Clean up your mailbox automatically (empty trash and spam)

What this tool does

With Mailbox Cleanup, the server empties selected folders of your mailboxes automatically. Messages older than the number of days you choose are deleted permanently once per night. This happens on the server, so it works no matter which program you use to read your e-mail (Outlook, Apple Mail, webmail or your phone).

Typical uses: empty the trash after 30 days, keep the spam folder small, or clean up a newsletter folder regularly.

Note: the screenshots show the German interface. The buttons are in the same places in every language.

How to set up a rule

1. Log in to your hosting control panel (Plesk): how to log in
2. Open the Mail tab of your domain and click Mailbox Cleanup (the item also appears in the menu on the left)
3. Choose the mailbox, the folder (trash, spam or a custom folder) and the number of days
4. Click Save rule

The first cleanup run happens during the night after saving. In the rule list you can then see for each rule when it last ran and how many messages were deleted.

Cleaning up custom folders

Besides trash and spam, you can also have any folder of your own cleaned up, for example a newsletter folder. Select Custom folder and enter the name exactly as it appears in your mail program or webmail, for example Newsletter or Archive/2020.

Good to know

• Deletion is permanent. Messages removed by a cleanup run cannot be restored.
• The minimum period is 7 days, so nothing disappears too early by accident.
• Trash and spam cover all common folder names (Trash, Deleted Items, Junk E-Mail and more), including subfolders.
• What counts is the moment a message was placed in the folder. With a 30-day rule, a message you delete today therefore stays in the trash for another 30 days.
• If you delete a mailbox, its rule disappears automatically. If a custom folder does not exist, nothing is deleted and the rule is deactivated after 30 days.
• Rules can be switched off or removed at any time without deleting anything.

Who can use it?

Mailbox Cleanup is available on all FireStorm Linux hosting plans at no extra charge. Customers with their own Plesk root server can obtain the extension from our support team.