What emails are protected from deletion

The full protected list

Clean Email checks every message against this list before it can be deleted. If a message matches any item below, it is skipped, regardless of how old it is or which cleanup option you chose.

• Starred messages
• Messages marked important
• Messages carrying any user-created Gmail label
• Two-way conversations: a thread you've replied to, or that replies to you
• Any message with an attachment of any kind (document, image, PDF, video, audio)
• Sent mail
• Drafts
• Scheduled sends
• Snoozed mail
• Chats
• Senders on your whitelist (exact address or entire @domain)

Does Clean Email delete attachments?

No. Clean Email never deletes attachments on their own.

Instead, a message that carries an attachment of any kind is protected outright and is not deleted at all, unless you explicitly remove that protection yourself.

There is no separate 'remove attachments, keep the email' feature. It's all or nothing: either the whole message stays, or you choose to unprotect it and delete the whole message.

How protection is enforced (double-check)

Protection is checked twice, not once, so it holds even if something unexpected happens along the way.

First, protection rules narrow the Gmail search query up front, so protected mail is excluded from the candidate list before a cleanup even starts.

Second, right before deletion, each message is checked again individually. This second check is the authoritative guard: it catches any edge case where a Gmail search operator behaves unexpectedly, so nothing protected slips through.

How to whitelist a sender

You can add any sender to your protected list before running a cleanup.

Add a single email address to protect only that person or account, or add an entire @domain to protect every address at that domain (for example, every email from your company or your bank).

Whitelisted senders are checked the same way as every other protection rule: once when narrowing the search, and again right before deletion.

What actually gets deleted

Only mail that matches none of the protected criteria is eligible for cleanup.

By default, eligible mail moves to Gmail Trash, where it stays recoverable for 30 days, exactly like any normal Gmail deletion.

Permanent, irreversible deletion is available only as an explicit opt-in you choose yourself; it is never the default.

FAQ

Does Clean Email delete attachments?

No. Clean Email never deletes attachments on their own. A message with any attachment (document, image, PDF, video, or audio) is protected outright and is not deleted at all, unless you explicitly remove that protection.

What emails are safe from deletion in Clean Email?

Starred messages, messages marked important, messages with any user-created Gmail label, two-way conversations you've replied to, any message with an attachment, sent mail, drafts, scheduled sends, snoozed mail, chats, and senders on your whitelist are all safe from deletion.

Will Clean Email delete an email I replied to?

No. Any two-way conversation, meaning a thread you've replied to or that replies to you, is protected and will not be deleted.

How do I stop Clean Email from deleting emails from a specific sender?

Add that sender to your whitelist before running a cleanup. You can whitelist a single exact email address, or an entire @domain to protect every address at that domain.

Is protection checked only once, or could something slip through?

Protection is checked twice. It first narrows the Gmail search query up front, then every message is checked individually again right before deletion. That second check is the authoritative guard, so protection holds even if a search operator behaves unexpectedly.

Are starred or important emails ever deleted by mistake?

No. Starred messages and messages marked important are on the permanent protected list and are excluded from cleanup both when the search query is built and again right before any deletion happens.

Does labeling an email in Gmail protect it from Clean Email?

Yes. Any message carrying a user-created Gmail label is protected and will not be deleted, regardless of its age or content.

What happens to deleted emails, are they gone forever?

By default, no. Deleted mail moves to Gmail Trash and stays recoverable for 30 days, just like a normal Gmail deletion. Permanent deletion only happens if you explicitly opt into it; it is irreversible and is never the default.