What is de-threading?

Posted over 2 years ago by Mark Callahan

What is de-threading?


Simply put; de-threading is the process of removing thread data from emails such that you don't need to review the same emails over, and over, and over.


Why is that not deduplication?


Deduplication is the process of removing exact, or near-duplicate documents. De-threading is a somewhat more complex concept, where emails are removed if they also exist as an appendix on the bottom of another email. 



How does it work in Smartbox.ai?


Smartbox uses a unique dethreading system which utilises text-analysis to accurately detect where emails/documents contain text which is the sub-thread in another email/document. Unlike systems based on thread-ID, this means Smartbox:


  • Is reliable across complex tree structures of conversations between more than 2 individuals across multiple mailboxes
  • Supports non-email filetypes (such as where emails have been scanned to PDF)
  • Detects where historical content within threads is modified maliciously or accidentally


Many companies automatically insert disclaimers onto the end of email threads at the point of sending. This modifies the threads, technically invalidating them as a match (smartbox.ai retains all modified threads for completeness in case of tampering). These disclaimers have no special markers to denote to the system or email client that this is added on rather than just part of the email. To work around this, dethreading uses built-in disclaimer detection which will attempt to work around the editing of threads by automatically detecting where and when disclaimers have been added.



*Please note: presently de-threading is only available on English language emails

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