About the Gmail Archiver
If you’re not super familiar with archiving emails, you may have questions like, “Do archived emails get deleted in Gmail?” or “Where do archived emails go in Gmail?” It’s important to understand how archiving works before you start using it to declutter your Gmail inbox.
Archiving an email in Gmail:
- Does not delete the message
- Moves the message out of your Inbox
- Reappears in your Inbox if a reply is received
- Stores and makes it searchable in All Mail
- Does count toward your storage limit
How to Archive Multiple Emails in Gmail
When you’re ready to begin archiving messages and relieving some of that email anxiety, you can archive in bulk directly from your Gmail inbox.
To archive multiple emails, select the messages using the checkboxes on the left. Then, click the Archive button in the top toolbar.
To archive all emails instead:
- Mark the Select checkbox on the top left of the message list.
- Use the link that appears for Select all [X] conversations.
- Click the Archive button.
- Confirm with OK.
Bulk archive Gmail emails by Date or Status
You may prefer to archive only specific emails such as those before a certain date or with a status like unread. This takes just an extra step which is finding those messages first. Unfortunately, Gmail’s search feature doesn’t offer these options as built-in criteria, but don’t worry, we’ll walk you through it!
- In the Search box at the top, enter the search operator for the messages you want (insert your dates using the formats shown below):
- For emails before a date, enter: before:YYYY/MM/DD.
- For emails after a date, enter: after:YYYY/MM/DD.
- For emails within two dates, enter: after:YYYY/MM/DD before:YYYY/MM/DD.
- For emails by read status, enter: is:read.
- For emails by unread status, enter: is:unread.
- Press Enter or Return to receive your results.
- Mark the Select checkbox on the top left of the message list to choose all emails.
- Click the Archive button and confirm if prompted.
Simpler bulk archiving with Clean Email
Using search operators to locate messages in Gmail isn’t particularly difficult; however, if you’re uncomfortable with this method or would just like a faster way, take advantage of Clean Email’s convenient filters.
With simple buttons, you can quickly find emails older than a day, week, month, or year, by a read or unread status, or even by size, label, or starred. Then, just select multiple or all and archive in only two steps.
Clean Email also makes it simpler to archive in bulk on your mobile device. For example, if you want to archive all unread emails in Gmail, you must continue scrolling and selecting them. But Clean Email’s mobile app lets you choose all emails at once!
The app offers Cleaning Suggestions, a feature that helps you quickly spot emails that may be ready for archiving or other follow-up actions. It reviews your behavior along with patterns from senders and then proposes groups of messages that you can archive or tidy up in bulk.
How to Mass Archive Gmail Emails Automatically
Maybe you receive particular emails regularly that you want to archive like purchase receipts, confirmations, or social notifications. By creating a filter, you can automatically archive emails in Gmail as they arrive.
- Click the Show search options button to the right of the Search box at the top.
- Choose the conditions for the matching messages.
- Click Create filter.
- Check the top box for Skip the Inbox (Archive it).
- Optionally, check the box at the bottom to apply it to existing conversations, or choose additional actions.
- Click Create filter.
Moving forward, all matching emails will be archived.
To edit or remove this filter:
- Select Settings (gear icon) and choose See all settings.
- Go to the Filters and Blocked Addresses tab.
- Choose Edit or Delete to the right of the filter.
Advanced automation options
📌 While the Gmail filter feature does work well for archiving specific messages, it does have limitations. For instance, you have a limited set of conditions to choose from, can’t temporarily disable filters, and cannot set up or manage filters on your mobile device.
To bypass these restrictions, check out Clean Email and its Auto Clean tool. Auto Clean lets you set up mailbox rules based on advanced conditions like age, status, domain, recipient, and more.
Additionally, you can pause rules at any time and create and manage rules in Clean Email on mobile the same way.
How to Find Archived Emails in Gmail
The nice thing about archiving emails rather than deleting them is that you continue to have access to them. However, Gmail doesn’t provide an Archive folder or label in the menu to see them easily. Instead, you must use a search operator.
In the Search box at the top, enter: in:archive. This automatically searches All Mail for your archived messages.
To retrieve an archived email in Gmail, select the message, click Move to in the toolbar, and choose Inbox.
Dedicated Archive folder
For a simpler way to locate your archived messages in Gmail, look no further than Clean Email. With it, you have a dedicated Archive folder right in the menu on both the web and mobile.
And you can easily unarchive Gmail emails individually or in bulk by just moving them to your inbox or a folder.
Conclusion
Now that you know how to mass archive emails in Gmail, you can do a clean sweep of your inbox. But first, consider using Clean Email for your Gmail account to archive thousands of emails instantly, bypass Gmail’s limitations, and use smart features to keep your inbox organized long-term.
Clean Email is safe to use, available on the web, Mac desktop and mobile, and works with all IMAP service providers. So, take it for a spin, check out its features, and see how well it simplifies email management!
