Archive vs Delete in Outlook: Similarities and Differences
Archive and delete are actions you can take on an email in your inbox. Archiving normally refers to stashing away older messages you may need later while deleting means to remove unwanted messages from your mailbox.
Both actions have similarities which is where confusion can come in for users unfamiliar with the terms. Both archive and delete:
- Remove a message from your Inbox folder.
- Move the email to a default folder in the folder list. (Note: For certain email accounts, you may have to add an Archive folder.)
- Consume mailbox storage space.
To apply either action in Outlook on Windows, simply right-click the email and pick Archive or Delete.
While they may appear similar, it’s those big differences between archive and delete that are important to understand so that you use the correct one.
💡 Note: The terms Archive and Delete aren’t solely used in the Microsoft Outlook application. You’ll see these options with other email service providers like Gmail, Yahoo Mail, and iCloud Mail. So, while understanding the difference as an Outlook user is important, keep these distinctions in mind if you plan to use another email provider down the road.
What is and when to use Archive?
To archive an email in Outlook means to move it from your Inbox to the Archive folder. Emails remain in this folder for safe keeping for as long as you like. Exceptions include the use of Outlook auto-archive and a company that has specific retention policies.
You might archive a message in Outlook for one of these reasons:
- You want to or are required to keep it as a reference.
- You want to clean up your inbox of older emails.
- You still want access to the message.
- You no longer need the email but don’t want to delete it permanently.
With some versions of Outlook, such as the classic version on Windows, you can automatically archive emails rather than doing it manually. This takes messages based on age or another condition you set up and sends them to the Archive folder on a regular basis.
📌 Tip: If you’re using a different Outlook version without auto-archive ability or prefer to automatically archive emails based on other specific criteria, check out the Clean Email’s Auto Clean feature.
What is and when to use Delete?
To delete an email in Outlook means to move it from your Inbox to the Deleted Items folder. Emails remain in this folder for 30 days until they are automatically and permanently removed from your mailbox.
You might delete a message in Outlook for one of these reasons:
- You no longer need the message.
- You won’t need to access the email later.
- You believe the message may contain malicious links or attachments.
- You want to free up mail storage space or have exceeded your storage limit.
Along with Outlook automatically erasing messages in the Deleted Items folder after 30 days, you can empty this folder manually. You might do this to regain storage space or permanently remove the emails before the 30-day period is up.
Additionally, you can delete archived emails in Outlook to free up storage space.
💡 Hint: Learn how to delete old emails in Outlook along with how to automatically delete Outlook messages for various ways to remove those emails.
Where to find the Archive and Deleted Items folders in Outlook
You’ll find both the Archive and Deleted Items folders in the Outlook folder list on the left side of the application. If you don’t see the Outlook Archive folder, look at how to find archived emails in Outlook.
When using a different type of email account, Microsoft states:
Robust Outlook Management With Clean Email
For more sophisticated mailbox management, Clean Email provides several useful features that take Outlook inbox cleanup and organization to the next level on any device.
Advanced Automation
While you can archive emails manually in Outlook, Clean Email’s Auto Clean feature automates this task and is more powerful, flexible, and widely available than Outlook’s manual or automatic archiving features.
You can set up rules based on multiple conditions rather than just age such as sender, mailing list, size, status, and flag. This allows you to archive what you want, when you want. Plus, you can use Auto Clean to automatically delete emails regularly, not only on desktop but also on mobile—with the same level of convenience.
📌 Note: The Archive folder location is in the Mailbox section of the left-hand menu with the Trash folder for deleted items beneath it.
From the folder, you can manage your archived emails, such as deleting them in bulk if you decide they’re no longer needed.
You can easily move emails back to your inbox—just swipe from right to left, select More, then choose Move… and pick your desired location (Inbox or a different folder).
Bulk Email Management
Even though you can archive or delete multiple emails in Outlook, it can be tedious to find and select all of those messages in bulk. With Clean Email, you can use filters to find the emails, group them as you please, and then move thousands of messages in one go.
Unsubscribe and Block features
For messages you no longer want to receive, using the unsubscribe or block actions in Outlook is effective. But with Clean Email’s features, you can do so much easier and on any device.
Unsubscriber
Remove yourself from multiple mailing lists at once rather than one at a time. Those messages, and any that arrive in the future, are sent to the Trash while the sender completes the unsubscribe process.
Block senders
Block senders easily using the Senders section of Clean Email. This area shows you messages grouped by sender and allows you to block those senders with a simple click or tap.
Consistent Mobile Experience
You can use Outlook features like auto-archive and inbox rules on your desktop, but not currently in the mobile app. Using Clean Email’s mobile app for Android and iOS, you can do everything the same as on the desktop or in the web app.
Consistency across devices is a Clean Email standard. There’s no learning curve, no missing features, and ultimately no differences. You can enjoy the same options using Clean Email on any device.
Cross-Device Syncing
To go along with the stability, security, and dependability of Clean Email on mobile is the cross-device syncing. With Outlook’s auto-archive, the emails are stored locally on your computer and not synced across platforms. But with Clean Email’s Archive and Auto Clean rules, all actions and organization you apply to your mailbox carry over to every device.
