Quickly Sort Your Inbox by Unread
If you have unread emails scattered throughout your Gmail inbox, sorting them to display unread messages at the top will help you review them quickly.
But with Clean Email, it’s even easier—right after signing up or logging in, all your unread emails are automatically organized in the Unread Mail folder, accessible from the left-hand menu, both on the desktop and mobile.
This way, you can find and manage unread emails without any manual sorting, making it the quickest and most convenient way to catch up.
Bonus:
- How to filter unread emails in Gmail?
- How to reduce your Unread list?
- Find a missing unread email with Clean Email
How to Sort Unread Emails in Gmail
Sometimes emails that you’ve missed can be difficult to find, especially when there are a lot of emails in your Gmail inbox. Gmail contains tools to help you quickly rearrange your inbox so that these messages appear at the top. When the mail you haven’t read is grouped at the top of your inbox, it’s easy to scan the list and manage those messages.
Here’s how to sort by unread in Gmail using a web browser:
- Select the Settings gear to display the Quick settings pane.
- Scroll to Inbox Type and choose Unread first.
This method displays all the unread emails in your Gmail account, including the Primary, Social, and Promotions inboxes.
If you use the iOS or Android mobile app, here’s how to sort unread emails in Gmail so that those messages appear at the top of your inbox:
- Open the Gmail app and tap Menu.
- Tap Settings.
- Tap Inbox type and then tap Unread first.
- Tap Done to save.
How to Find Unread Emails in Gmail
If you’re familiar with search operators in Gmail, use the is:unread search operator to sort Gmail by unread messages. To see the messages you haven’t read at the top of your inbox, go to the Search bar and enter is:unread.
💡 Hint: If you're trying to find older emails, you can easily sort Gmail from oldest to newest by adjusting the date filters in your inbox settings.
How to Filter Unread Emails in Gmail
There are other ways to filter unread emails and find the ones you have missed. If you know some information about the email you need, you can also sort Gmail by date, subject, name, email address, and size.
Filter unread emails with Gmail search operators
Here are some examples of how to search for unread emails in Gmail using search operators:
- Date: To list unread messages that fall between specified dates, add the before: and after: parameters after is:unread. For example, to filter messages after January 1, 2021, but before June 1, 2021, enter is:unread before:6/1/2021 after:1/1/2021 in the Search bar.
- Subject: When you need to find a specific topic, go to the Search bar, select the Show search options button, and fill in the Subject field.
- Email address: If you want to filter messages from a specified email address, follow the is:unread operator with the from: operator. For example, enter is:unread from:email@gmail.com to list emails from that email address.
- Sender: When you don’t know a sender’s email address, sort Gmail by sender. Search for their mail using the is:unread operator with the from: operator. For example, enter is:unread from:Amazon to find any receipts you might have missed.
- Size: Maybe you missed an important email that contained an attachment. Instead of browsing through a list of messages, sort Gmail by size.
Follow our guide on how to delete all unread emails in Gmail at once.
How to filter Primary unread emails in Gmail
Gmail doesn’t provide a built-in option to filter unread Primary emails directly. When you enable the "Unread first" inbox type, it shows all unread emails but mixes them from all categories (Primary, Social, Promotions).
This means that if you're looking to filter unread Primary emails in Gmail, you won't be able to see only unread messages from the Primary tab while using the "Unread first" option—Primary emails will be merged with others.
To manage your unread emails more efficiently, try Clean Email’s advanced features.
Filter unread emails with Clean Email
Clean Email makes filtering unread Primary emails incredibly simple, allowing you to focus on the messages that matter most. To filter unread emails, follow these steps:
- Choose Unread Mail from the left-hand menu.
- Click the filter funnel icon.
- Select Sent by..., and choose from options like People, Automated system, Mailing list, or Any to narrow down the sender type.
Additionally, you can use Clean Email’s Smart Folders, which act as predefined filters, to locate unread emails in specific categories like Social notifications, Finance and Insurance, or messages where You are CC-ed, making it easy to manage unread messages in each folder separately.
