SmarterMail Email Retention Policy

Prepared by: Craig Edmonds of JUCRA Digital SL.
Last Updated: 12th March 2026

Table of Contents

1. Purpose of This Policy
2. Platform Covered
3. Definition of Email Retention
4. Standard Mailbox Retention
5. Deleted Email Retention
6. Mailbox Storage Limits
7. Backup Retention
8. Legal Retention Requirements
9. Email Archiving
10. Customer Responsibility
11. Important Notes
12. Summary

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 ensures 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:

• active mailbox storage
• deleted item recovery
• backup retention
• archival storage

4. Standard Mailbox Retention

Emails stored in a customer's mailbox remain available indefinitely provided:

• the mailbox remains active
• the mailbox has sufficient storage capacity available
• the messages are not manually deleted

JUCRA does not automatically remove messages from customer mailboxes unless mailbox limits are exceeded or retention policies are specifically configured.

5. Deleted Email Retention

When an email message is deleted by a user, it normally moves to the mailbox Trash / Deleted Items folder.

Messages in the deleted items folder remain available until:

• the user permanently deletes them
• the folder is manually emptied
• automatic mailbox cleanup rules remove them

Once permanently deleted, the email message will only be recoverable through the backup system if it still falls within the backup retention period.

6. Mailbox Storage Limits

JUCRA SmarterMail hosting plans support large mailbox sizes of up to 100GB per mailbox, depending on the customer plan.

If a mailbox reaches its storage quota:

• new messages may be rejected
• email delivery may fail
• the mailbox owner must delete messages or increase storage

JUCRA does not automatically delete messages to free mailbox space.

7. Backup Retention

Separate from mailbox retention, JUCRA maintains a structured backup system for SmarterMail accounts.

Backup retention currently follows this structure:

• Days 1–7: Hetzner hot storage backups
• Days 8–90: Amazon S3 and Amazon cold storage

This means deleted messages may still be recoverable for up to 90 days depending on when the deletion occurred.

Full details of the backup system are documented in the SmarterMail Email Backup Policy.

8. Legal Retention Requirements

Some organisations are required by law or regulation to retain email communications for defined periods.

JUCRA's standard mailbox service does not automatically enforce regulatory retention policies.

Customers who require compliance-based retention should consider implementing an 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 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

Email archiving policies may be documented separately.

10. Customer Responsibility

Customers remain responsible for managing their mailbox content and ensuring that 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 long-term record keeping system.

11. Important Notes

• Mailbox messages remain stored until deleted or the mailbox is removed
• Deleted messages may be 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

JUCRA SmarterMail hosting retains email messages in customer mailboxes until they are manually deleted or the mailbox is closed.

Deleted emails may remain recoverable through the backup system for up to 90 days. Customers requiring longer-term retention for legal or compliance purposes should implement a dedicated email archiving solution.