This policy explains how long email data is retained within JUCRA’s SmarterMail hosting environment and clarifies how mailbox retention, deleted message recovery, backups, and archiving differ.
SmarterMail Email Retention Policy
Prepared by: Craig Edmonds of JUCRA Digital SL
Last Updated: 12th March 2026
This policy provides transparency regarding how long email data remains available within JUCRA’s SmarterMail hosting platform and what recovery options may exist after deletion.
Important: Email retention, backups, and archiving are three separate concepts and should not be considered interchangeable.
Table of Contents
1. Purpose of This Policy
This document explains how long email data is retained within JUCRA’s email hosting environment powered by SmarterMail.
The policy clarifies:
- How long emails remain stored in mailboxes
- What happens when emails are deleted
- How backup retention works
- What responsibilities customers have regarding email data retention
This policy is intended to provide transparency around email data management and storage practices.
2. Platform Covered
This policy applies to all customer mailboxes hosted on JUCRA’s SmarterMail email hosting platform.
SmarterMail is the core system responsible for mailbox storage, message delivery, and email management for JUCRA email customers.
3. Definition of Email Retention
Email retention refers to how long email messages remain stored and recoverable within a mailbox or backup system.
Email retention may involve multiple layers:
Mailbox Storage
Active email storage inside the mailbox itself.
Deleted Item Recovery
Recovery of deleted messages through backups.
Backups
Disaster recovery and restore protection.
Archiving
Long-term legal or compliance retention.
4. Standard Mailbox Retention
Emails stored inside a customer mailbox remain available indefinitely provided:
- The mailbox remains active
- The mailbox has sufficient available storage
- The messages are not manually deleted
JUCRA does not automatically remove messages from customer mailboxes unless storage limits are exceeded or retention rules are specifically configured.
5. Deleted Email Retention
When a user deletes an email message, it normally moves into the mailbox:
Trash / Deleted Items
Messages remain there until:
- The user permanently deletes them
- The folder is manually emptied
- Automatic cleanup rules remove them
Once permanently deleted, recovery may only be possible through the backup system if the deletion still falls within the backup retention period.
6. Mailbox Storage Limits
JUCRA SmarterMail hosting plans support mailbox sizes of up to 100GB per mailbox, depending on the customer plan.
If a mailbox reaches its quota:
- New messages may be rejected
- Email delivery may fail
- The mailbox owner must delete mail or increase storage
JUCRA does not automatically delete customer messages in order to free mailbox space.
7. Backup Retention
Separate from mailbox retention, JUCRA maintains a structured backup system for SmarterMail accounts.
Days 1–7
Hetzner hot storage backups for rapid restore access.
Days 8–90
Amazon S3 and Amazon cold storage for longer-term recovery.
This means deleted messages may remain recoverable for up to 90 days, depending on when the deletion occurred.
Full backup system details are documented separately within the SmarterMail Email Backup Policy.
8. Legal Retention Requirements
Some organisations are legally required to retain email communications for defined periods.
JUCRA’s standard mailbox hosting service does not automatically enforce regulatory retention policies.
Customers requiring compliance-based retention should implement a dedicated email archiving solution.
9. Email Archiving
Email archiving is a separate service designed for long-term message preservation, legal compliance, or regulatory record keeping.
Unlike backups, which are intended primarily for disaster recovery, email archiving preserves messages in a structured and searchable archive.
Archiving services may include:
- Long-term message retention
- Legal discovery access
- Tamper-resistant storage
- Compliance-focused retention policies
10. Customer Responsibility
Customers remain responsible for managing their mailbox content and ensuring important communications are retained appropriately.
This may include:
- Managing mailbox storage
- Keeping copies of legally required communications
- Implementing archiving where required
Backups should not be relied upon as a permanent record keeping system.
11. Important Notes
- Mailbox messages remain stored until deleted or the mailbox is closed
- Deleted messages may remain recoverable through backups for up to 90 days
- Backups are intended for disaster recovery, not permanent retention
- Email archiving is required for long-term regulatory retention
12. Summary
Mailbox Retention
Messages remain available until manually deleted or the mailbox is closed.
Deleted Message Recovery
Deleted messages may remain recoverable through backups for up to 90 days.
Compliance Retention
Long-term regulatory retention requires a dedicated email archiving solution.