How to Delete All Emails at Once on Phone: Multiple Methods
If you're an Android user who can't imagine managing email without your phone and want to learn how to delete all emails on Android in one go, this video is for you. In it, we explain the limitations of Android email management in the Gmail mobile app and recommend third-party inbox organizers as the best solution.
⚠️ Since Android devices vary, the basic steps in this article should work for most, but some details might differ depending on your device model or software version.
How to delete all emails at once on Android in Gmail app
- Launch the Gmail app on your Android device.
- Go to the All mail folder.
- Tap the circular icon to the left of the first message to select it.
- Scroll to the bottom of your All Mail folder (until all your messages load) and tap Select All.
- Tap the Delete (trash can) icon to delete all selected messages.
📌 Remember to clean out the Trash folder as well, since all deleted messages are stored there for 30 days unless permanently deleted.
Here’s how to delete trash on Android if you need to free up inbox space immediately:
- Open your Gmail app.
- Tap the three horizontal lines in the top-left corner.
- Tap Trash from the left-hand menu to open the Trash folder.
- Click Empty trash now to permanently delete all messages in this folder.
Once you clean out the Trash, those messages cannot be restored.
For anyone facing a similar situation, I strongly recommend the next method instead. It’s significantly faster, far more efficient, and will save you a great deal of time and effort.
How to delete all emails at once on Android with Clean Email
While the default features of Gmail on Android offer a tedious manual process, Clean Email provides a much simpler approach to bulk email deletion.
Use the steps below to quickly delete all Gmail emails at once on Android using Clean Email:
- Install the app on your Android device and connect your email account.
- Click on All Mail in the left-hand menu.
- Tap Select at the bottom, then choose Select All.
- Tap Trash to move the messages to the Trash folder (can be restored), or tap More and select Delete to permanently erase them (cannot be restored).
- Tap Confirm.
💡 Hint: If you choose the Delete action, your messages will be permanently removed, and you won’t need to empty the Trash folder after cleaning up your mailbox. However, use this action cautiously if you have important information in your mailbox.
How to delete all emails from a Samsung Galaxy device (Samsung Email)
Managing emails using the built-in Samsung Email app can be a bit different from other email apps. Unlike Gmail or other services that offer an "All Mail" folder, the Samsung Email app only displays your inbox and specific folders, which means you'll need to manage each folder individually.
Here’s how to delete multiple emails on Samsung phone:
- Launch the Email app.
- Navigate to any folder, such as the Inbox. Tap and hold any message to highlight it.
- Scroll down to load all the messages, or as many as you want to delete.
- Tap the small circle labeled "All" to select all messages in this folder. It will be located in the upper left corner of the screen.
- Tap the Delete all button to delete all selected messages.
- Repeat this process for other folders if you want to delete all your emails.
How to Delete Multiple Gmail Emails on Android
Deleting all emails at once might feel like a drastic step, and there’s always the risk of losing something important. To avoid this, consider making a backup before proceeding.
Alternatively, it’s often safer to delete emails in groups rather than all at once. Here’s a guide on how to delete Gmail emails in bulk on Android:
- Open Gmail on your Android device.
- Tap on the folder with the emails you want to delete. For instance, this can be the Promotions folder, Social, or your Primary inbox.
- Tap the circular icon to the left of each email to select it.
- Continue tapping on more emails you want to select, or click Select all at the top to choose the first 50 emails in this folder. To select more, you'll need to scroll down to load additional messages.
- Tap the Trash icon in the upper right.
💡 Want to learn more about cleaning up your Promotions folder? Read our guide to learn how to delete all promotions in Gmail.
How to delete emails in bulk from one sender on Android
If you have a lot of emails from particular senders and want to mass delete only those, Clean Email makes this easy by grouping messages by Sender by default.
- Download the Clean Email app for Android and log in with your credentials.
- Go to All Mail in the left-hand menu or any other folder with unwanted emails.
- Tap the circular icon next to the group of messages to select them all. Clean Email will display the number of selected emails.
- Choose Trash or tap ••• More and select Delete.
- Tap Confirm.
How to delete emails using the Swipe feature
If you're looking just for a quick cleanup in Gmail on Android, you can use the Swipe feature to make deleting individual emails faster and easier. Follow the steps below to activate the swipe delete action:
- Open Gmail app on Android.
- Tap the hamburger menu at the top left.
- Scroll down to Settings and choose General Settings.
- Tap the Swipe actions menu.
- Next to the Right swipe or the Left swipe, tap Change.
- Select the Delete action.
- Tap back to finish.
Now, you can begin swiping right or left on emails to delete them without having to select each one.
⚠️ Note that the Swipe feature is useful only for quick, one-by-one deletions and isn’t ideal for cluttered inboxes, as it doesn't allow users to select multiple emails and delete them in bulk.
