How to Empty Trash in Gmail
As one of the most widely-used email service providers, Gmail provides a pretty easy way to manually empty the Trash on the web and in the mobile app.
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 left-hand menu.
- Hover your cursor over Trash and click Empty Trash folder (Trash Can icon).
- To confirm, click OK.
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.
- Pick Empty.
- To confirm, click Delete All.
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. So, keeping this folder free of emails can give you more space for incoming messages and reduce the need to purchase more storage.
iCloud Mail on the Web
- Visit iCloud Mail and sign in.
- Open the left-hand menu.
- Select Settings using the gear icon at the top.
- Choose Empty Trash.
- To confirm, click Empty Trash.
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:
- Right-click All Trash or Trash, pick Erase Deleted Items, and click Erase to confirm. Note that this action erases deleted items in that mailbox and in the Trash mailbox.
- 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
Maintaining a tidy mailbox involves more than just organizing messages; it also means emptying your Trash bin. 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.
