The same email often lands in more than one mailbox at the same time: several people in To, someone in cc, a shared mailbox, or a distribution list. Until now, Paperbox created a separate task for each copy — resulting in duplicate dossiers and double work.
From now on, Paperbox automatically recognises that it's the same email and lets only one copy flow through.
How does Paperbox recognise a duplicate?
Recognition is based on the email's unique technical message-ID, and — when in doubt — on the content and attachments themselves. This way we're certain it really is the same email.
Which copy is kept?
Paperbox picks one "winner" using two simple rules:
"To" takes priority over "cc". If someone is directly in the To field, that copy wins.
Several recipients in "To"? Then the copy that arrives first wins.
What happens to the other copies?
The duplicate copies are not lost and don't linger in your mailbox. They are moved to the bounce folder in Outlook and tagged with a label marking them as a duplicate, so every mailbox stays clean and easy to scan.
How to switch it on
Deduplication is set per mailbox, via the Deduplicate emails toggle (Settings → Mailboxes → Edit connected mailboxes).
⚠️ Important: deduplication only works between mailboxes where the toggle is enabled on both (all) mailboxes involved. If an email arrives in mailbox A and is cc'd to mailbox B, but the toggle is on for A only, the email will not be deduplicated. Enable it explicitly on every mailbox you want to include.
Good to know
Because the task in Brio is assigned to the manager of the dossier (not to the individual recipient), it is completely risk-free that only one copy flows through — the email is picked up regardless of which copy "won".
FAQ
I enabled the toggle on only one mailbox. Will the email still be deduplicated? No. The Deduplicate emails toggle must be enabled on both (all) mailboxes involved, explicitly. If it's on for only one, both copies will still create a task.
What happens to the duplicate copies in my mailbox? They are moved to the bounce folder in Outlook and given a label indicating they are a duplicate. Nothing stays behind in your inbox.
How does Paperbox know two emails are the same? First by the unique technical message-ID. When that's not conclusive, by the content and attachments themselves.
Which copy becomes the task? The one in To wins over a copy in cc. Among several To recipients, the copy that arrives first wins.
Is it safe that only one task is created? Yes. The Brio task goes to the dossier manager, not the individual recipient, so the email is always picked up.