Over time, your inbox can fill up with old and unneeded messages. Keeping it organized helps you find emails when you need them. You can delete, archive, label, filter, or search to manage your inbox effectively.

Deleting Unwanted Messages

Gmail offers plenty of storage, but deleting old messages keeps things clean.

• To delete: Open the message and click the Delete button.
  
  
  
• For one message in a conversation, click the drop-down arrow and choose Delete this message.
  
  
  

Spam emails usually go to the Spam folder. If spam lands in your inbox, click Report spam instead of deleting it. Gmail will learn to block similar emails. Spam is auto-deleted after 30 days.

Archiving Messages

Archiving removes emails from your inbox without deleting them. You can still search and read them later.

• To archive: Open the message and click Archive.
  
  
  
• To find archived emails: In the left menu, click More → All Mail.

Managing Multiple Messages at Once

Select multiple emails by ticking their boxes in the inbox. Then click delete, archive, or report spam. Use the top checkbox to select all visible emails at once.

Using Labels

Labels help sort emails by category. Unlike folders, you can add more than one label to a message.

• To apply a label: Open the email, click Labels, tick the labels you want, and click Apply.
  
  
  
• To create a label: Click Labels → Create new, type the name, and click Create.
  
  
  
• To view labeled emails: Click the label name in the left menu. Hidden labels are under More.
  
  
  
• To color a label: Hover over it, click the More button, and choose a color.
  
  
  

Creating Filters

Filters save time by auto-sorting incoming emails.

• Open a similar email.
• Click More actions → Filter messages like these.
  
  
  
• Add or edit search criteria.
• Click Create filter with this search.
  
  
  
• Choose an action like labeling or deleting. Tick Also apply filter to matching conversations if needed.
• Click Create filter.
  
  
  

To edit or delete a filter:

• Click the gear icon → Settings → Filters and Blocked Addresses.

  
  
  

Searching Your Mail

Use the Gmail search box to find any email. Type keywords, sender, or subject. Click a result to read it.

• For advanced search, click Show search options.