How to Recover Deleted Emails from Gmail, Outlook, Hotmail

Delete or recover deleted Gmail messages

When you delete a message, it stays in your Trash for 30 days. After that time, it will be permanently deleted from your account and can't be recovered.

Delete messages

When you delete a message, it stays in your Trash for 30 days. After that time, it will be permanently deleted. If you want to remove a message from your inbox but you don't want to delete it, you canĀ archive the message.

Undelete messages

You can move messages out of your Trash if you deleted them in the last 30 days.



Restore deleted email messages in Outlook.com

When you accidentally delete an email message from your Outlook.com email, you can recover those items if they're still in your Deleted Items or Junk Email folder, and in some cases you can even recover items after the Deleted Items folder is emptied.

Notes:Ā 

  • Email is automatically deleted from your Deleted Items folder after 30 days.

  • Items removed from your Deleted Items folder are recoverable for 30 days.

  • Email is automatically deleted from the Junk Email folder after 10 days.

  • If you don't see the deleted messages you want to recover, they have probably been permanently removed from the Deleted Items folder or Junk EmailĀ folder. We don't recommend that you use either of these folders to store your messages. If you want to store your messages in folders other than your Inbox, seeĀ Working with message folders.

  • It's not possible to recover messages deleted from children's accounts. This way, parents can be confident that when they delete messages from their children's accounts, they stay deleted.

  • You must use your Outlook.com account to keep it active. This means you must sign in to your Outlook.com inbox at least once in a one-year period, otherwise we will close your Outlook.com inbox for you and all email will be deleted. You must sign in at least once in a five-year period to keep your Microsoft account and associated Services active. If you donā€™t sign in during this time, we'll assume your Microsoft account is inactive and will close it for you.Ā Read more.

Recover email thatā€™s still in your Deleted Items or Junk Email folder
Recover email thatā€™s been removed from your Deleted Items folder
Stop Outlook.com from emptying your Deleted Items folder each time you sign out

When you have accidentally deleted an important email, there's still theĀ DeletedĀ folder, right? What, though, when there is not ā€” not a trace of that message left in the trash?

Then there's the safety net.Ā Windows Live HotmailĀ keeps messages for a few days even after they have been purged from theĀ DeletedĀ folder. You can restore these backup copies to the trash and undelete mail believed gone in a very simple process.

Microsoft no longer offers Windows Live Mail or Hotmail and has moved all of its email services, including Microsoft 365, Hotmail, Live Mail, MSN Mail, to Outlook.com. These instructions apply to Windows Live, Hotmail, and other email accounts on Outlook.com.

Recover Deleted Hotmail Messages

When you delete an email message from your Outlook.com email, you can quickly recover it if it still in your Deleted Items folder.

  1. Go toĀ Outlook.comĀ and log in to your Live, Hotmail, or other Microsoft email account.

  2. Select theĀ Deleted ItemsĀ folder in the left pane.

    Screenshot of Deleted Items folder
  3. Select the message you want to recover. To recover all messages, select the circle next toĀ Deleted Items.

  4. SelectĀ RestoreĀ at the top of the Deleted Items folder.

    Screenshot of Restore in Deleted Items