diff --git a/src/compat/isync.1 b/src/compat/isync.1
index 7c176d3..c8ed9f3 100644
--- a/src/compat/isync.1
+++ b/src/compat/isync.1
@@ -220,7 +220,7 @@ This is useful for mailboxes where you keep a complete archive on the server,
 but want to mirror only the last messages (for instance, for mailing lists).
 The messages that were the first to arrive in the mailbox (independently of the
 actual date of the message) will be deleted first.
-Messages that are flagged (marked as important) and recent messages will not be
+Messages that are flagged (marked as important) and unread messages will not be
 automatically deleted.
 If \fIcount\fR is 0, the maximum number of messages is \fBunlimited\fR.
 (Default: 0)
diff --git a/src/sync.c b/src/sync.c
index e7ce2d1..ef43267 100644
--- a/src/sync.c
+++ b/src/sync.c
@@ -1380,7 +1380,7 @@ box_loaded( int sts, void *aux )
 					if (nflags & F_FLAGGED) {
 						/* Flagged messages are always kept. */
 						todel--;
-					} else if ((!(tmsg->status & M_RECENT) || (tmsg->flags & F_SEEN)) &&
+					} else if ((tmsg->flags & F_SEEN) &&
 					         (todel > 0 ||
 					          ((srec->status & (S_EXPIRE|S_EXPIRED)) == (S_EXPIRE|S_EXPIRED)) ||
 					          ((srec->status & (S_EXPIRE|S_EXPIRED)) && (tmsg->flags & F_DELETED)))) {