Gmail Cached Email Database

Location

Description

SQLite databases maintained by the Gmail application for offline email caching. The primary database files (named by account email hash) contain cached email messages with subject lines, sender and recipient addresses, timestamps, message body snippets, label assignments, attachment metadata, and conversation thread groupings. Separate databases may exist for each configured Google account.

Forensic Value

Cached Gmail databases provide access to email content that may be critical to an investigation without requiring a warrant for cloud-stored email. The locally cached emails include messages that may have been subsequently deleted from the server, as the local cache is not always immediately synchronized with server-side deletions. Email metadata including sender addresses, recipients, timestamps, and subject lines establishes communication patterns. Attachment metadata reveals files that were shared via email. The label and read status fields indicate user interaction with specific messages. Search queries cached by the app may also reveal topics the user investigated within their email.

Tools Required