---
title: Archival email
description: Long-term, searchable archive of your mailbox content, separate from the live mailbox.
sidebar:
  order: 3
---

import PaidAddon from '~/content/partials/paid-addon-callout.mdx';
import Support from '~/content/partials/support-link.mdx';

<PaidAddon />

## What it does

Archival email keeps a long-term, searchable copy of your mail **outside** the live mailbox. It's useful when:

- You need to retain mail beyond your live mailbox's storage cap.
- Compliance or policy requires you keep email long-term.
- You want a recovery option for mail you accidentally delete from the live mailbox.

It's powered by the open-source [Bichon](https://github.com/rustmailer/bichon) archival service.

## How it's different from backups

| | Backups | Archival email |
|---|---|---|
| **Type** | Point-in-time snapshots | Continuous mailbox copy |
| **Granularity** | Restore the whole mailbox to a moment in time | Search and retrieve individual messages |
| **Best for** | Recovering from a known event ("the mailbox was hacked yesterday") | Long-term retention, occasional message lookup |

You can use both — they cover different problems.

## What's included

- **Per-mailbox archive.** Enable on the mailboxes that need it, not the whole account. Your plan has an **archival slots** quota; the Email page shows current usage (e.g. `Archival: 0 of 0 mailboxes archived (no archival slots in your plan)` if you haven't added the add-on yet).
- **Retained for the life of your account.** We keep your archive for as long as you have an active account with us — there's no 14-day limit or fixed expiry window.
- **Self-service restore.** Mail you accidentally delete from the live mailbox stays in the archive, so you can find and recover it yourself without staff help.
- **Independent password reset on the archive.** Grant audit access without disturbing the live mailbox.

## How to enable

From the [client portal](https://secure.anhonesthost.com/clientarea.php), open **Add-ons** under your hosting service and pick Archival email. Billing is per archived mailbox.

## How to use it

The archive is managed alongside your regular mailboxes on the **Email** page in WHP — the **Email Accounts** section shows archive status per mailbox, and the per-mailbox menu lets you search and restore archived mail.

## Related

- [Create an email account](/whp/how-to/create-an-email-account/)
- [Backups](/whp/how-to/backups/)
- [Email upgrades](/whp/add-ons/email-upgrades/)

## Still stuck?

<Support />