What defines "soft deletion" in email management?

Soft deletion in email management refers to the process where emails are moved to a designated trash or deleted items folder instead of being permanently erased from the server. This allows for potential recovery of those emails if needed. When emails are soft deleted, they typically remain on the server and can be restored by the user, providing a safety net against accidental deletions.

This concept is important for managing data retention and ensuring that users have the ability to retrieve important information that may have been deleted inadvertently or mistakenly. In contrast, permanent deletion entails the irreversible removal of emails, while archiving refers to storing emails in a manner that usually restricts user access. Compression is a different process related to optimizing storage space but does not pertain to deletion or restoration of emails.