# How to delete a Bounce-back email or a failed email address? {% embed url="" %} **Bounce-back emails** are messages returned to the sender because they couldn’t be delivered to the recipient's email address. This could happen due to various reasons, such as: * **Invalid Email Address**: The recipient's email address doesn’t exist. * **Mailbox Full**: The recipient’s inbox is full and cannot accept new emails. * **Server Issues**: The recipient’s email server is temporarily unavailable or rejecting the message. * **Spam Filters**: The email is flagged as spam and rejected. The following steps will lead you on how to delete the bounce-backed emails. **Step 1: Creating the List in the Audience Section**\ ​\ Navigate to the Retainful Dashboard, go to **Audience > List Section**, and click **Create a List** to set up a new audience list.

Creating the List in the Audience Section

**Step 2: After creating a list, click on "Add By Condition."** Go to **Add Contacts**, then select **Add by Condition** to filter and add contacts based on specific criteria.

Add By Condition

​**Step 3: Selecting a group of 'Email Campaign Properties'** Click **Add Condition Group**, choose **Select Group**, and set the criteria under **Email Campaign Properties**.

Email Campaign Properties

**Step 4: Adding the Rule for Email Campaign Properties**\ ​\ Click **Add Rule**, select **Campaign Email Status**, set it to **is Failed**, and specify **is in the Last 365 days** to filter failed emails within the past year.

Adding Rule

**Step 5: Selecting the Bounced or Failed Emails**\ ​\ Click **View Matched Contact** to see the list of contacts that meet the specified conditions.

View Matched Contacts

Select all **'X' contacts** that match the failed email campaign criteria and add them to your list.

Adding all Contacts

All the contacts matching the specified criteria will be displayed.

All the contacts will be Displayed Here

**Step 6: Deleting the Bounced or Failed Emails in the List**\ ​\ Navigate to the **Audience** section and select **Bulk Delete** to remove multiple contacts at once.

Bulk Delete

Select the list to delete that you have created before, which has the list of failed contacts or bouncing email addresses.

Select the List Delete

Click the **Delete All** option to remove all the selected contacts permanently.

All the Contacts will be Deleted

The same process applies when you want to remove bounce-back emails and failed email addresses in **automation** **properties** {% hint style="info" %} **Need More Help in setting up Retainful?**
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