How to Empty Trash in Gmail
Gmail permanently deletes messages that have been in the Trash for 30 days, but you can empty it manually at any time on the web and in the mobile app. Once you empty the Trash, the messages can’t be recovered.
Gmail on the Web
- Visit Gmail and sign in.
- Open the left-hand menu and expand More if necessary.
- Select Trash.
- Choose Empty Trash Now at the top.
- To confirm, click OK.
Gmail on Mobile
- Launch the Gmail app.
- Open the left-hand menu and select Trash.
- Choose Empty trash now at the top.
- To confirm, tap Empty on Android or OK on iPhone.
How to Empty Trash in Yahoo Mail
You can manually empty the Trash in just a few steps on the web and in the mobile app.
Yahoo Mail on the Web
- Visit Yahoo Mail and sign in.
- Open the Trash folder (click More in the left-hand menu if you don’t see it).
- Check the Select All box at the top. If Trash holds more than 100 messages, click the link in the notification to select all of them.
- Click the Delete icon at the top and confirm with Yes, delete.
Yahoo Mail on Mobile
- Launch the Yahoo Mail app.
- Open Inbox at the bottom and select Trash.
- Tap the Trash can at the top.
- To confirm, tap OK.
Note that you can also empty the trash without reviewing the emails first. To do so, open Inbox at the bottom and tap the Trash Can next to Trash.
How to Empty Trash in Outlook and Hotmail
If you’re a Hotmail user, then you probably already know that you don’t have a specific location to check and clean up your Hotmail inbox. For both Hotmail.com and Outlook.com email accounts, you use the Microsoft Outlook web, desktop and mobile apps.
Outlook and Hotmail on the Web
- Visit Outlook and sign in.
- Open the left-hand menu and expand Folders if necessary.
- Hover your cursor over Deleted Items and select the three dots (More).
- Pick Empty and confirm.
Outlook.com keeps emptied messages in a recoverable items area for a short time. To erase them for good, open Deleted Items, select Recover items deleted from this folder, and choose Empty folder.
Outlook and Hotmail on Mobile
- Launch the Outlook app.
- Open the left-hand menu and select Deleted.
- At the top, choose the Trash Can on Android or Empty Folder on iPhone.
- To confirm, tap Permanently Delete.
How to Empty Trash in iCloud Mail
As with most email service providers, iCloud Mail counts messages in the Trash folder toward your storage limit. iCloud erases them after 30 days by default, but emptying the folder sooner gives you more space for incoming messages and reduces the need to purchase more storage.
iCloud Mail on the Web
- Visit iCloud Mail and sign in.
- Select the Settings button at the top of the Mailboxes list.
- Choose Empty Trash.
- To confirm, click Empty Trash again. Emptied messages can’t be recovered.
Alternatively, select Trash on the left, use Command + A to select all emails, and click Delete on the right. Note that you won’t be asked to confirm when using this method.
Learn more about how to empty Trash in Mail app on iPhone in our dedicated guide.
💡 Tip: Want a simpler way to clear iCloud mail storage before it fills up? With Clean Email’s Screener, you can keep junk from unknown senders out of your inbox and with Unsubscriber, you can unsubscribe from unwanted marketing messages in bulk.
How to Empty Trash in Apple Mail on Mac
- Open the Mail app and access the Inboxes in the sidebar.
- Select All Trash to empty trash for all accounts. For a particular account, expand it and select Trash.
- Do one of the following:
- Control-click (or right-click) All Trash or Trash, pick Erase Deleted Items, and click Erase to confirm. You can also choose Mailbox >Erase Deleted Items in the menu bar and pick an account.
- Choose Edit → Select All or use Command + A to select all emails. Click Delete in the toolbar or right-click and pick Delete. Note that you won’t be asked to confirm.
Simplify Mailbox Cleanup with Clean Email
Clean Email is a mailbox management supplement that works with any IMAP email service provider for effective ways to maintain a tidy inbox. Best of all, you can enjoy all Clean Email features on any device using the web, Mac desktop, or mobile apps for Android and iOS.
With Auto Clean, you can create rules to automatically delete, move, or trash emails based on custom conditions you select.
Even better, you can automate emptying your Trash or delete emails without sending them to the Trash folder at all!
📌 For example, you can permanently delete messages in the Trash folder that are older than one week, automatically delete large emails from a sender, or to keep your storage under control, just remove emails larger than a certain size.
📌 Note: Clean Email provides you with two options for removing emails: Trash or Delete. The Trash action sends emails to a Trash folder where you can recover the messages whereas the Delete action permanently removes the messages.
Wrap-Up
Emails in the Trash keep using storage until they’re erased, so empty it after a big cleanup. If Gmail won’t let you empty the Trash, see how to fix Gmail not deleting emails. While it’s mostly a simple process in apps like Gmail, Yahoo Mail, and Outlook, Clean Email provides faster and more efficient cleanup methods using automations and other cross-platform features.
