If you’re looking to delete all your emails on Gmail, whether in bulk or mass delete, you’re in the right spot. This guide will take you through the steps of clearing out your inbox. Additionally, we’ll discuss how to delete emails based on the sender, date, or within a specific range. But before that, why is it important to delete all your emails. Keep reading to find out more.
Why To Bulk Delete Your Emails In Gmail?
Typically, many individuals merely discard or archive their emails without ever opening them. These acts often lead to clogging of your inbox. In fact, it can hinder your ability to stay organized and efficient. Moreover, important emails become buried in a sea of junk, and crucial jobs fall between the cracks. If you want to be more productive and spend less time looking for important information, cleaning your Gmail inbox is a must. In this process, we will look for different mass delete methods in Gmail.
How To Delete All Emails On Gmail In Bulk?
Here’s how to bulk delete all emails in Gmail:
Important: This action will permanently delete all your emails. Make sure you really want to do this before proceeding, as there’s no way to recover them once they’re gone.
Step #1: Open your Gmail account and click on the search bar at the top of the screen.
Step #2: Type “is:inbox” in the search bar and press Enter. This will display all emails in your inbox.
Step #3: Click on the checkbox at the top-left corner of the screen to select all emails on the current page.
Step #4: If you have more than one page of emails, Gmail will display a notification asking if you want to select all conversations that match the search. Click on the link to select all conversations.
Step #5: Once all emails are selected, click on the trash bin icon to delete them.
Step #6: Finally, Gmail will display a confirmation message asking if you want to move these conversations to the trash. Click on “OK” to proceed.
Step #7: Repeat this process for any remaining pages until all emails are deleted.
How To Delete All Emails In Gmail By Label?
- Open Gmail and choose the label with the emails you want to delete.
- Check the box at the top left of the page to select all emails shown.
- If you have over 50 emails, click “Select all X conversations in [Label name]”.
- Tap the trash can icon (it looks like a bin) in the toolbar.
Note: Deleted emails stay in the trash for 30 days before being permanently removed. You can retrieve them from the trash within this time frame.
How To Delete Emails In Gmail By Date Range?
Step #1: Open Gmail and sign in to your account.
Step #2: Search bar: Click inside the search bar at the top of the page.
Step #3: Date range criteria: Here’s how to enter your date range using search operators:
- To delete emails before a specific date: Enter
before: YYYY/MM/DD(replace YYYY/MM/DD with the actual date). For example, to delete emails before April 1, 2024, you would enterbefore:2024/04/01. - To delete emails after a specific date: Enter
after: YYYY/MM/DD. - To delete emails between a date range: Combine the above formats. For example, to delete emails between January 1, 2024, and March 31, 2024, you would enter
after:2024/01/01 before:2024/03/31.
Step #4: Search: Press Enter or click the search icon to view emails matching your criteria.
Step #5: Select emails:
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- All emails on the page: Click the checkbox at the top left corner of the page.
- All emails matching the search: Click the blue text that says “Select all X conversations in [Label]” (where [Label] is your inbox name, like “Primary”).
Step #6: Delete: Click the Trash can icon to move the emails to trash.
How To Delete Emails In Gmail By Sender?
Step #1: Open Gmail on your web browser.
Step #2: In the search bar at the top, type from:sender's email address (replace ‘sender’s email address’ with the actual email address you want to filter by). For example, if you want to delete emails from “newsletter@company.com”, you would type from:newsletter@company.com.
Step #3: Press Enter. This will show you all emails received from that sender.
Step #4: Select all emails to delete:
- Click the checkbox at the top left corner of your inbox. A message might appear saying “Select all conversations in this thread”.
- Click the text that says “Select all X conversations” (X being the number of emails). This selects all emails matching your search criteria on the current page.
Step #5: Delete the emails:
- Click the “Delete” button located just below the search bar.
Things To Do Before Deleting All Emails In Gmail
Here are some things to consider before deleting all your emails on Gmail:
Think Twice About Deleting Everything: Is there a chance you might need some emails in the future? Consider alternative methods like archiving instead of deleting, which frees up space but keeps them accessible.
