Retrieving old email

[Nicastro]

I accidentally emptied my Trash folder on or about 30 days ago and need to recover an important email. Is there any way to restore my mailbox from a recent server backup?" Or any other way of getting access back to that email. I understand that as an ISP Talk Talk must retain data for at least 1 year.

[Mandisa-TT]

Hi @Nicastro,
 

Thank you for getting in touch.
 

I’m really sorry, but once emails have been deleted from the Trash folder in TalkTalk Webmail, they can’t be recovered. Our system doesn’t retain backups of individual customer mailboxes, so we’re unable to restore emails that have been permanently deleted.
 

The data retention obligations you mentioned apply to network and traffic data, not to the content of personal emails. As a result, deleted mailbox content isn’t stored or recoverable by TalkTalk.
 

If you still have access to any devices where the account was set up using a mail client (such as Outlook, Apple Mail, or Thunderbird), it may be worth checking whether a local copy of the email was downloaded before deletion.

[Mandisa-TT]

Thank you so much @Gliwmaeden2 

[Gliwmaeden2]

No, the email server does not hang onto junk mail for you, @Nicastro.

Storing personal data for a year is a completely separate concept. 

Sadly, if you have not backed up emails yourself, once they are emptied from your Talktalk webmail, they are gone for good.