diff --git a/chatmaild/src/chatmaild/ini/chatmail.ini.f b/chatmaild/src/chatmaild/ini/chatmail.ini.f
index 5ea5aa70..b419f236 100644
--- a/chatmaild/src/chatmaild/ini/chatmail.ini.f
+++ b/chatmaild/src/chatmaild/ini/chatmail.ini.f
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ max_user_send_per_minute = 60
 max_mailbox_size = 100M
 
 # days after which mails are unconditionally deleted
-delete_mails_after = 40
+delete_mails_after = 20
 
 # minimum length a username must have
 username_min_length = 9