Use Clean Email to Achieve Inbox Zero
Our inboxes get filled up daily with a lot of junk, and knowing how to delete all emails at once on Android is essential to achieving Inbox Zero.
It can be frustrating how much time it takes to delete all emails using the Gmail app on Android, and it only gets harder when trying to maintain a clean mailbox. Fortunately, Clean Email makes this process much easier. The app is loaded with powerful features designed to help you keep your inbox organized and clutter-free effortlessly.
Earlier, we discussed how to select and delete all emails. Now, let’s explore other unique features of the app to help you declutter your inbox and keep it squeaky clean for good!
Review Cleaning Suggestions
If your inbox is overflowing with emails and you're considering deleting them all at once, take a moment to pause. Rash decisions can lead to regret, especially if you delete important conversations. You might feel overwhelmed or unsure where to begin, which is why the "delete all at once" method might seem tempting.
Instead, Clean Email offers a smarter approach.
Its Cleaning Suggestions feature provides tailored strategies based on your regular email habits and the most effective actions taken by other users. This helps you identify clutter, prioritize what to keep, and decide where to start cleaning efficiently.
Automate email deletion with Auto Clean
Next, you might want to automate the cleanup process.
Clean Email is excellent for automatically deleting dozens of emails at once. Its Auto Clean feature allows you to set up rules that will keep your inbox organized while you focus on more important tasks. Simply set it and forget it—your emails will be automatically cleaned and sorted according to your preferences.
- Launch the Clean Email app and go to the Auto Clean tool in the menu.
- Tap Create Rule or click the + (plus icon) on top.
- Name your rule, and choose senders or domains to whose emails the rule will be applied.
- Tap the Choose action… dropdown, select whether you want to Delete or move emails to the Trash folder.
- Click the toggle to apply the rule to existing messages.
- Finalize by tapping Create Rule.
💡 You can also use this method to delete all unread emails in Gmail or delete old emails in Gmail. Clean Email is very versatile, giving you complete control over how you manage your emails and delete groups of them.
Find your emails sorted in Smart Folders
If you love seeing all your emails neatly organized into tidy, sorted bundles, try the Smart Folders feature, which groups emails together based on type, sender, and other characteristics. See them collected in 30+ folders like Social notifications, Finance and Insurance, Travel, and Seasonal Sales.
There, you can select all emails from one or many senders and apply various actions to them in bulk.
Avoid clutter using Unsubscriber and Screener
Clean Email’s Unsubscriber feature allows you to automatically unsubscribe from pesky newsletters and subscription services in a flash. You don’t have to do anything except click a button.
One more great tool that helps keep your inbox tidy is the Screener feature. It’s like your own personal bodyguard keeping unwanted emails out and only letting in those that you allow.
Once enabled, it filters out incoming emails from unknown senders, preventing them from cluttering your Inbox. Instead, these emails will land in the Screener section of Clean Email, where you can review and allow or block them instantly.
In the Screener, you can also unsubscribe from newsletters you may have unintentionally signed up for. Definitely a feature worth trying!
With Privacy Monitor, the app also scours the internet for your email credentials that may have shown up in data breaches. Privacy Monitor will notify you when a security incident occurs and remind you to change your password, enable multi-factor authentication, use password managers, and inform you of other cybersecurity tips to stay safe.
Sign up today for FREE to try all of Clean Email's powerful features that keep your inbox squeaky clean and organized every day. If you love having things neat and don't have time to sift through pages of emails, you’ll love Clean Email!
Automate all your unpleasant email chores instantly with an app you can trust. Clean Email cares deeply about your privacy and will never collect or sell your information to anyone.
Author's Note: Every guide in this article has been thoroughly tested by the author and reviewed by the Clean Email team. All screenshots are current and up to date to ensure accuracy. The article was originally published in May 2021 and fully rewritten in September 2024.
FAQs about how to delete all emails at once on Android
How to delete Gmail emails in bulk on Android?
To delete Gmail emails in bulk on Android, open the Gmail app, go to the "All Mail" folder, select one email, scroll down to load more, and tap "Select All". Then tap the trash icon to delete all the selected emails. For a more quick and efficient method, use Clean Email to automate bulk deletion.
How to delete all Gmail emails at once on phone?
Gmail’s mobile app doesn’t provide a direct "Select All" option. However, you can scroll through your inbox and load as many emails as needed before selecting them. Alternatively, try the Clean Email app’s Select All feature to erase all messages with a few clicks.
Can I use a free Android app to mass delete my emails?
Some email cleaning apps are free, and some cost money. As attractive as they are, completely free cleaning apps typically make money by selling their users’ data, so we recommend you use freemium cleaning apps like Clean Email if you value your privacy and don’t want to share your emails with all kinds of third parties.
