Gmail uses labels instead of folders, but they work the same way

Gmail does not have folders in the traditional sense. Instead, it uses labels — tags you attach to messages that let you organize and find them later. A single email can have multiple labels at once, which folders cannot do. For most people, labels work better than folders because you can search by label, sort by label, and see all messages with a label in one view.

Creating a label takes about 30 seconds. Once you have labels set up, you can drag messages into them, create rules that label messages automatically, and even hide labels you do not use often. The process is the same whether you use Gmail on a computer or on a phone.

Key Takeaways

  • Labels in Gmail are tags you attach to messages; one email can have multiple labels, unlike traditional folders.
  • You create a new label by clicking the three-line menu, selecting Labels, and clicking Create New Label.
  • After creating a label, you can drag messages into it, or set up filters to label messages automatically based on sender or subject.
  • You can nest labels inside other labels to create a hierarchy — for example, putting "Utilities" inside "Bills".
  • Archiving messages removes them from your inbox but keeps them searchable by label, so you do not need to delete anything.

How to create a label on a computer

Open Gmail in your web browser and look for the three horizontal lines (the menu icon) on the left side of the screen, below the Compose button. Click it. A menu will open showing your current labels and a link that says "Labels" near the bottom. Click "Labels".

A page will open showing all your labels. Scroll down until you see "Create New Label" and click it. A box will appear asking you to name the label. Type a name — something like "Bills", "Work", "Receipts", or "To Review" — and click Create. The label now appears in your sidebar on the left, and you can start using it when ready.

How to create a label on a phone

Open the Gmail app and tap the three horizontal lines in the top left corner. Scroll down and tap "Labels". At the bottom of the screen, tap "Create New Label". Type the name you want and tap Create. The label will now appear in your label list, and you can use it the same way you would on a computer.

On a phone, dragging messages is less convenient, so you may prefer to use filters (explained below) to label messages automatically. You can still manually label a message by opening it, tapping the three dots in the top right, and selecting "Change Labels".

How to put messages into a label

The simplest way is to open a message and look for the label icon — it looks like a tag. Click or tap it, then check the box next to the label you want to use. You can add multiple labels to one message. When you are done, click outside the label menu or tap elsewhere to close it.

On a computer, you can also drag a message directly onto a label in your sidebar. Click and hold the message, then drag it to the label name and release. This is faster if you are labeling many messages at once. On a phone, open the message, tap the three dots, tap "Change Labels", and check the boxes you want.

How to create filters that label messages automatically

If you receive many messages from the same sender or with the same subject, you can create a filter that labels them automatically. Open Gmail and click the search box at the top. Click the downward arrow on the right side of the search box to open advanced search options. Type the sender's email address in the "From" field, or type a word that appears in the subject line in the "Subject" field. Click "Create Filter" at the bottom right.

A box will appear asking what you want to do with messages that match. Check the box that says "explore the Label" and select the label you want from the dropdown. You can also check "Skip the Inbox" at the same time if you want these messages to go straight to the label without cluttering your inbox. Click "Create Filter" and you are done. From now on, any message matching that rule will be labeled automatically.

How to organize labels into groups

If you create many labels, you can nest them inside each other to keep your sidebar clean. For example, you might create a label called "Bills" and then create labels inside it called "Electric", "Water", and "Internet". To do this, go to Settings (click the gear icon in the top right, then "See All Settings"), click the Labels tab, and find the label you want to nest. Click the arrow next to it to expand options, then look for "Nest Label Under" and select the parent label.

Nested labels appear indented in your sidebar, so you can collapse the parent label to hide the ones inside. This keeps your sidebar from becoming a long, hard-to-read list. You can nest labels as many levels deep as you want, though most people find two or three levels is enough.

How to find messages by label

Click any label in your sidebar to see all messages with that label. The number next to the label shows how many unread messages are in it. You can also search by label using the search box: type "label:Bills" to find all messages labeled Bills, or "label:Bills from:electric-company@example.com" to narrow it further.

If you archive a message (by clicking the archive icon, which looks like a box with an arrow), it disappears from your inbox but stays in Gmail and remains searchable by label. This is why labels are useful — you can keep your inbox clean without deleting anything, and you can still find old messages months or years later by searching for the label.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I rename a label after I create it?

Yes. Go to Settings, click the Labels tab, find the label you want to rename, and click the three dots next to it. Select "Edit" and type the new name. Click Save. Any messages already labeled with the old name will automatically use the new name.

What is the difference between a label and archiving?

A label is a tag you attach to a message to organize it. Archiving removes a message from your inbox but keeps it in Gmail. You can use both together — archive a message and label it so you can find it later by searching for the label.

Can I delete a label?

Yes, but the messages in it will not be deleted. Go to Settings, click Labels, find the label, click the three dots, and select "Delete". The messages stay in Gmail; they just lose that label. If you want to delete the messages themselves, you must do that separately.

Can I share a label with someone else?

No. Labels are private to your account. If you want to share organized messages with someone, you can forward them individually, or create a shared folder in Google Drive and add screenshots or forwarded messages there.

How many labels can I create?

Gmail does not publish a limit, but most people find that 20 to 50 labels is enough for good organization. If you create hundreds of labels, your sidebar becomes hard to use. Nesting labels (putting them inside other labels) helps keep things organized without creating too many top-level labels.