Step 1: Creating A Backup Of Important Emails
Make sure you have a copy of everything before deleting all of your emails. Gmail makes it simple to save all of your emails in a safe and secure format. Follow these steps to make a backup:
1. Log in to your Gmail account and click on “Settings” (found in the top-right corner of the screen).
2. Then, select “See all settings” from the dropdown menu.
3. Navigate to the “Forwarding and POP/IMAP” tab.
4. Under the “IMAP Access” section, enable IMAP access and save the changes.
5. Configure an email client such as Outlook or Thunderbird to access your Gmail account via IMAP.
6. Download and sync all your emails to your email client.
Once the backup is complete, you can proceed to delete all emails.
Step 2: Organizing Your Emails Into Folders
Organizing your emails helps you to locate and manage them easily. Follow these steps to organize your emails into folders:
1. Open your Gmail account and select an email you wish to categorize.
2. Click on the “Labels” icon, represented by a tag-shaped icon.
3. Select “Create new” from the dropdown menu.
4. Enter a name for the folder and click “Create.”
5. Repeat the process for other emails, assigning them to relevant folders.
6. To access emails within a specific folder, navigate to the left sidebar of your Gmail interface and click on the folder’s name.
Step 3: Unsubscribe Unnecessary Newsletters And Mailing Lists
Unsubscribing from unnecessary newsletters and mailing lists can significantly reduce the number of emails you receive. Follow these steps to unsubscribe from unwanted emails:
1. Open an email from the newsletter or mailing list you wish to unsubscribe from.
2. Scroll to the bottom of the email to locate the “Unsubscribe” or “Manage preferences” link.
3. Click on the link, which will redirect you to a webpage.
4. Follow the instructions on the webpage to unsubscribe from the mailing list.
Step 4: Automate Email Organization
By creating filters and applying labels, you can automatically categorize incoming emails based on specific criteria. Follow these steps to set up filters and labels:
1. Log in to your Gmail account and click on the “Settings” icon.
2. Select “See all settings” from the dropdown menu.
3. Navigate to the “Filters and Blocked Addresses” tab and then click on “Create a new filter.”
4. Define the criteria for the filter, such as sender, subject, or specific keywords.
5. Click on “Create filter.”
6. Now, choose the action you want to apply to the filtered emails, such as applying a label.
7. Click on “Create filter” to save the changes.
Alternative Email Management Tools And Strategies
There are other email management tools and tactics that can work better for you than Gmail. Take a look at these options and pick the one that fits your needs and preferences in terms of email management.
- Microsoft Outlook: A comprehensive email client that offers advanced organizational features and integration with other Microsoft Office applications.
- Thunderbird: An open-source email client that provides flexibility and customization options.
- SaneBox: A third-party service that uses artificial intelligence to prioritize and organize your emails automatically.
- Inbox Zero: A productivity method that aims to keep your inbox empty or near-empty at all times.
Tips For An Organized Inbox In Gmail
Now that you have successfully cleared out your inbox, it is important to keep it organized going forward. To assist you in maintaining an orderly inbox, here are some suggestions:
1. Clear your inbox of any extraneous messages regularly.
2. Make sure you monitor and respond to emails at specified intervals throughout the day.
3. To automatically sort incoming emails, use labels and filters.
4. Get out of mailing lists and newsletters that aren’t useful to you anymore.
5. Instead of letting crucial emails pile up in the inbox, archive them.
6. Get to the most important emails first and prioritize them.
7. Streamline and organize your labeling and files regularly.
Delete All Emails On Gmail – FAQs
Ans: Generally, it’s safe to delete all emails at once, especially if you’re confident you don’t need any of them. However, it’s recommended to be cautious. Consider backing up important emails beforehand if you’re unsure.
Ans: There’s a chance you can recover deleted emails if you haven’t emptied the Trash folder yet. Go to the Trash folder and select the emails you want to recover. Click on the “Move to Inbox” option. However, recovering emails from an emptied Trash folder is generally not possible.
Ans: Deleting emails moves them to the Trash folder. They remain there until you empty the Trash folder. Once emptied, the emails are permanently deleted from your Gmail account.
Conclusion
To completely erase all your Gmail messages, you can send them to Trash and then permanently delete them from there. Remember, deleting emails from your inbox only moves them to Trash, where they remain for 30 days before automatic deletion. To ensure they’re gone forever, you’ll need to empty the Trash folder.
