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Asked: 2026-06-13T11:22:25+00:00

Possible Duplicate: Putting E-mail into sent folder after PHP mail function I’ve tried sending

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Possible Duplicate:
Putting E-mail into “sent” folder after PHP mail function

I’ve tried sending a few emails to test the php mail() function and it seems like in gmail the emails show up in the sent folder but in other email clients they do not. If I were to send and email from an account like steve.jobs@apple.com to myself, would it be shown in that email’s sent folder? Not that I want to do that, but I am just curious.

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  1. Editorial Team

    This is based on your email provider.

    For most email providers, the email will not show up in a “sent items” folder. The email is sent directly using SMTP, where there is no concept of folders. When a client keeps a copy in a “sent items” folder, this is a feature of the client only.

    Typical SMTP workflow (very high level):

    > compose message -> "send" (local client may save a copy)
> sendmail(login-info, recip, content) -> SMTP server
> internet magic happens here (email routing) >
> destination server -> POP3/IMAP/web -> recipient's mailbox

    Gmail is a bit different… Since they have implemented their own SMTP server, they capture all messages passing through the relay using your account credentials and keep a copy. It’s a bit of a unique feature to them. Note that this will only show in your Gmail sent items when connecting using IMAP of the browser interface. If you use a client to access your email, it will not show in the local “sent items” folder.

    Gmail-style message workflow (note the only difference at Gmail’s server):

    > compose message -> "send" (local client may save a copy)
> sendmail(login-info, recip, content) -> SMTP server (Gmail server saves a copy)
> internet magic happens here (email routing) >
> destination server -> POP3/IMAP/web -> recipient's mailbox

    Even for the case of Gmail above, you would not be accessing someone else’s “sent items” folder. Because you provide your login credentials to send email, it will end up in your account’s sent items. Now, if you happen to gain access to another’s email credentials for sending emails, that’s a different story (and problem for the other person)…

    If you have access to an email relay, give it a shot and see what happens. Try sending an email to yourself as “Bill Gates” or another interesting alias. If you manage to get the email through, check out the raw headers at the recipient and see what information shows up.

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