Archive and Delete Emails

Gmail has two different ways to remove emails from your inbox:

• Archiving removes an email from your inbox, while still keeping it around in the All Mail category. While you won't see it in the inbox anymore, you will still be able to see it in search results. Archived emails will never be automatically deleted.
• Deleting an email sends it to the Trash folder, where it will still be accessible for 30 days before it's removed entirely.

Archive an Email

1. Select an email.
2. Click the Archive button on the toolbar.

The email is archived. It's removed from the inbox, but can still be found by viewing the All Mail category, or by searching for it.

Delete an Email

1. Select an email.
2. Click the Delete button on the toolbar.

The email is moved to the trash, where it will still be accessible for 30 days before being automatically deleted.

View the Trash

If you've accidentally deleted an email, or just want to take a look at what you've recently deleted, you can view the Trash folder.

1. Click More in the left pane.
2. Click Trash.

Everything you've deleted within the last 30 days appears. Anything older than that will have been automatically deleted.

Restore a Deleted Email

1. Select an email in the trash.
2. Click the Move to button on the toolbar.
3. Select the Inbox.

The selected message is moved back to the Inbox.

Empty the Trash

Even though messages are automatically removed from the trash after 30 days, you can empty it out entirely as well.

1. While viewing the Trash, click Empty Trash now.
2. Click OK.

Everything in the trash is deleted permanently.