Time-managed electronic mail messages

摘要

Systems, method sand computer program products for facilitating the automatic deletion of received emails after a user-selectable time period has elapsed are disclosed. In various embodiments, email messages contain a header field referred to as an “Expiration Time” header field that dictates the length of time the email will reside in a designated Inbox prior to its automatic deletion by an email server. The server is able to automatically delete the received email as long as the email is residing in a folder that is synched to the server. A user receiving the email has access to the Expiration Time Header field and can modify its value if desired and allowed by the sender. The user can move the retrieved email to a folder that is not synched to the server, thus preventing the email from being automatically deleted by the server.

主权项

1. A computing system having one or more processors and one or more computer storage devices stored thereon multiple instructions executable by the one or more processors to cause the one or more processors to perform a method comprising:
receiving an email from a server, the server having a first copy of the email in a first folder maintained on the server; placing a second copy of the received email in a second folder on the computing system, the second folder being synchronized with the first folder maintained on the server, wherein the received email having an associated value of expiration, the value representing a time period for which the first and second copies of the email are maintained in the first and second folders, respectively, prior to automatic deletion; and automatically deleting the second copy of the email from the second folder on the computing system subsequent to a point in time at which (i) the time period corresponding to the value of expiration has lapsed while (ii) the second copy of the email is still in the second folder on the computing system.