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Problem with incoming emails being automatically set to read since 91.4.1 upgrade

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  • Last reply by chrisw4

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Since Thunderbird upgraded to V91.4.1, I've started having a problem where some (but not all) incoming emails are automatically being set to read as soon as they're received. There's no pattern to the problem and it doesn't seem to matter whether the emails are filtered into another folder or remain in the main Inbox. It's a major irritation as it means that I'm unaware that the emails have arrived until I look in whatever folder they've been filtered into. I'm not aware of any setting that might cause this to happen but, even if there is one, I don't know why it would apply to some emails and not others.

As I've said it doesn't happen with all incoming emails, but the problem seems to be worsening so I'd be grateful for any assistance please.

Since Thunderbird upgraded to V91.4.1, I've started having a problem where some (but not all) incoming emails are automatically being set to read as soon as they're received. There's no pattern to the problem and it doesn't seem to matter whether the emails are filtered into another folder or remain in the main Inbox. It's a major irritation as it means that I'm unaware that the emails have arrived until I look in whatever folder they've been filtered into. I'm not aware of any setting that might cause this to happen but, even if there is one, I don't know why it would apply to some emails and not others. As I've said it doesn't happen with all incoming emails, but the problem seems to be worsening so I'd be grateful for any assistance please.

Chosen solution

The problem with Bitdefender has been frequently recognized: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1347591

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All Replies (7)

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Do you ever read emails on a different device eg: laptop, desktop, phone etc If yes, an imap account would recognise you had already read them on a different device because they would be marked as read on the server.

If you have created a Message Filter - check it does not have the mark as read as an action.

Have you ever used another email client eg: Outlook ? If yes, then it is still possible it is working in the background.

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Using Bitdefender? It had the issue of marking messages as read due to its anti-spam option.

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Toad-Hall said

Do you ever read emails on a different device eg: laptop, desktop, phone etc If yes, an imap account would recognise you had already read them on a different device because they would be marked as read on the server. If you have created a Message Filter - check it does not have the mark as read as an action. Have you ever used another email client eg: Outlook ? If yes, then it is still possible it is working in the background.

Many thanks for your suggestions, Toad-Hall. Just to answer your points:

1) I only read emails on a single device (my desktop PC)

2) I'll double-check this, but I've been using filters ever since I first installed Thunderbird in August 2020 yet this problem has only started happening recently. It also happens for some unfiltered messages that remain in my Inbox.

3) I don't use any other email client.

Thanks again for your ideas :)

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sfhowes said

Using Bitdefender? It had the issue of marking messages as read due to its anti-spam option.

Hi sfhowes, that's an interesting thought because I do use Bitdefender. I can't see where in the Bitdefender AntiSpam settings you can tell it whether or not to mark messages as read, but I've disabled the AntiSpam feature entirely for the moment as an experiment.

Many thanks for the suggestion :)

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Chosen Solution

The problem with Bitdefender has been frequently recognized: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1347591

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sfhowes said

The problem with Bitdefender has been frequently recognized: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1347591

Thank you for the link, it certainly looks like the interface between the two programs is the cause of my problem. I've disabled Bitdefender AntiSpam entirely for now and will monitor what happens in Thunderbird.

Many thanks for your help.

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Disabling the Bitdefender AntiSpam has resolved my problem. Many thanks to sfhowes for pointing me in the right direction.