System and method for handling electronic messages

1. A method for disposing of secure messages on a mobile device, comprising:

receiving, at a network device, a message;

determining whether the message is a secure message;

determining whether a message expiry indicator is associated with the message;

automatically setting a message expiry indicator for the message if the message is determined to be a secure message and there is not a message expiry indicator already associated with the message;

receiving at a mobile device the message; and

removing the message from the mobile device if a removal criterion based upon the message expiry indicator is satisfied.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the message is an e-mail message.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein content of the e-mail message is considered to be sensitive, secure or confidential.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein use of the message expiry indicator by the mobile device allows the message, which is considered to be sensitive, secure or confidential, to be properly disposed.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the message's sender chooses that the message expiry indicator is to be associated with the message that is to be sent to one or more recipients.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the message's sender can select which form of message expiry indicator the sender wishes the message to be associated with.

7. The method of claim 6 ,

wherein information contained in the message expiry indicator is encoded in a signed attribute of the secure e-mail message.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the removal criterion is based upon whether the message has been accessed by a user.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the removal criterion is based upon whether the mobile device has received an entire message and whether the entire message has been displayed on the mobile device.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the removal criterion is time-based.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the message expiry indicator contains a timeout notification expiry attribute;

wherein a timer is set for the timeout period specified in the timeout notification expiry attribute;

wherein when the timer expires, the message is automatically removed from the mobile device.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the timer is started after the message is closed or when the message is received.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the message expiry indicator specifies a period of time;

wherein the message is removed after the specified period of time has elapsed relative to when the message is received by the mobile device or relative to when the message is read by a user, whichever comes first.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the message expiry indicator is automatically set for the message before the message is received by the mobile device.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the secure message is a message that is a PGP or an S/MIME message.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network includes a wireless communications network.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mobile device is a wireless mobile communications device.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mobile device is a personal digital assistant (PDA).

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium capable of causing a computing device to perform the method of claim 1 .

20. A system for disposing of secure messages on a mobile device, comprising:

a network device configured to:

receive a message;

determine whether the message is a secure message;

determine whether a message expiry indicator is associated with the message;

automatically set a message expiry indicator for the message if the message is determined to be a secure message and there is not a message expiry indicator already associated with the message; and

a mobile device configured to:

receive the message from the network device; and

remove the message from the mobile device if a removal criterion based upon the message expiry indicator is satisfied.