Deleted emails safe?

[Forester123]

Many emails I receive may contain private and confidential information which I would not want divulged to all and sundry particular the cyber criminals out there. So if I Bin them and then delete them from the Bin where do they go and can I be sure no-one can ever see their contents? In other words is it safe to bin confidential emails?

[gg30340]

If the emails are in the Trash folder you can select them and restore them to the folder you deleted them from.

If you have emptied the Trash folder it means they have been deleted from the BT server and can not be recovered.

In effect it is safer to bin them if they are no longer needed than to keep them on your device which could be hacked or stolen and your email account accessed by a hacker.

[Forester123]

So would you hazard a risk factor on the chances of a cyber criminal seeing the contents of my email as it travels towards total oblivion?!

[licquorice]

Given that you have received it, there are only 2 options, keep it or delete it. Not sure of the point of your question.

[Forester123]

The point of my question is to find out whether the contents of a binned email can fall into the hands of some cyber-scrote as it journeys to its final resting place! If it can, then every email user should be worried as there is no way that confidential emails can be certain to stay confidential if they are deleted from email systems (other than NEVER deleting them which has it’s own risks!)

[licquorice]

Exactly my point, there is risk whatever you do. Once you have received the email you are potentially at risk. You have to decide which is the lesser risk. The whole question is academic.

[Forester123]

OK and many thanks. Essentially, the answer to my question then is that anyone binning an email is taking a risk that the info may be compromised. Bet most people think that deleting an Email is totally secure! Would you care to hazard a guess as to whether the risk of compromise is high or low? Just to help me decide!!

[gg30340 · Accepted solution]

I think that you are over thinking this.

Keeping in mind that email is not a particularly secure method for corresponding in the first place.

The chances of your deleted email being intercepted on the BT servers when they are being wiped are in my opinion virtually zero.

The chances of the email that you are wanting to delete when it was first sent to you being intercepted on route to your device is possible though unlikely. Assuming you have no malware on your device and the sender has no malware on their device.

The chances of the email after having been downloaded onto your computer or device being intercepted or read by an unauthorised person depends on you and what security you have in place to stop that happening.

The chances of your device being stolen and the thief accessing your email account and its contents depend on what security you have in place to a) prevent the device being stolen and b) what security you have on the device to prevent it being opened and its contents made available.

All of the above also applies to the person who sent you the email. They could still have a copy on their devices and it is just as susceptible to being hacked etc as yours depending on what precautions they have taken.

[Forester123]

Thank you very much for giving me the benefit of your wisdom on this; I have little computer experience myself. Fact is that I have had a bit of a panic attack after binning a few confidential emails and now you have put my mind at rest, so thanks to you both.