How to Find Archived Emails in Gmail on iPhone
Locating archived emails in Gmail is harder than it should be. Why? Because there is no Archive label or folder in the Gmail app. Not to worry though because we’ll show you two ways to find archived emails on your iPhone.
To start with the absolute fastest method, we’ll show you how to use the Archive in the Clean Email mobile app. Then, we’ll show you how to do the same in the Gmail app which unfortunately takes a bit more effort.
Find Archived Messages in Clean Email
After you download the Clean Email app for iPhone and connect your Gmail account to Clean Email, you can view archived emails easily:
- Tap the Menu icon (three lines) on the top left.
- Expand the Mailbox section.
- Select Archive.
You’ll then see all emails you archived in Gmail without any further work or searching. Plus, you can manage the messages right from the Archive folder as you’ll learn below.
Find Archived Messages in Gmail
Assuming you already have the Gmail app installed on your iPhone, open it and follow the steps below to access archived emails.
- Tap the Menu icon (three lines) on the top left.
- Select All Mail.
- You’ll see all emails including those in your inbox and those with labels.
If you archived one recently, you should be able to spot it towards the top. But if you’re looking for an older message, you’ll have to scroll through the list which can be a tedious task if you have many emails.
Here are a few tricks you can use to identify an archived email in All Mail:
- There is no Inbox label on the message.
- There is no Archive button at the top of the opened message.
- You cannot use the swipe action to archive the message (because it’s already archived).
As you can see, it’s much easier to view archived messages on iPhone using Clean Email’s Archive folder!
How to Manage Archived Messages in Clean Email on iPhone
Maybe finding an archived email in Gmail is only part of what you’d like to do with it. Perhaps you’d like to retrieve the message or delete it altogether. Using the Archive folder in the Clean Email app, managing those messages is a breeze.
Retrieve Archived Messages
To retrieve a message, follow these steps:
- Swipe it from right to left and pick More.
- Choose Move.
- Pick Inbox in the drop-down menu and tap Confirm.
Delete Archived Messages
To delete a message, swipe it from right to left and pick Trash. The message then goes to the Trash folder where it remains for 30 days before being permanently deleted automatically.
To delete emails in bulk, tap Select in the bottom toolbar, choose Select All, then tap Trash and confirm.
To permanently delete the message instead, swipe the email and pick More → Delete.
For bulk permanent deletion, select one email (or group of emails), then choose additional ones or Select All, followed by More → Delete.
⚠️ Remember that this completely removes the email making it unrecoverable.
How to Retrieve or Delete Archived Emails in Gmail on iPhone
Once you locate the archived message in the Gmail app, you may want to recover the email to work with it further or completely remove it from your account.
Retrieve Archived Emails
To retrieve a message, follow these steps:
- Go to All Mail and find the email you want to retrieve to Inbox.
- Select the email and tap More (three dots) on the top right.
- Choose Move to Inbox.
- You’ll see the message return to your Inbox and tote that Inbox label again.
Delete Archived Emails
To delete a message, open it and tap Delete (trash can) at the top. As above, the message goes to the Trash where it stays for 30 days before it's automatically removed.
📌 Tip: If you prefer to delete all archived emails in Gmail, we have a guide that walks you through that too!
To permanently delete the message immediately, return to the left-hand menu and select Trash. Open the email, tap More on the top right, and pick Delete forever. Or you can just select Empty trash now to clear all deleted emails and free up space.
How to Change the Archive Swipe Action in Gmail on iPhone
To stop accidentally archiving emails with a swipe or to use a different action you find more worthwhile, you can change the swipe gestures in Gmail on iPhone.
📌 Tip: Keep in mind that you can immediately undo archived emails in Gmail on iPhone. You’ll see a brief Undo option appear at the bottom that you can tap to reverse the action.
With the Gmail app open:
- Tap the Menu icon on the top left.
- Select Settings near the bottom.
- Choose Inbox customizations.
- Pick Mail swipe actions.
- Select Right swipe and/or Left swipe and choose a different action. Alternatively, you can pick None for no swipe action at all.
Why Clean Email for Gmail on iPhone?
Along with the above Archive folder for easily finding archived messages and other numerous ways for managing those emails, Clean Email on iPhone provides features you won’t find in the Gmail app. Not only are these features available on any device, but help you better clean and organize your mailbox on-the-go.
Unsubscriber
Where Gmail has an Unsubscribe button, Clean Email has an Unsubscriber feature. The difference? You don’t have to handle subscriptions one at a time.
With Unsubscriber, you can remove yourself from multiple mailing lists at once. Plus, you can resubscribe if you change your mind and temporarily pause subscriptions.
Cleaning Suggestions
Does Gmail give you recommendations for cleaning up your mailbox? Clean Email does! With Cleaning Suggestions, you can quickly and easily act on messages that have been sitting around without any action. Send groups of emails to the Trash or Archive, mark them as read, or move them to a folder.
Screener
There’s more than one way to maintain a tidy inbox. With Screener, you can review emails from unknown senders before they add to the clutter and then allow, block, or unsubscribe with a tap.
Think of Screener as the Caller ID for your inbox!
When it comes to mailbox management on your mobile device, you need more than most apps have to offer. Clean Email works with all IMAP accounts, so you can use it to manage Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo Mail, and other services, all in one handy spot.
