How to Archive Gmail Emails
To save emails to the archive in Gmail, we have steps for both the web and mobile Gmail apps. We’ll also explain how to archive all Gmail emails if you’re ready to declutter your inbox in one fell swoop.
Archive on Desktop
Select one or more emails in Gmail and do one of the following:
- Click the Archive button to the right in the message list.
- Choose Archive in the top toolbar.
- Right-click and pick Archive.
- Press your E key.
To archive all Gmail emails:
- Open the menu next to the Select checkbox on the top left and pick All.
- Click Select all X conversations in the highlighted message that appears.
- Use one of the above actions to archive the emails.
Archive on Mobile
Archive one or more emails in Gmail by doing one of the following:
- Select an email and tap the Archive button at the top or use a swipe gesture to pick Archive
- Select multiple emails by long-pressing one and choosing the rest. Then, tap the Archive button at the top.
To archive all Gmail emails:
- Long-press a message and check the box for Select all at the top.
- Scroll to the bottom and tap Select all again. Continue until you’ve selected all emails.
- Tap the Archive button at the top.
📌 Note: Curious how to archive folders in Gmail? Remember, Gmail uses labels not folders. So, choose a label in the menu and use the instructions above for desktop or mobile to archive all emails with that label.
How to Speed Up Archiving in Gmail
While it’s not necessarily difficult to archive in Gmail, you can significantly speed up the process using features on both desktop and mobile. This is handy if you frequently archive particular emails in the web app or simply want to archive faster on Android or iOS.
Create a filter
Wondering how to archive emails in Gmail by date, sender, or subject line? You can create a filter in the web app to automatically archive messages based on these types of conditions.
- Click the Show search options button to the right of the Search box at the top.
- Enter or select the condition such as From, Subject, Date Within, and/or another criterion.
- Pick Create filter.
- Check the box for Skip the inbox (Archive it). Optionally mark the bottom box to apply the filter to additional conversations.
- Pick Create filter.
💡 Tip: You can manage your Gmail filters by going to Settings → See all settings → Filters and Blocked Addresses.
Use a swipe gesture
As mentioned earlier, you can use a swipe gesture to archive emails in the Gmail mobile app. This gives you a quick and simple way to archive random emails in the message list by swiping either right or left.
On Android
- Open the menu and choose Settings.
- Select General settings.
- Pick Swipe actions.
- Tap Change for either the Right or Left Swipe per your preference.
- Mark Archive.
On iOS
- Open the menu and choose Settings.
- Select Inbox customizations.
- Pick Mail swipe actions.
- Open the menu below Right or Left swipe per your preference.
- Select Archive and tap Done.
Archive faster and easier in Clean Email
To further speed up the archive process, consider Clean Email for Gmail. With a variety of tools, you can do things like automate archiving with more conditions and archive in bulk without additional steps.
Best of all, Clean Email’s features work on all of your devices without limitations. So, you can use this top-tier Gmail cleanup tool the same way on desktop and mobile.
📌 Archive emails automatically with Auto Clean rules that provide more conditions than Gmail’s filters. For example, you can archive old emails in Gmail based on age, not just date, or you can archive messages from entire domains or folders.
📌 Archive in bulk on desktop or mobile faster than in Gmail. In your inbox or a folder, pick Select and choose the emails or Select All, then click Archive. There’s no highlighted message to look for or extra scrolling to load more emails.
📌 Archive related emails using Smart Folders. These folders are premade for you and ready to use. You’ll see Smart Folders for things like Social Notifications, Seasonal Sales, Travel, and many more. Simply open a folder, select the messages, and choose Archive.
📌 Archive based on behavior with Cleaning Suggestions. These recommendations show actions like Archive for similar emails you’ve archived in the past or those most commonly archived by users.
Unlike Gmail, you also have a dedicated Archive folder in Clean Email. This makes finding archived Gmail emails as well as unarchiving them much easier should you choose to do so.
How to Unarchive a Gmail Email
For unarchiving Gmail emails, we’ll show you how to move archived emails to the inbox in Gmail in both the desktop and mobile apps. And if you use a Clean Email feature mentioned above to archive your messages, we’ll show you how to unarchive in Clean Email too.
Unarchive on Desktop
- Select All Mail in the menu. Note that you may have to expand More to see this option.
- Choose one or more emails you want to unarchive. If necessary, you can narrow down the messages using the search filters at the top or enter in:archive in the Search box.
- Click Move to in the top toolbar and pick Inbox.
Unarchive on Mobile
- Select All Mail in the menu.
- Choose one or more emails you want to unarchive. Again, you can use the search filters or operator to find the message(s) quicker.
- Tap the three dots on the top right and pick Move to Inbox on Android or Move and pick the location (e.g. Primary) on iOS.
Unarchive in Clean Email
- Select the Archive folder in the menu.
- Choose one or more emails you want to unarchive.
- Use the menu on the right or action bar at the bottom to pick Move and choose Inbox.
Conclusion
Knowing how to archive Gmail emails is essential for messages you may need later. Rather than deleting them to clean up your inbox clutter, you can simply archive them, and of course, unarchive them later if you like.
Remember that Clean Email can help you boost the archive and unarchive processes for your Gmail messages. No matter which device you use or how many messages you have, Clean Email provides smart features for quick and painless Gmail email organization and mailbox management.