How to Reduce Your Unread List
If your inbox is filled with too many unread emails, clearing them out can be done quickly in just two steps.
1. Unsubscribe from email subscriptions
- In Gmail, you can manually unsubscribe from unwanted email by going through each message individually. However, this can be time-consuming.
- A faster approach is to use Clean Email’s Unsubscriber feature, which allows you to opt out of multiple subscriptions in bulk, saving you valuable time and effort.
2. Set automatic rules to regularly manage incoming mail
- You can set up filters in Gmail to organize emails as they arrive.
- Alternatively, use Clean Email’s Auto Clean feature to automatically sort emails, mark them as read, or move those that don't require immediate attention to a designated Read Later folder, where you can address them at a more convenient time.
You can also enable Read Later summaries, which send you regular notifications summarizing unread emails, helping you stay on top of important messages.
Prevent Unread Clutter with Clean Email
Additionally, if you receive a lot of emails from unknown senders, Clean Email’s Screener feature can quarantine these messages, giving you the option to review and allow, block, or unsubscribe from them before they reach your inbox.
Find a Missing Unread Email with Clean Email
Would you like to know how to sort by unread in Gmail in a simpler way and find your missing messages? Instead of using Gmail, search unread emails with the Clean Email organizer app. The app places all the search functions you’ll need in clear sight on the screen. It includes shortcuts to help you find emails you haven’t read from any person, during any date, and of any size.
To easily find your unread Gmail messages:
- Log in to your Clean Email account.
- Choose the Unread Mail folder in the left pane.
Here in the folder, all of your unread emails are automatically grouped by sender, making it easy to spot missed messages or manage multiple emails from the same source with just a click.
Moreover, you can apply actions to each sender's emails in bulk or adjust specific sender settings right from here.
Now that you see all your unread Gmail messages are in one place, you may still find it challenging to find the missing ones. For this case, Clean Email provides convenient sorting options:
- Select the Group By... drop-down menu to organize your emails into groups based on parameters such as sender, recipients, date, subject, labels, and more.
- Select the Newest on Top drop-down menu to sort the unread emails in several ways and in ascending or descending order. Choose to sort by size, date, and number of emails.
- Browse through Smart Folders, where your mail is organized into 30+ predefined categories such as Top Senders, Online Shopping, Job Search, or Real Estate. You’re much more likely to find a missing unread email here than in an unsorted inbox!
If after all these attempts you still can't find the missing email, try other options and check for unread emails in the Mailbox section of Clean Email. Go through the All Mail, Archive, Trash, and Spam folders. Your missing emails are often found in one of these, so don't lose hope. Use the full power of Clean Email to help you recover them.
Once found, you can add the emails to the Pinned Messages folder to ensure they are never affected by any rule or bulk action. This way, when applying bulk actions in Clean Email, you won’t accidentally lose them again.
And, best of all, you’ll never need to worry about your personal information while using Clean Email. Clean Email doesn’t read the message text or attachments; only the email headers are analyzed. Plus, your data is stored encrypted, and access details for your information are also encrypted.
How to Sort Gmail by Unread Emails - Frequently Asked Questions
How do I filter unread emails in Gmail Primary?
When you only want to see the messages under the Primary tab of your Gmail Inbox and not Social or Promotions, enter label:unread category:primary in the Search bar. The messages you haven’t read appear at the top of the list, and other messages appear below those emails.
Is there an unread folder in Gmail?
Gmail doesn’t use folders. Instead, it uses labels. And there isn’t an unread label in Gmail. However, you can quickly view the mail you haven’t read by opening Settings and selecting the Unread first inbox type.
How do I change the order of emails in Gmail?
The simplest way to change the order of emails in Gmail is to look in the Quick Settings. When you select the Settings gear, you’re presented with a list of Inbox Types. You can organize your messages so that selected messages display first such as important, unread, and starred.
How do I add an unread folder to Gmail?
To add an unread folder to Gmail, you’ll set up a filter that applies a label to those messages. A quick way is to enter is:unread in the Search box, select Show search options (found on the right side of the Search bar), and create a filter that applies a label that you specify.
