How I Send is a setting that controls where your device stores copies of messages you've sent
How I Send is a feature in Apple Mail that lets you choose whether sent messages stay only on your device, only on Apple's servers, or in both places. The choice you make affects whether you can read your own sent messages from different devices — and how much of your message history Apple stores.
When you send an email through Apple Mail, your device creates a copy of that message. The question "how I send" answers is: where does that copy live? If you choose "On My Mac" or "On My iPhone," the copy stays local. If you choose a cloud option like iCloud, the copy goes to Apple's servers. This matters because it changes what you can access later and what data Apple holds.
Key Takeaways
- How I Send determines whether your sent messages are stored only on your device, only in the cloud, or in both places.
- Keeping sent messages local means Apple does not store them on its servers, but you cannot read them from other devices.
- Storing sent messages in iCloud lets you access them from any Apple device, but Apple keeps a copy of every message you send.
- The setting applies only to messages you send, not messages you receive — your inbox follows a separate storage rule.
The difference between local and cloud storage for sent mail
If you select "On My Mac" or "On My iPhone," your sent messages stay only on that device. Apple does not receive a copy. This means your sent mail history is not backed up to iCloud, and you cannot read those messages from your iPad or another computer. But it also means Apple has no record of what you sent.
If you select an iCloud option, Apple stores your sent messages on its servers. You can then read those messages from any device where you sign in with the same Apple ID. The trade-off is that Apple now holds copies of every message you send — which means those messages could theoretically be accessed by Apple employees, law enforcement with a warrant, or a hacker who breaks into your iCloud account.
Neither choice is inherently wrong. The right choice depends on whether you value device-to-device access more than keeping your sent mail off Apple's servers.
Where to find and change the How I Send setting
On a Mac, open Apple Mail and go to Mail > Settings > Accounts. Select your email account on the left, then click the Mailbox Locations tab. You will see a dropdown for "Sent Mailbox" — that is where you choose how sent messages are stored.
On an iPhone or iPad, the setting is less visible. Go to Settings > Mail > Accounts, tap your email account, then tap Account. Scroll to Mailbox Behaviors and look for the sent mail location. The exact wording and location vary depending on your iOS version and whether you are using iCloud Mail or another email provider.
If you use a non-Apple email account (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo), your email provider may override this setting. Gmail, for example, stores sent messages on Google's servers regardless of what you choose in Apple Mail — that is part of how Gmail works.
What happens to old sent messages if you change the setting
If you switch from local storage to iCloud storage, messages you already sent and kept locally will not automatically move to iCloud. They stay on the device where you sent them. Only new messages sent after you change the setting will follow the new rule.
If you want to move old sent messages to iCloud, you have to manually drag them from your local Sent folder to your iCloud Sent folder in Mail. This is a one-time task and can take a while if you have years of messages.
Switching from iCloud to local storage works the same way — new messages go local, old ones stay in iCloud unless you move them manually.
How How I Send relates to your email backup and recovery
If your device is stolen or breaks, and you chose local storage for sent mail, those sent messages are gone unless you have a separate backup. iCloud backups do not include your Mail data — you have to turn on iCloud Mail specifically to back up your messages. If you chose iCloud storage for sent mail, those messages are already on Apple's servers and will appear on any new device you sign into.
This is why some people use local storage: they want to control their own backups and not rely on iCloud. Others use iCloud storage specifically because it acts as an automatic backup. There is no universal right answer — it depends on your backup habits and your comfort with cloud storage.
How I Send is different from how you receive mail
Your choice for sent mail does not affect where your incoming messages are stored. If you use iCloud Mail, your inbox lives in iCloud whether you choose local or cloud storage for sent messages. If you use Gmail through Apple Mail, your inbox stays on Google's servers.
This separation exists because sent mail is something you control — you decide whether to keep it. Received mail comes from other people, and your email provider typically stores it on their servers by default. The How I Send setting only gives you a choice about your own outgoing messages.
Frequently Asked Questions
If I choose local storage, can I still send emails from my iPhone?
Yes. Local storage only affects where copies of sent messages are saved, not your ability to send. You can send emails normally from any device. The difference is that after you send, the copy stays only on that device instead of syncing to iCloud.
Will my email provider see my sent messages no matter what I choose?
Yes. Your email provider (Apple, Google, Microsoft) always sees messages you send because they pass through their servers to reach the recipient. The How I Send setting only controls whether Apple keeps an additional copy on iCloud. It does not hide your messages from your email provider.
Does How I Send affect whether other people can see my sent messages?
No. The recipient always receives your message the same way. How I Send only controls your own copy. The person you emailed cannot tell whether you stored it locally or in the cloud.
What if I use the same Apple ID on multiple devices but choose local storage?
Your sent messages will not sync between devices. A message you send on your Mac will appear in the Sent folder on your Mac only. You will not see it in the Sent folder on your iPhone unless you manually move it to iCloud or use a different email setup.
Can I use different How I Send settings for different email accounts?
Yes. If you have multiple email accounts set up in Apple Mail, you can choose a different storage location for sent mail in each account. One account can use iCloud storage while another uses local storage.