Archive Gmail Emails by Date or Age
While Gmail does provide a Search feature with options to find emails within the last day, week, or month, this doesn’t help you locate emails older than a particular timeframe. Additionally, you can’t use the feature to find emails before a specific date.
Instead, you’ll use a search operator to find messages and then archive all emails before a certain date in Gmail.
- Go to the Search box at the top and enter one of the following:
- For emails before a certain date, use before: with the date. For instance, before:2025/01/01 finds messages before January 1, 2025.
- For emails after a certain date but before another, use after: and before: with the dates. For example, after:2024/12/01 before:2025/01/01 finds messages after December 1, 2024, and before January 1, 2025.
- For emails older than a timeframe, use older_than: with the timing. For example, older_than:6m finds messages older than 6 months or older_than:1y for messages older than a year.
- Once you locate the emails you want to archive, mark the Select checkbox on the top left to choose all messages.
- Click the Archive button in the toolbar.
To see your archived messages, you’ll also need to use a search operator as Gmail doesn’t provide an Archive folder or menu option.
💡 Check out our guides for how to retrieve archived emails in Gmail or where to find archived emails on iPhone for complete details.
Set Up an Automatic Gmail Filter for Older Than
You may want to automatically archive old emails in Gmail. While Gmail does have an auto-archive filter option, this feature works primarily with incoming messages and setup is only available on the web, not in the mobile app.
But with Clean Email, you can use Auto Clean for mailbox rules that work on both new and existing messages. This helps you clear your backlog without manual input. Plus, you can create and manage rules on your desktop or in the mobile app for great flexibility.
- Select Auto Clean in the menu and choose Create Rule or the plus sign.
- Name the rule and include any additional conditions for matching messages.
- Pick Old Mail and use the subsequent drop-down list to choose a timeframe.
- Select Archive for the action and turn on the Apply to existing messages toggle.
- Choose Create Rule.
To see your archived messages, simply select the Archive folder in the menu.
💡 Tip: You can also pause, edit, or delete your archive rule by going to Auto Clean in the menu.
More Ways to Archive Old Emails in Gmail
Maybe you want Gmail to archive emails older than a specific date but also match another condition like label, sender, or keyword. In this case, you can combine search operators in Gmail.
- For emails with a label, add label:[label name] before the date search operator.
- For emails from a sender, add from:[sender] before the date search operator.
- For emails with a keyword in the subject, add subject:[keyword] before the date search operator.
As an example using the above, entering label:work before:2025/01/01 finds messages with the Work label before January 1, 2025.
Then, select the emails and choose Archive in the toolbar.
Simpler Archiving With Clean Email
While using search operators in Gmail isn’t necessarily difficult, it can feel cumbersome --- especially when looking for emails to archive on your mobile device. Why not opt for a simpler tool like Clean Email that helps you locate old messages in just a few clicks or taps?
Head to your Inbox, All Mail, or a folder and use the Old Mail drop-down box at the top to select an age. You can find emails older than a particular number of days, weeks, months, or years. You can also add more criteria to your search such as size, sender, status, or label.
Additionally, you can use Smart Folders to quickly find and archive related Gmail messages. Clean Email offers more than 30 folders for things like Seasonal Sales, Travel, Finance, and Social Notifications. Then, sort by Oldest on Top and select the emails to Archive.
Clean Email helps you quickly narrow down the emails you want to archive without worrying about search operators. Plus, it gives you fast access to an Archive folder to review those stowed away messages.
The app is safe to use, works with all IMAP service providers, and is available on Mac desktop, mobile devices, and as a web app with no limitations on smart features or automations.
Conclusion
When you want to declutter your Gmail inbox, you can find and archive older emails using date or age. And with search operators, narrowing down the messages takes only a few minutes.
But if you want a simpler way to locate and archive your messages, consider Clean Email. Not only does Clean Email give you fast ways to find the emails you want to archive, but provides additional features for better long-term mailbox management.
