How to Mass Delete Emails on Gmail – A Helpful Guide
No one likes a cluttered inbox. It makes finding crucial emails difficult, which can have undesirable consequences. So, knowing How to Mass Delete Emails on Gmail allows you to quickly clean your inbox and get it under control.
You can delete emails in bulk by selecting all the emails and hitting the Delete button. If you don’t want to delete unread emails, input ‘is unread’ in the search bar and execute a search. Now you will get only unread messages which you can delete.
Besides this, Gmail has various features to effortlessly perform mass deletion of emails. This post will explain the process of deleting bulk Emails in Gmail.
How to Mass Delete Emails on Gmail on the Web
If you use Gmail on the desktop, follow this process to mass delete emails.
- Sign into your Gmail .
- Check the box present at the top of the inbox. This action will select all the messages on the first page.
- Now, tap the blue text reading ‘Select all (number) messages in inbox’ button option.
- After that, hit ‘Delete.’ It appears like a trash can.
POINT TO NOTE: Instead of clicking ‘Delete’, tap the ‘Archive’ button, which is the folder with a down arrow. It will hide the messages, but you can access them.
How to Mass Delete Emails on Gmail App on Android & iPhone
The Gmail mobile application does not allow users to delete multiple emails at once. But if you want to learn How to Mass Delete Emails on Gmail on iPhone and Android, know that you’ll need to choose specific messages one by one. Follow these pointers:
- Launch Gmail on your phone.
- Go to the inbox folder.
- If the emails you want to delete are present in another folder, navigate to that folder.
- Now, touch the thumbnail on the left part of every message you wish to remove.
- Hit the ‘Trash’ icon.
- This will move the deleted messages to the ‘Bin’ folder.
- Now, empty the bin folder. Otherwise, it will occupy the storage space.
On iPhone, you can utilize the ‘Swipe’ option for quickly deleting single messages. Follow these pointers to delete multiple emails on your iPhone.
- On Gmail, tap the three lines ‘Settings’ icon.
- Now, tap ‘Inbox customizations.’
- Choose ‘Email swipe actions.’
- Choose a direction to remove emails. It can be the right or left side.
- Choose ‘Bin’ from the list that shows.
- Tap ‘Done’ and navigate to your inbox.
- Now, whenever you swipe in the direction you choose, it will shift the messages to the trash folder.
NOTE: The swipe option in the Android phone can be found in the ‘Settings’ section. Go to general settings and select ‘Mail swipe actions.’
Now you know How to Mass Delete Emails on Gmail App. You can do so either by selecting individual messages and moving them to the trash or by using the swipe option.
Also Read: – How to Retrieve Old Emails on Gmail
How to Mass Delete Particular Categories of Emails on Gmail
Often, you may not need to delete all emails on Gmail. In this case, you can delete specific types of emails.
Delete emails by categories
- In Gmail, tap ‘Categories’ on the left sidebar.
- Choose a particular category. For example, choose ‘Social’ or ‘Promotions’ that you want to delete.
- Check the box above your inbox.
- Tap the text: ‘Select all X conversations…’
- Finally, tap ‘Archive’ or ‘Delete.’
Delete emails later than a specific date
Here’s How to Mass Delete Emails on Gmail older than a certain date.
- In your Gmail inbox, input ‘before your date’ in the search bar.
- Now hit Enter.
- Tap the checkbox at the top.
- Tap the ‘Select all messages that match this search’ option.
- Now hit the Trash bin icon to remove these emails.
Delete emails from specific labels.
- On the lower part of the sidebar, tap ‘Labels.’
- Choose the label whose emails you want to delete.
- Tap the box on the inbox’s top part.
- Now, tap the text reading ‘Select all X conversations…’
- Finally, tap ‘Archive’ or ‘Delete.’
Delete emails by sender.
- Log into your Gmail inbox.
- Type the email address of the sender or their name into the search section.
- Hit Enter.
- Hit the top checkbox and tap ‘Select all conversations that match this search.’
- Now, click the trash bin icon.
Delete emails by size.
Often, huge emails take up storage space quickly. So, it is important to know How to Mass Delete Emails on Gmail by size.
- In your inbox, navigate to the search bar.
- Now, type ‘larger:4M.’ Do not use any quotes.
- This action will search emails greater than 4MB. You may change this number.
- You will see messages that correspond to this size. Choose the messages.
- You can also tap the checkbox beside every message to select it separately.
- Otherwise, tap the top checkbox to choose all messages.
- Hit the trash bin icon so they go to the trash section.
How to Delete Archived Gmail Emails
Many people archive messages in Gmail. But this does not clear up the inbox storage. So, deleting these emails is crucial.
- Firstly, retrieve your archived messages by tapping the ‘All Mail’ folder.
- In this folder, you will see every message present in your Gmail account. This includes the archived emails.
- You cannot sort out non-archived emails.
- Remember that archived messages do not have the ‘Inbox’ label.
- When you choose them, the archive icon (a box with a down arrow) greys out.
- Check the boxes of these archived emails and hit ‘Delete.
Summing up
Now you know exactly How to Mass Delete Emails on Gmail. Use the bulk deleting action according to your needs to remove all unnecessary messages. Mass deleting emails is particularly important when your storage space is very low. If you face any issues or feel confused, contact an email technical expert.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How do I mass delete emails in Gmail on my iPhone?
A. Go to the Gmail app’s inbox on your phone and touch the thumbnail to the left of every message you wish to clear. Touch the Trash bin icon to delete the message. Finally, empty the bin. You cannot mass delete emails on your iPhone, unlike Gmail on the browser.
Q. How do I delete more than 50 emails in Gmail?
A. In your Gmail account, tap the box at the inbox’s top. Now, tap the text reading ‘Select X conversations in the primary.’ Tap the ‘Delete’ button.
Q. How can I delete all emails in a specific folder in Gmail?
A. Tap on the folder or label that you wish to delete emails from. Now, tap the ‘Select all’ checkbox. Finally, tap the ‘Select all conversations in folder’ link. Click the delete icon followed by ‘OK’ on the dialog box of Confirm Bulk Action. In the Trash folder, tap the ‘More’ link. Go to the Trash folder and find the deleted emails. Tap the ‘Empty trash now’ option to fully delete them.
Written By
John
John is a Technical Writer at Email Support, has 10 years of experience, and is an expert in Email and Cloud Computing. His specialty is writing about the Email clients such as Outlook, Yahoo, Verizon, SBCGlobal, Gmail, Apple Mail, AOL, WildBlue, and others.
