can enter the “Deleted elements” and restore your emails.