Configure automatic email expiration

What is email expiration?

Email expiration allows you to set a time limit during which recipients can access your emails. Once this time has elapsed, the e-mail becomes inaccessible, helping to reduce digital clutter and carbon footprint.

Currently, most e-mail providers (Gmail, Outlook, etc.) do not automatically delete expired e-mails. By adding expiration metadata to your messages, you contribute to the emergence of a standard that encourages email providers to implement this functionality.

Why use email expiration?

Reduce your impact on the environment by limiting unnecessary email storage.
Improve data confidentiality and security for time-sensitive information.
Improve the lifecycle management of your communications
Demonstrate your commitment to corporate social responsibility

Prerequisites

Before using the e-mail expiration function, please ensure that you have the following prerequisites:

Access to One-Shot or Automation campaigns in Splio
A campaign with the selected email channel

How to set an expiration date for your e-mails?

Step-by-step instructions

Access your One-Shot or Automation campaign creation tool.
Select the “Email” channel.
Navigate to the “Action settings” tab.
Look for the option: “Configure automatic email expiration to reduce your carbon footprint”.
Set the desired expiration period (up to 365 days).
Save your settings
Continue configuring your campaign as usual.

How does it work?

When you set an expiration date :

Your email is sent to recipients as usual
Splio adds an “Expires” header to the email with the date you specify.
Once this date has been reached, the e-mail becomes inaccessible.
The date is based on when the recipient receives the e-mail.

Use cases

Limited-time promotions

For limited-time sales and offers that are only valid for a certain period.

Example: Set a 7-day expiration for your seasonal sale ad.

Event invitations

For events with a specific date, for which the invitation loses its relevance afterwards.

Example: Send an invitation to a webinar that expires the day after the event.

Sensitive information

For e-mails containing confidential data or temporary access identifiers.

Example: Send a password reset link that expires after 24 hours for security reasons.

Regular newsletters

For recurring communications that become obsolete after a certain period.

Example: Set your monthly newsletter to expire after 60 days to reduce the impact on long-term storage.

Best practices

Choose an expiration date that matches the relevance of your content (shorter for urgent offers, longer for reference material).
Inform recipients in the body of the message that the content will expire on a specific date.
Test the feature by sending yourself a sample email before using it in your campaigns.
Use this feature to highlight your environmental initiatives to your customers.
Consider analyzing your email engagement metrics to determine optimal expiration periods (most engagement occurs within the first few days).

Frequently asked questions

Will the expiration date be visible to my recipients?

No, the expiration date is added to the e-mail's metadata (headers) and is generally not displayed in the recipient's e-mail client interface.

Can I set a default expiry date for all my e-mails?

Currently, expiration dates must be set individually for each campaign.

Do e-mails really disappear from recipients' inboxes?

This depends on the recipient's e-mail provider. Currently, most providers don't automatically enforce e-mail expiration, but by including this metadata, you're helping to encourage adoption of this standard. As more companies implement this feature, email service providers may begin to recognize these expiration dates and take them into account.

Can I set an expiry date longer than 365 days?

No, the maximum expiration period is currently 365 days. This limitation is intended to encourage responsible e-mail practices and reduce unnecessary long-term storage.

How can I check that the expiration date has been set correctly?

Expiration metadata is added to all e-mail messages, but its application depends on the recipient's e-mail client. This feature is part of a wider industry movement to encourage email providers to support expiration dates.

Go further

To learn more about email expiration and its environmental impact, check out these resources:

Did you know? Over 5% of emails at Orange already contain expiration dates. By using this feature, you're joining a growing movement towards more environmentally responsible digital communication practices.