Archive moves emails out of your inbox without deleting them

When you archive an email in Gmail, it disappears from your inbox but stays in your account. You can search for it, read it, and move it back to your inbox whenever you need it. Archiving is useful when your inbox gets crowded — it clears space without losing anything.

Gmail stores archived emails in a folder called "All Mail". You can also create custom labels (Gmail's version of folders) to organize archived messages by topic, sender, or date. The archive feature works the same way on desktop, phone, and tablet.

Key Takeaways

  • Archived emails stay in your account in the "All Mail" folder and can be found by searching or browsing.
  • You archive a single email by opening it and clicking the archive button (a box with a downward arrow), or select multiple emails from your inbox and archive them together.
  • To restore an archived email to your inbox, open it and click the archive button again, or drag it back from "All Mail".
  • Creating labels before you archive helps you find related emails faster than searching through "All Mail".
  • Archived emails still receive new replies and can trigger notifications if you have them set up.

Archive a single email from your inbox

Open Gmail and find the email you want to archive. You can click on it to open the full message, or leave it in your inbox list. At the top of the email (or the top right of the inbox row), look for the archive button — it looks like a box with a downward arrow pointing into it.

Click that button once. The email disappears from your inbox when ready. It is now in "All Mail" but no longer in your main inbox view. If you change your mind within a few seconds, Gmail shows an "Undo" option at the bottom of the screen — click it to bring the email back.

Archive multiple emails at once

If you have several emails to archive, select them first. In your inbox, click the small checkbox next to the first email you want to archive. A checkbox appears next to each message. Click the checkboxes for all the emails you want to move.

Once you have selected at least one email, the archive button appears at the top of your inbox (the same box-with-arrow icon). Click it, and all selected emails move to "All Mail" at the same time. This is faster than archiving one by one if you are clearing out an old conversation thread or a batch of newsletters.

Find archived emails by searching

The quickest way to locate an archived email is to search for it. Click the search box at the top of Gmail and type what you remember about the message — a sender's name, a subject word, or a phrase from the body. Gmail searches through all your mail, including archived messages.

If you want to search only archived emails and exclude your inbox, type in:all followed by your search term. For example, typing in:all from:jane@example.com shows every archived email from Jane. You can also combine search terms: in:all subject:invoice before:2024/01/01 finds archived invoices from before January 2024.

Browse archived emails in "All Mail"

On the left side of Gmail, below your inbox and other main folders, you see a list of labels. Scroll down to find "All Mail" — this folder holds every email in your account except those you have permanently deleted. Click "All Mail" to see all your archived messages mixed with emails still in your inbox.

Browsing "All Mail" works best if you remember roughly when you archived something, since emails are listed newest first. If you archived something months ago and do not remember details, searching is faster. You can also click on a sender's name or a label to narrow down what you see.

Restore an archived email to your inbox

Find the archived email using search or by browsing "All Mail". Open it by clicking on it. At the top of the message, click the archive button again (the same box-with-arrow icon). The email moves back to your inbox.

Alternatively, if you are looking at the email in "All Mail" without opening it fully, you can right-click on it and select "Move to Inbox" from the menu. On a phone or tablet, swipe left on the email and tap the inbox icon. Either way, the email reappears in your inbox list.

Use labels to organize archived emails

Instead of letting archived emails pile up in "All Mail", create labels to sort them by category. In Gmail, click the "Labels" section on the left sidebar and select "Create new label". Give it a name like "Receipts", "Work Projects", or "2024 Taxes". You can create as many labels as you need.

When you archive an email, you can assign it a label at the same time. Open the email, click the label icon (a tag symbol) at the top, and check the box next to the label you want. The email is archived and tagged. Later, click that label on the left sidebar to see all emails with that tag, whether they are in your inbox or archived. This keeps related messages together without cluttering your inbox.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between archiving and deleting?

Archiving removes an email from your inbox but keeps it in your account forever (or until you delete it). Deleting moves it to your Trash folder, where it stays for 30 days before Gmail removes it permanently. Archive when you want to keep something; delete when you do not need it.

Can I archive emails automatically?

Yes. Create a filter by clicking the search box, entering your search criteria (like emails from a certain sender), and clicking the filter icon. Select "Create filter" and check the box for "Skip the Inbox (Archive)". From then on, matching emails go straight to "All Mail" instead of landing in your inbox.

Do archived emails still get replies?

Yes. If someone replies to an archived email thread, the entire conversation moves back to your inbox so you see the new message. You will also get a notification if you have notifications turned on for that sender or label.

Can I recover an email I permanently deleted?

If you deleted it fewer than 30 days ago, check your Trash folder. Click "Trash" on the left sidebar, find the email, open it, and click the archive button to move it back to "All Mail". After 30 days, Gmail deletes it permanently and you cannot recover it.

How do I see how much storage my archived emails use?

Click the settings gear icon in the top right of Gmail and select "See all settings". Go to the "General" tab and scroll down to "Storage". You see how much space your account is using. Archived emails count toward your storage limit just like inbox emails do.